Gaby Dufresne-Cyr's Bio

Gaby's Dufresne-Cyr's Bio

Gaby Dufresne-Cyr is the author of Dog in the mirror is God. She is also the founder, teacher, dog trainer, dog behaviour consultant, and exotic animal trainer at the Dogue Shop in Montreal. Involved with dogs since childhood, Gaby Dufresne-Cyr got her first paid dog training client at the age of sixteen. From there, her path took her in a very different direction. She studied the arts and worked on movies and television sets, ads, and museums building and painting sets.

Gaby became a full-time dog trainer in the 90s, and now devotes her time to teach newer generations the science behind animal training. Gaby also travels internationally to speak about the science of animal behaviour management, training, social learning, and exotic animal-assisted therapy as a means of enrichment, training, and conservation.

The Dogue Shop got its name in 1995. Dogue (pronounced dog) is a French word meaning molosser or Mastiff type. These dogs have big bones, square heads, a very pronounced stop ( the area where the nose becomes the forehead) and most of these dogs are descendants of ancient Molossia, an area of ancient Epirus, Greece.

The second part of the name came from the idea to offer personalized training sessions in the comfort of one's home. The idea of talking dog while drinking a cup of coffee was appealing to Gaby. Thus, training dogs in a coffee shop setting came to mind. Seeing her own Great Dane lying at her feet, comfortable and relaxed, Gaby wished to share the joy with all owners. Unfortunately, she knew too well this was not the case. Many dogs suffer from behaviour problems and are euthanized for lack of available affordable treatment. Gaby Dufresne-Cyr goal was to change that reality.

Personalized training sessions or behaviour modification consultations is the essence of Gaby's practice. She believes training should not be done in large groups where distractions not only disrupt canine concentration, they also disturb the human-animal bond. The same goes for the animal behaviour school. Classes are kept small, which makes them extremely personalized. Gaby teaches the Animal Behaviour Apprenticeship Program, Animal-Assisted Therapy at la Pocatière college, practices dog, wolf, and rat animal-assisted therapy, and organize various animal-related events.

For those with an insatiable curiosity, Gaby invites you to visit her Instagram or Facebook accounts to see what she has been up too.

Gaby's Training Philosophy

Science allows me to train animals of all species because learning theories and training techniques are the same no matter which animal I work with. The challenge for me, as a professional, is to know which learning theory, training technique, and behaviour that applies to that specific animal. I then establish a plan and set the animal up for success.

Successful training sessions are the main focus of my animal training program. In this case, the giraffe must learn to touch a predetermined target in order to get a treat. Thus, I must adapt to the giraffe's species-specific physiology (height) and psychology (sociability) if I am to be successful. Finally, I use classical and operant conditioning, social cognitive, and attachment theories to train dogs, wolves, rats, or giraffes.

Le science me permet d'entraîner toutes espèces car les techniques d'entraînement et théories d'apprentissage sont les mêmes peu importe la race avec laquelle je travaille. La difficulté pour moi en tant que professionnel est de savoir quelle théorie d'apprentissage et technique d'entraînement s'applique à l'espèce avec laquelle je travaille. J'établis ensuite un plan d'intervention dans lequel l'animal doit être placé en situation de réussite.

Le succès est mon but premier quand j'entraîne un animal. Dans le cas de la girafe elle devait apprendre à toucher une cible afin de recevoir une gâterie. Je dois m'adapter à ses besoins physiologiques (hauteur) et psychologiques (sociabilité). En terminant, j'utilise les théorie d'apprentissage du conditionnement classique et opérant, le socio-cognitif, et l'attachement pour entraîner chiens, loups, rats ou girafes.

Gaby's Experience

- Animal-Assisted Therapy
Mountainview High School (dog & rat program), Montreal, 2018 -
Perspectives One High School (dog program), Montreal, 2014 -
Focus High School (rat program), Montreal, 2015 -
Laurier-McDonald High School (pilot project - dog program), Montreal, 2016

- College Professor
Relevant Information to the Animal-Assisted Therapy Profession - La Pocatiere, 2014 - 2016
Animal Training and Behaviour - La Pocatiere, 2014

- Animal Behaviour Consultant & Animal Trainer
Dogue Shop Training Centre, Montreal, 1999 -
Les Écurie Casa Blanca, Ste-Sophie, 2016
Park Safari Zoo, Hemmingford, 2003 - 2016
Zouvrac, Montreal, 2007 - 2011
Au Coin des Quatre Pattes, Blainville, 2004 - 2007

- Wolf Behaviour Field Guide
Wolf Park, Battle Ground, Indiana, USA, 2008

- Veterinary Assistant
De la Promenade Veterinary Clinic, Montreal, 2004 - 2007
Ahuntsic Veterinary Clinic, Montreal, 2003 - 2004

Gaby's Education

- Concordia University
Psychology, cognitive-neuroscience (student), 2016 -
Applied Human Science, Family Life Educator, 2009 - 2016

- Walks 'N Wags
CPR & First Aid, Walks 'N Wags, 2018

- Wolf Park
Advanced Exotic Animal Training, 2016
Wolves, Coyotes, Foxes, & Bison Training, 2008
Captive Wolf Management, 2008
Ethology, 2008

- Coursera
Dog Emotion and Cognition, 2015
Horse Course: Introduction to Basic Care and Management, 2015

- Animal Behavior Management Alliance
Advanced Exotic Animal Training & Enrichment, 2017
Advanced Exotic Animal Training & Enrichment, 2014

- Park Safari Zoo
Exotic Animal Behaviour Management, 2003
Canine Evolution, 2003

- Quebec Association of Veterinary Medicine
Domestic Animal Safety & Health, 2007
Animal Rights, 2007
Animal Grieving, 2006

- Certification Cyno Professionnel
Canine Behaviour Technician, 2007

- Studio Lyne St-Roch
Yoga Teacher Training, 2006

- Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers
Advanced Trainer Development Program, 2004
Canine Behavioural Problems, 2002
Modifying Canine Behaviour, 2000

- Professional Animal Behaviour Associates
Advanced Learning Theories, 2004
Intermediate Learning Theories, 2003
Learning Theory 101, 2000

- Syn Alia Training systems
Bridge and Target, 2002

Non-Exhaustive Teacher List:

Dr. Alen Beck	Dr. Ilana Reisner	Dr. Suzanne Hetts	Kim Cooper
Dr. Andrew Luescher	Dr. James Serpell	Dr. Wayne Hunthausen	Margaret Gibbs
Dr. Anne-Marie Lamothe	Dr. Jennifer Burstein	Carolyn Clark	Mike Mantel
Dr. Bill Milgra	Dr. Karen Houpt	Gary Priest	Roger Abrantes
Dr. Brian Hare	Dr. Karen Overall	Gary Wilkes	Sarah Wilson-Kilcommons
Dr. Clayton MacKay	Dr. Kersti Seskel	Gwen Bailey	Steve Martin
Dr. Debra Horwitz	Dr. Kim Greener	Joe Araujo	Susan Garret
Dr. Diane Frank	Dr. Nicolas Dodman	John Menzies
Dr. Gary Landsberg	Dr. Raymond Coppinger	Karen Fisher
Dr. Ian Dunbar	Dr. Stanley Coren	Kayce Cover

Gaby's Memberships

Animal Behavior Management Alliance

Broholmer Canadian Club

Gaby's Newspaper Appearances

JOURNAL DU PLATEAU
La brigade canine se décentralise

JOURNAL DE MONTREAL
La brigade canine ne patrouille que dans le Plateau-Mont-Royal
Ne touchez pas à mon pitbull, clament les propriétaires
Les proptibulls promettent une opposition féroce

JOURNAL LA PRESS
La bête noir à abattre

JOURNAL METRO
Gaby, professeur de Doga

JOURNAL LA PRESSE

Faire du yoga avec son chien

Gaby's Magazine Appearances

ZOONOOZ
Short article about the arrival of the wolves at the San Diego Zoo for the ambassador program.

ZOONOOZ
Part of a five page article on arctic wolves and the imprinting process at Park Safari Zoo.

Urbania
Un article sur le Doga.

Gaby's Radio Shows

CJAD 800 - The Dogue Shop talks about animal behaviour on the Kim Fraser Show. Click Part 1 and then Part 2 if you wish to listen to a segment (2009-2013). Irregular dog behaviour segments (2013+)
CJAD 800 - The Dogue Shop talks about dog behaviour with Rick and Suzan. Click on the title to listen (2012)
CJAD 800 - Dogue Shop segment on the Ric Peterson (2012)

CBC 88.5
A snippet into canine communication and their ability to decode our emotions. Host, Loreen Pindera.
Click on the logo for audio link (2010)

CKOI 96,9
Midi Morency, émission de radio humoristique sur le métier de consultant en comportement animal.
Ce fichier est long à télécharger, mais il en vaut la peine. Cliquer sur le logo pour le lien audio (2009)

Gaby's Television Shows

Bizarroscope - Mathieu Pichette

CTV News Montreal - Caroline Van Vlaardingen

Only in Montreal - Matt Silver
Breakfast Television - Laura Casella
Breakfast Television - Elias Makos

Libre Service - Marc-André Coallier

Morning News - Jessica Laventure
Morning News - Laura Casella

Deux Hommes en Or - Jean-Philippe Wauthier et Patrick Lagacé
Légitime Dépense - Jeff Boudreault
- Les traitements anti-puces
- Les techniques d'éducation canine.

Entrée Principale - André Robitaille
Alors on Jase - Joel Legendre
Téléjournal - Céline Galipeau
Brigade Animo - Sébastien Kfoury

Les Guérisseurs - Zoothérapie avec les loups.
Loin d'être bête - Zoothérapie avec les rats.