Meet The Staff.
Jordana Todd, CPDT-KA
Puppies, Dogs, Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, Reactivity
DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Chevy Chase
Jordana first caught the training bug a decade ago while working with big cats and birds in zoological institutions across the country. That passion soon lead to work in animal rescue and, after working with Humane Rescue Alliance and adopting an anxious spaniel, she took a particular interest in working on behavioral modification with dogs struggling with anxiety and reactivity. When not at the studio, she loves teaching her spaniel Ham new tricks and working on their nosework skills.
Angel Lawson, CPDT-KA
Virtual classes via Zoom, One-on-one and small group class,
Puppies, Behavior modification, Tricks, Loose-leash walking
Angel is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer with 14 years of domestic and exotic animal experience and passionate member of the DogTrained team. Her love of animals has taken her around the world working at London zoo in England, safari in South Africa and conservation in Peru.
She is motivated by the human-animal bond and enjoys supporting clients and their furry companions to live in happy relationships together built on trust, communication and empathy.
Angel continues her education by joining the IAABC as a supporting member, Sue Sternberg’s Dog Behavior and Interactions Workshop, Dr. Ellen Lindell’s Pharmacological Intervention, Trish King’s Tools to Cope With Reactivity, Malena Demartini’s Separation Anxiety, Pat Miller’s Excitability, Susan Garett’s Recalls Workshops.
Gwen Podulka, Owner and CPDT-KA
Puppies, Adolescent dogs, Behavior modification
Great Falls, McLean, NW DC, Reston
Christie is passionate about helping people connect with their dogs and believes that our relationship with our dogs can teach us so much.
Living with dogs with a range of behavior challenges, including reactivity and resource guarding, has helped Christie develop a love of behavior and a lot of compassion for dogs and the people who love them. Christie loves helping people learn how to meet their dog’s needs and identify the function of “problem behaviors,” while teaching them simple ways to help them better navigate everyday life.
Christie lives in Great Falls, VA with her two dogs, Otis and Sully. She also runs an online dog community, Tails of Connection. She loves to learn and strives to stay updated on the latest information in training. Most recently, she completed Dr. Susan Friedman’s Living & Learning with Animals course (Aug 2021), attended the Aggression in Dogs Conference (Oct. 2021), and is completing How Movement Works with Lori Stevens. She also regularly attends ClickerExpo and has taken a range of one off courses through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.
Christie Catan, CPDT-KA
Krisi Huie - MSc in Psychology, Pat Miller level 1
Puppies, Dogs, Behavior modification, Rally, Nosework
DC,
Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Takoma Park
Krisi (she/her) has twelve years experience with positive reinforcement training and twenty plus years working with rescues in Maryland. Rescue pups are what led her to a more humane and canine-engaging approach to training. In turn, understanding the optimal circumstances for learning meant going back to school for a master’s in psychology, and then a master’s of philosophy in education. Her goal is to help humans and dogs create happy, healthy connections and build their relationships based on trust, understanding, and most importantly fun! Krisi loves and is effectiev in training manners, behavior modification, rally and nosework.
Daniela Vargas - Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner
Puppies, Adolescent dogs, Senior dogs, Tricks
DC, Chevy Chase, Bethesda
Daniela’s interest in dog behavior began when she was growing up on her family’s farm in Colombia, where she spent many days playing with, and learning from, their pack of farm dogs. After moving to the U.S., Daniela adopted two hound dogs, first a Beagle named Penny and then a reactive Coonhound mix named Schatz. Working through Schatz’s reactivity is what really sparked a love of training in Daniela, and inspired her to become a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner. She is passionate about helping other dog owners’ form healthier and happier relationships with their own dogs through enrichment, positive reinforcement, and play. Daniela believes in training by building a relationship based on trust, understanding, and patience. Daniela currently lives in Northwest Washington, D.C. with her two hounds, and is fluent in English, Spanish, and German
Sean Sanders - AssociateTrainer
Puppies, Adolescent dogs, Tricks
Silver Spring, Potomac, North: Rockville, Beltsville, Hyattsville, College Park, NW DC
Sean (he/him) has been an unabashed dog lover since before he could walk. Despite years of international travel, from South Africa to England to the US, that prevented him from sharing his home with a pet, he never lost his love for furry beasts. After finally settling in Maryland and leaving his career as a scientific editor, he returned to his passion for working with dogs and their guardians with the ultimate goal of improving both animal and human lives through dog training and guardian education. Putting two-way communication at the core of his training philosophy, his focus is helping dog guardians listen to their dogs with compassion and understand their needs, while improving guardian-to-dog communication to create a strong bond of common trust. He looks forward to working with you and your beloved furry friend to build a deeper relationship of mutual respect through training that is fun, engaging, and beneficial.