“It was never just the dogs but also the people, fun, behavior, science, the outdoors, the learning that I fell in love with and then made a career of. Dogs and their humans have brought so much joy and enrichment to my life that there is never a day I have considered another career.” Gwen (she/they) is passionate about helping reactive dogs, noise sensitive, angsty adolescent pups, deaf dogs, dogs who are struggling in our busy DC environment and all of the adorable puppies become the best the can with the aid of training, enrichment, exercise, working in tangent with your vet, groomer and family.

Christie (she/her) is passionate about helping people connect with their dogs and believes that our relationship with our dogs can teach us so much. Christie 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.

Daniela (she/her) is fluent in English, Spanish, and German. Daniela’s interest in dog behavior sparked 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.

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.

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. Krisi loves and is effective in training manners, behavior modification, rally and nosework.

"I could train your dog, but I'd rather teach you how to." Andrew (he/him) is a lifelong dog owner who first got into force-free positive training with his rescue dog Riley. In his very first class something clicked, and now he's hoping to give others that same eureka moment with their dogs. When he's not training for his and Riley's next agility trial or volunteering at the place that started it all he's sharing his passion for all things dog training with anyone who will listen.

Angel (she/her) is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer with 14 years of domestic and exotic animal experience. Her love of animals has taken her around the world working at London zoo in England, safari in South Africa and conservation in Peru. 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 Reactivityand much more as her passion for animals, teaching and learning is ever present.

Jordana (she/her) 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.

Laura is joining us on Sunday puppy classes an assistant trainer. We are thrilled to have her knowledge and expertise in teaching, reactivity, resource guarding and raising newly adopted adolescent pup Brava and caring for her reactive dog Levi.