Meet my teachers
Cassey
The dog who started it all.
If someone asked me where CheekyFox began, I wouldn't point to a course or a certificate.
I'd point to one dog.
He challenged me, frustrated me, inspired me, and made me ask questions I had never thought to ask before. Everything I do today can be traced back to him.
Owning a pitbull had been my dream. As a teenager, I was already fascinated by bull breeds, reading everything I could find about them and defending them whenever I had the chance. When Cassey finally came into my life, I thought I was prepared.
:-)
We did everything "right". Puppy classes, socialisation, obedience, training clubs... but I quickly realised that the path that worked for many dogs wasn't necessarily the right path for mine.
Cassey was brilliant, driven, endlessly enthusiastic - and easily overwhelmed. He loved to learn, but expecting him to work calmly around other dogs was a challenge that many trainers around us didn't really know how to solve.
So we started looking elsewhere.
We tried agility, frisbee, tricks, canicross, scootering, coursing, long-distance hikes - less because I wanted titles, and more because I wanted to understand what made him thrive.
At the time, modern reward-based training was still difficult to find where I lived. Clicker training felt almost experimental, so I learned from books, videos, and a lot of trial and error. Some things worked beautifully at home and fell apart in busy training fields. Instead of forcing Cassey to fit a system, he taught me to question the system itself.
Looking back, I realise that Cassey wasn't difficult.
He was simply asking different questions than the trainers around us knew how to answer.
Eventually, we found our own way.
The forests became our training ground. We learned to work through arousal, frustration, and reactivity together. He became a dog I could trust completely - running beside my bike, joining me on cross-country skis, or simply sharing quiet adventures outdoors.
I lost Cassey just before his thirteenth birthday
He taught me far more than any course ever could. .
Livy
She taught me that distance doesn't mean disconnection.
After falling in love with dog scootering, I knew I wanted another dog who was bred to run. That's how Livy, a European Sled Dog, found her way into my life.
Coming from a bull breed, everything about her felt different. She was lighter in both body and mind, with an incredible hunting instinct, endless stamina, and a natural desire to cover ground. Working with Livy meant learning to communicate over distance, building reliable recalls despite powerful instincts, and embracing the independence that comes with a hunting dog.
Most of all, she reminded me that good training is never about the breed you wish you had—it's about the dog standing in front of you.
Today, at eleven years old, Livy is enjoying a slower pace of life. She still joins me on hikes, accompanies me around the horses, and loves dog fitness. As she grows older, we're leaving mushing behind and we're looking forward to exploring nosework together.
Cinder
He reminds me that confidence grows from feeling safe.
Some dogs challenge your skills.
Others refine them.
Cinder came into my life because I knew I wanted another bull breed. In many ways he reminds me of Cassey—but he has become a completely different teacher.
Raised with shaping from the very beginning, well socialised, and eager to learn, Cinder showed me that sensitivity doesn't always look the way we expect. Through adolescence, fear periods, and moments of uncertainty, he taught me to pay closer attention to stress, coping strategies, and the smallest changes in body language.
He reminds me every day that good training isn't only about teaching new behaviours. It's also about recognising when a dog is asking us to slow down, change our plan, or simply listen more carefully.