Meet our instructors + our dogs! Venez à notre rencontre !

Chantal Mills, BEd., CSAT, FFCP, LLA Graduate 2022
(elle/she/her)

Owner / Head Trainer

Thanks to her 20+ years of experience in the world of education, as an elementary, intermediate and high school teacher, Guidance Counsellor and Vice-Principal, Chantal is at ease working with the most important end of the leash. She has a passion for teaching!

Chantal is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT), certified and mentored by Malena DeMartini, the world’s leading expert on separation anxiety. She is a Fear Free® Certified Trainer (FFCP Trainer), a graduate of LLA (Living & Learning with Animals), a member of the Canadian Association of Pet Dog Trainers (CAPDT), a member of the American Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and a member of the Pet Professional Guild (PPG – the Association for Force-Free Pet Professionals).

She regularly attends conferences, workshops, seminars and webinars to keep up to date with the latest in the industry.
Chantal’s family includes Bug and Birdie, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers.

Chantal est bilingue et serait ravie de vous aider en français.

Chantal’s education

EDUCATION 
Master Course – Aggression in Dogs (Michael Shikashio)
Special Education Specialist
LLA graduate (Living & Learning with Animals), certified by Dr. Susan Friedman
FFCP – Fear Free® Certified Trainer
CSAT – Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer, certified and mentored by Malena
DeMartini, the world’s leading expert on separation anxiety
CPDT-KA
Professional Dog Training Certification
Specialist in Guidance
Bachelor of Education
CONTINUED EDUCATION (webinars and conferences)
Aggression in Dogs, Rhode Island
APDT Daytona Beach (virtual)
APDT Virtual conference
APDT Portland, OR (attended conference and was a volunteer) 2016 APDT Tampa, Fla 2014 APDT Hartford, CT 2013 APDT Spokane, WA (Roundtable Moderator)
APDT Covington, KY 2012 Dr. Dunbar Seminar on puppies, Toronto 2021 Lemonade Conference (virtual) 2020 Lemonade Conference (virtual) 2013 CAPDT Toronto 2010 CAPDT Fredericton 2005 CAPDT Ottawa

Maëva Leblanc, FDM, Cert.CF (elle/she/her)

Trainer / Behaviour consultant

Born in the North-eastern part of France, Maëva settled in Canada in 2014 to start her career in project managing and event planning, which is a real asset in interpersonal relations and organizing!
After years of volunteering at rescues, fostering, being an adoption coach for a rescue and pet sitting, a real passion for dogs grew. She started discovering canine behavior, positive reinforcement, how they learn and how to make their experience the best possible! 

Maëva has been specializing in reactivity and pain related behaviours thanks to her multiple certifications and certificates obtained throughout the years. She is an Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation professional, a Canine Arthritis Management advocate (certificate) and has a certification in Canine Fitness to be able to help your dog in a holistic way. She has founded her company Destination trained and is a trainer and behaviour consultant at the Ottawa Canine School.

In Maëva’s life, three dogs made a huge difference : Coco, Nitro and Hugo! Beautiful Coco, Maëva’s first dog as an adult, was rescued during his last years. From then on, a passionate love flourished! Nitro was the “challenging” dog: an anxious filled dog that was welcomed to her home for a few months and opened her up to looking into how to help other beings we live with.

And Hugo ? Hugo is the dog in the pictures, her companion on this journey he dog that pushed her to go further into her canine education. He is the dog in all the videos and homework for the certifications and classes she took.

Au plaisir de se rencontrer ! 

Maëva est bilingue et serait ravie de vous aider en français.

Maëva’s education

EDUCATION
Ottawa Canine School PART I and PART II (Chantal Mills, CSAT)
Certification in Canine Fitness (CASInstitute)
L.E.G.S Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional Course (FDM beyond dog training)
Canine Enrichment technician (DogNostics Education)
Bite prevention instructor (DogNostics Education)
Dogsafe certified – 2021
Master Course – Aggression in Dogs (Michael Shikashio, CDBC)
Separation anxiety shadowing program (Dr. Moira Hechenleitner, DVM, CSAT)
CAM Advocate Level 1 – Canine Arthritis Management (Hannah Capon, MA, Vet MB, MRCVS, CCRP)
CONTINUED EDUCATION (webinars and conferences)
Canine conditioning course and Canine massage course (Sarah Keller CPCFT, CCFT, CCBW, NASM-CES, CPDT-KA, NCCMT, CCKTP, CFBP, FFCP)
The Vet Rehab Summit 2025 (November 8th, 2025) : The Impact of Handler Skill on Patient Biomechanics with Anna Lee Sanders
Punk Mutt : Barking at home webinar
Punk Mutt : A Methodology Beyond Operant Conditioning
Punk Mutt : Separation Anxiety
Punk Mutt monthly membership and webinars
The Lemonade conference 2022
International Dog Trainers Summer Winter 2021
The Lemonade Conference 2021
International Dog Trainers Summer Summit 2021
Kim Brophey : TRAPPED – The Effects of Captivity on the Modern Pet Dog
Aggression in Dogs
Working Aggression Cases Virtually : a step-by-step case study
Assessing Canine Posture and Movement (Sit Stay Squat)
Grisha Stewart
Introduction to BAT 2.0 for Dog Aggression
Simone Mueller : Predation Substitute training webinar : new ways to manage predatory chasing
Resilient, responsive social skills : Intro to BAT 3.0
BAT set-ups : how to orchestrate basic set-ups and variations with dogs
Dr Amber Batson : Gut feelings – How digestive health influences dog behaviour
Victoria Stilwell Academy
Positively Confident
The Confidence Building Blocks
Good Neighbor in the Home
Good Neighbor in the Yard
Good Neighbor in the Community
De main de maître (FR)
Survivre à l’adolescence de son chiot
La socialisation du chiot : un cauchemar en temps de pandémie
Woaf, au secours mon chien jappe!
Rappel Express 2.0
Les consultations par visioconférence – L’intervenant du futur!
3 stratégies pour éviter la désorganisation et atteindre vos objectifs
Solutions pour votre chien qui n’écoute pas ! – Introduction à l’éducation canine
Le chaînon manquant
Mon chien de refuge et moi
Tenue de consultation et intervention en comportement canin
Prévention de morsures
Réduction du stress en milieu clinique
Focus et fondations
Promenade en laisse zen – Du rêve à la réalité!