Elsen has been involved with dogs for over 20 years, actively participating in agility, tracking, obedience and conformation.

She has put titles on dogs in CKC (Canadian Kennel Club), AAC (Agility Association of Canada) and CARO (Canadian Association of Rally Obedience). Elsen's current two dogs, Chelsea and Tynan both run in Master's level in agility and have earned fifteen titles between the two of them. Tynan also competes in Rally Obedience and has acheived her novice title.

Elsen has competed both regionally and nationally with her dogs. In 2003, Tynan was the number three ranked German Shepherd Dog in Canadian agility (AAC) and in 2006, she was the first German Shepherd to acheive the Novice Jumpers With Weaves title (CKC). In 2006, Chelsea acheived her SATChC, which is the Agility Trial Champion of Canada title. Chelsea is now two Q's or clean runs away from the Bronze Award of Merit.

Elsen is a Certified Master Trainer, a Canine Good Neighbour evaluator with the CKC, and a member of the Agility Association of Canada and the Canadian Kennel Club. She also attends seminars on a regular basis to stay current in the field of dog sports. These seminars cover a range of topics including agility, rally-o, obedience, conformation, tracking, training methods, learning styles and pet first aid.