Laurie became involved in obedience and agility training in 1990 with her first sheltie, Cody. Her interest was sparked and she started teaching and promoting dog training and canine sports activities. Laurie became an Agility Association of Canada (AAC) judge in 1998 and a Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) judge in 2001, retiring in 2018. It has been her privilege to watch dogs compete from coast to coast in Local, Regional and National Competitions. Laurie is also a certified CKC Canine Good Neighbour (CGN) Evaluator and offers testing for this program. She competitively trains and shows her own dogs, achieving numerous titles in Obedience, Rally Obedience, Agility, Barn Hunt, Scent Detection, Trick training, Sprinters, Canine Good Neighbour and Canine Good Citizen,

Laurie is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers (CAPPDT). She continues to update her education in the field of dog training by participating in workshops and seminars. All of Laurie’s training methods are based on positive, motivational training. Over the past three decades, Laurie has instructed Obedience, Rally Obedience, Socialization and Agility classes at all levels.

Laurie is currently the Assistant Manager for the AAC World Team, a retired member of the AAC Appeals Committee and has worked with her husband and fellow judge, Pierre Lalonde in inspecting equipment and venues as an AAC site approver. For 12 years, Pierre and Laurie hosted the Manitoba Agility League, promoting AAC agility to new handlers and their dogs. They continue to host fun matches and sanctioned AAC trials.

Laurie is the retired Vice President of Agility in Manitoba (AIM). She was on the Board of Directors for the Ottawa Humane Society and was Chairperson for the Membership Committee. Laurie has a degree in Communications and worked in radio broadcasting for ten years.

Laurie proudly works as the D.O.G. Ambassador for Access Credit Union starting in 2014. In addition, she operates her own home based dog grooming business which she started in 1994. She worked as a Behaviour Counsellor and a Humane Educator for the Winnipeg Humane Society.

Laurie & Pierre love spending times with their 2 shelties and 2 St. Bernards and enjoy sharing the joy of responsible pet ownership with others.