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Lisa Desatnik, CPDT-KA, CPBC, is a certified dog trainer-knowledge assessed; as well as a certified Fear Free trainer and certified dog bite prevention educator. Having studied Applied Behavior Analysis and training for more than 18 years, she uses and teaches the most positive approaches to preventing and solving dog and puppy behavior issues.

Lisa is based in Cincinnati, Ohio where she also is a pet behavior columnist for local magazines, is interviewed in the media and speaks in the community.  In addition to her in-person training, she now offers online coaching, classes and webinars for kids and adults. Through the International Association of Behavior Consultants, she is also a certified parrot behavior consultant although much of her work is with dogs.

Learn more by visiting www.SoMuchPETential.com.

Karen Deeds, is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). She is the co-owner of Canine Connection in Ft. Worth, TX with her husband, Bob Deeds, a retired Federal K9 Handler on Texas Task Force I. Karen started her business in 1994 after realizing the need for educating the public about dog training and behavior while volunteering for a local humane society. She worked in the Assistance Dog Field for 15 years and the vet profession for 9 years. She currently provides her expertise on behavior problems including fear, anxiety and aggression. She has consulted and worked with thousands of pet dog owners, various shelters and many rescue organizations, as well as has testified in dozens of court cases regarding dog bites. She currently teaches in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex focusing on Reactive Integration and also provides private consultations.

Karen has presented seminars to the general public, rescue groups, animal control officers, at various dog training clubs, dog training facilities, and various shelters throughout Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. She has presented at the Dallas SPCA, Texas A&M Veterinary College Behavior Club, Texas Animal Control Association Conference, Missouri Animal Control Conference, the annual Texas Unites for Animals, and the IAABC conference. She is often called upon to help rescue groups make difficult decisions about behaviorally challenged dogs in their care. Her work with high drive working and sport dogs have helped develop more comprehensive behavior modification protocols that are dramatically impacting the success of her students.

Tanya Mayer is a full-time electrical engineer, wife, mother of three humans, and hobby dog trainer with her two Great Danes: Derby (4.5 years) and Rumble (1 year, aka glorious giant adolescent).   

Tanya got her first Great Dane (Raven) in 2013 and began classes at FDSA in 2014 to explore how to work with this often sensitive breed.  Since then, Tanya and the Danes have taken courses in foundations, behavior, agility, scentwork, TEAM, rally, freestyle, disc, obedience, fitness, tracking, mental management, and even photography.   The outstanding quality of instructors, flexibility to fit practice into a busy schedule, and ability to learn at their own pace make FDSA classes the best bang for their buck.

Megan has been involved in the dog sport world nearly her entire life. Though her family did compete in obedience, agility was Megan’s passion right from the start. With over 20 years experience, she has competed with a variety of dogs, including an American Eskimo and West Highland White Terrier, Shelites, Border Collies, and Parson Russell Terriers, and has worked with an even larger variety of breeds. She got her first dog, a Sheltie, when she was 7 years old and since then she has competed with six of her own dogs and seven dogs belonging to others. Her accomplishments include many ADCh (USDAA Agility Dog Champion) titles, MACh (AKC Master Agility Champion) titles, Regional and National Championships, and representing the US on the European Open in 2015. Megan was also a USDAA judge for over 10 years, providing valuable insight into course design, course analysis, and handling styles throughout the United States.

Megan has been teaching agility full-time, in person and online, for 6 years, through her training school, Synergy Dog Sports. Her passion for sharing knowledge with her students drives her to constantly be learning, growing, and evolving. Megan became a OneMind Dogs Assistant Coach in 2016 and finished her Coach Certification in 2018. She believes in developing a system of communication based on the dog’s perspective and what dogs naturally understand and then individualizing that system for the humans that train and run them. Synergy Dog Sports is named for the truly great things a team can accomplish together when they focus on using the strengths of both the dog’s mind and body and the handler’s mind and body, and improving on any potential weaknesses.

Megan currently has three dogs of her own; Smack (11 y/o border collie), Shock (7 y/o border collie), and Shrek (3 y/o parson russell terrier) and lives with her partner, Graham, and his dogs, Skittles (11 y/o Sheltie) and Skrik (4 y/o border collie) in Stanwood, WA.

For more from Megan, visit her website, www.synergydogsports.com.

Amelia Pizzi CPDT-KA is a full-time dog trainer in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. She focuses on teaching dog owners how to use positive reinforcement to train their dogs in all areas including puppy life skills, pet dog obedience and manners, agility training, scent work, and more.

Amelia has three rescue dogs and enjoys working with them each in different areas. Holly (11 year old German Shepherd mix) is a retired Therapy Dog as well as a helper for reactive dogs; Stark (9 year old Husky mix) is a retired Agility competitor with titles from NADAC and ASCA, as well as Trick Dog Titles from DMWYD; the newest addition, Nugget (2 year old Chihuahua mix) is an eager and smart little one who loves nothing more than a game of tug and is learning agility as well.

Learn more about Amelia on The Dog Classroom website at www.thedogclassroom.com and find her on Instagram and Facebook @thedogclassroom.

Deborah (Gross) Torraca, DPT, MSPT, Diplomat ABPTS, CCRP has been involved in the field of animal physical rehabilitation for over 17 years and currently owns a small animal rehabilitation practice in Connecticut called Wizard of Paws Physical Rehabilitation for Animals, LLC. She received her BS from Boston University, a Masters degree from Quinnipiac College, and her doctorate from the University of Tennessee. She has advanced certifications in her field. Dr. Torraca has lectured throughout the world on the topic of small animal rehabilitation for the past 12 years, and is one of the founders of the certificate program in canine rehabilitation from the University of Tennessee. She has published widely on both the professional level and to dog enthusiasts of many venues. Laser therapy has been an interest and passion of hers for over 10 years and she is very active in the development of treatment programs and education on laser therapy.

Loretta Mohler has been involved in agility since 2003 with her first rescue dog, Ace. Since then she has earned ADCHs with 4 border collies — Zip (retired due to back injury), Klink, Gator (achieving his ADCH at the age of 2.5 years), Lynn and Gig. Lynn was 2013 Central Regional Grand Prix 22” Champion, as well as being a steeplechase and Grand Prix semi-finalist. Gig is just starting her career!

Loretta and her dogs are no strangers to the finals at USDAA World Championships. Since attending her first nationals in 2008, she has competed with one or both dogs in each of the subsequent finals. At the 2012 USDAA World Championships, she had two dogs in EACH of the 3 finals, Grand Prix, steeplechase and DAM tournament.

In addition to working with her border collies, Loretta was the trainer for the famous little Jack Russell terrier Crackers. Crackers has been on IFCS and WAO teams since he was 2 years old. Sadly he had to be retired due to an autoimmune issue.

In 2014, Loretta was chosen to be the assistant coach for the IFCS World Team, which competed in the Netherlands. The team was very successful in this competition with many medals won.

After their success, she was asked to be Head Coach of the WAO World Team (USA). She has been head coach now for the last 4 years. Again she has helped the team be successful, with many medals won.

Outside of agility, Loretta has trained dogs for USBCHA herding, competitive obedience, rally obedience, and service dog work. Today she runs Full Tilt Dog Training in Brainerd, MN, which she founded in 2007, and travels nationally and internationally giving handling seminars.

Loretta has an ability to work with all different breeds of dogs because she believes there is never a “one size fits all” method in training. She is very good at working with each dog and handler as an individual team to help them succeed. One of her specialties is building drive in dogs who otherwise might be a challenge. She has also helped a number of dog-handler teams overcome unwanted stress-based behaviors. She believes it isn’t just about the handling of the courses, but the entire picture that makes a great agility team!

Melissa is FDSA's resident marketing geek. She teaches two classes here at FDSA: Marketing for Pet Professionals & Building a Wordpress Website.

In addition to teaching, she hosts the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast, coordinates webinars, helps maintain the FDSA facebook page, runs the Ripple Effect group for dog trainers using Fenzi Principles, and other random odds and ends as needed. She is currently owned by a GSD with a championship in Treibball (and who is now learning obedience), a English Cocker Spaniel, and a small tuxedo kitty.

Melissa's full time job is helping dog trainers make more money by looking good online — she designs dog trainer websites and logos at Click and Repeat. 

Petra graduated from Rutgers School of Health Related Professions 17 years ago with a degree in physical therapy and has experience working with an extremely varied caseload including pediatric through geriatric clients with a vast range of diagnoses. Her areas of expertise included in-patient rehabilitation, orthopedics and neurology. Petra attended the Canine Rehabilitation Institute in 2007 and is a certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist.

Petra trains and trials her Labrador Retrievers in obedience, agility and field. Her black Labrador Retriever, Tyler, has the distinction of being the 2008 and 2009 National Obedience Champion and First Runner Up in 2010. In 2012, Petra and Tyler became the first American team to win the Obedience World Cup (they placed second in 2010). Petra’s dogs have earned field titles (MH, QAA). Currently she is competing at the Master’s Level in agility with Zaidan and working towards qualifying for Nationals with her Obedience Trial Champion Zeal. Zayna, her newest competition dog, is training and competiting in obedience and agility.

Petra has written several articles on canine conditioning, canine injury prevention, competing with your dog and more. She has been published in a number of magazines including Clean Run, Front and Finish, and Whole Dog Journal.

Julie Flanery, CPDT-KA has been working professionally with dogs and their handlers since 1993. She focuses on the needs of the dog and helping people form a strong relationship, through clear communication, and positive reinforcement.

She has placed Obedience, Freestyle, Rally, Rally-FrEe, Agility, Trick Dog and Parkour titles on her dogs and has earned Championships in Freestyle, Heelwork-to-Music and a Grand Championship MCL in Rally-FrEe. She has achieved both High Technical Merit and High Artistic Merit in both Freestyle and Heelwork to Music several times over, including three prestigious Attila Challenge awards, as well as several “Top H.A.T.” awards for High Scoring Heelwork, Attention and Teamwork. In 2001 she was named "Trainer of the Year" by the World Canine Freestyle Organization and has been a competition freestyle judge since 2003.

In 2012, Julie developed the sport of Rally-FrEe to help freestylers increase the quality and precision of their performances. It has since become a stand-alone sport enjoyed by dog sport enthusiasts all over the world. Julie has been a workshop and seminar presenter both nationally and internationally. She currently trains and competes with her Tibetan terrier in both Musical Freestyle and Rally-FrEe. 

Ann Smorado was a horse crazy teenager who started training dogs in 2006 when she got her first labrador retriever, Miles.  What started out as taking a puppy class to make sure she would have a well mannered dog, or at least a dog that didn’t destroy the house, quickly grew into a passion.  Miles earned his AKC Utility Dog (UD) within 5 years of that first puppy class and his Master Agility Champion (MACH) shortly thereafter. He also earned his RAE and the WCRL ARCHMX.    In 2012, Ann got her second labrador, Hartley. She soon found Fenzi Dog Sports Academy and has been taking classes with Hartley ever since. Ann has been teaching Obedience foundations at Canine Affair Center since 2014. She and Hartley actively compete in Agility, Obedience, Dock Diving and Rally.   Hartley has his MACH3, UDX, OM1, Junior Hunter and is working on his Agility Grand Champion. Hartley also has his TEAM 6. Ann was awarded the Fenzi Dog Sport Trainer Certificate for Obedience/Rally and Freestyle. Ann is also a TEAM judge.  Now Ann has a 3 month old puppy, Dare, who is just getting started.

Barbara had trained herding for over 30 years. She started with traditional training and later decided to learn positive reinforcement training and apply it to herding. After a decade of trial and error, she has developed a proven method for training herding. She starts dogs away from livestock, usually in her home and backyard. She then takes her dogs near penned stock and eventually to loose livestock. It is much easier for dogs to learn herding skills without the huge distraction of livestock in the picture and later add stock to the training.

Sally started herding with no prior herding experience but was an excellent positive dog trainer. She taught agility, tricks, and basic obedience to her dogs and in her classes. Sally worked with Barb over the internet and trained her Border Collie puppy, Renn, into the South African Sheepdog Association's National Reserve Junior Champion in 2016.

Sarah Owings is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, and currently serves as faculty for ClickerExpo, an advisor to the Glendale Humane Society in Los Angeles, and an instructor for Cyber Scent Online. She specializes in the practical application of behavioral principles to help transform the lives of fearful, shut down, and over-the-top dogs. As the owner of Bridges Dog Training, an international speaker, and a regular contributor to online training forums, she is known for her innovative approaches to tough behavior problems, and her compassionate and insightful teaching. She has written for Clean Run Magazine on topics such as stimulus control, release cues, and toy-related cues, and has done webinars and podcasts for Animal Training Academy on how trainers can benefit from embracing what she calls “brave learning.” She is also an avid nose work competitor, currently competing at the Elite level with her dog, Tucker. She loves geeking out about the science of training, and all things dog, and can be reached on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sarah.owings.9

Nicole Wiebusch started competing in dog sports as a teenager in the 90’s and quickly became addicted to the sport of obedience.

In 2001, she acquired a golden retriever named Tucker who taught her that traditional methods weren’t the best way to a happy confident dog. This realization started her on the journey to positive reinforcement training. 

In 2008, Nicole started her own dog training business, Golden Paws Dog Training LLC, and teaches both pet owners and dog sports people dog-friendly training methods.  She started taking classes with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy in 2013 and actively competes in a variety of performance events with her three golden retrievers. 

Nicole’s golden retriever Toby UDX2 OM3 RAE was retired due to physical problems just 30 points shy of finishing his OTCH.  Her current competition dog Strive has earned her UD and is working on her UDX.  Toby and Strive both have multiple High in Trials in Obedience and High Combineds in both Obedience and Rally.  Nicole’s dogs also hold advanced Agility and Rally titles, as well as hunting, dock diving, and TEAM titles. 

In addition to operating Golden Paws Dog Training, Nicole is a field dog trainer for a service dog organization, a Canine Good Citizen and Trick Dog Evaluator, a Professional Member of the APDT, an instructor for the Fenzi Pet Professionals Program, a TEAM judge, and has earned the Obedience/Rally/Freestyle Trainer’s Certificate from FDSA.

Sue graduated from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, NY, in 1980.  After three years in private practice, she joined the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.  While on active duty, she completed a 3 year residency in small animal surgery at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX and became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.  She retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2004, after almost 21 year on active duty.  After working for a year on a horse farm in Idaho, she returned to Ithaca to join the staff at Colonial Veterinary Hospital as their second surgeon.  

Sue retired from Colonial in December 2009. (Her on-call schedule was interfering with her dog show weekends!)  The following month, she started working for Shelter Outreach Services, a high quality, high volume spay-neuter organization.  About the same time, Sue joined her colleague, a physical therapist/licensed veterinary technician, to start a canine sports medicine practice at the Animal Performance and Therapy Center, in Genoa, NY.  The practice is limited to performance dogs.  

Sue showed her first obedience dog, a beagle, Tristan, to a CDX in 1978. Her second beagle, Devon, earned a UD. Her third beagle, Charm, earned a VCD2, and was one of the most titled breed champion bitches in the history of the breed: CH Wilkeep Third Time's A Charm UD, RE, MX, MXJ, AXP, AJP, TD. Two golden retrievers, between the beagles, were great pets and therapy dogs. Sue currently is preparing her beagle, Ivy (CH MACH Wilkeep Ivy League, CDX, RN, TD) for the utility ring.

I’ve always lived around, and loved, dogs. 

And science. 

Which is why for the last 20 odd years, starting with a BSc in Animal Behaviour and Psychology, I’ve been studying and applying the scientific underpinnings and practical application of compassionate dog training. 

2 years ago, after many years as a professional dog trainer, I decided to concentrate on my writing – my second big passion! I now freelance; creating content such as blog posts, emails and articles for professional dog trainers who’d rather be tossing treats than tapping keys.

In my spare time I’m  a competition obedience junkie. I love the challenge of teaching beautiful heelwork with snappy, flashy precision!  I have one Obedience Grand Champion and hopefully, a new one in the making. Time will tell with that, I’m sure.

Want to get in touch? Please email me at sarah.ripley@orcon.net.nz

Kimbery Palermo is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a Certified Control Unleashed InstructoBlueDog founder and trainer Kim Palermo has been training dogs personally for 25 years and professionally for over 10 years. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a Certified Control Unleashed Instructor, a Level 1 TAGteacher, and an AKC Canine Good Citizen & S.T.A.R. Puppy evaluator. She has a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire with a minor in Animal Behavior and Psychology.

Kim has only ever wanted to work with animals. She grew up surrounded by many pets of all different shapes and sizes, raised litters of puppies, competed in horse shows and dog shows, and has been working in the pet industry since she could get a job. In 2008, she followed her dream and started BlueDog as a solo dog walker. Very soon she became so busy that she began hiring employees to help her, and in 2011 she pursued her lifelong passion for training dogs by opening BlueDog’s very first training facility in Andover. Since then, Kim continues to grow and improve her business and expand her knowledge endlessly.

Kim is a Certified Control Unleashed Instructor and specializes in dogs that have big feelings about the world around them. She is the CU Teaching Assistant for a worldwide dog training school, Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, has taught CU in dog sports workshops, and presented in the Control Unleashed Conference. Her passion is helping other trainers pursue their dreams. She is a mentor for the Control Unleashed certification process, a CATCH Canine Trainers Academy mentor, and has mentored a number of local trainers directly through BlueDog who have gone on to have successful careers in their field.

Kim actively trains for and competes in Rally-Obedience and Obedience, also trains for Nose Work, Agility, and Herding with her two sports dogs, Jane her Collie and Walt her Miniature Poodle, and occasionally competes in a few other sports like FastCat and Barn Hunt. She owns three other dogs: two Collies named Reese and Lincoln and a Golden Retriever named Fern, as well as a clicker trained cat named Fig. She is the vice president of the Collie Club of New Hampshire, working towards building more opportunities for performance sports for Collies. During her free time she likes to escape to the woods to hike, is a beekeeper, raises a flock of chickens, ducks, turkeys, and guinea hens, and dreams of the day when she has a farm.

Liz started out training dogs in 1996, competing for fun in agility with her first rescue dogs.

Shortly afterwards, she shifted into pet dog training, teaching beginner and advanced pet dog manners classes, puppy classes and offering private training in both city/suburban and country areas. The time she spent working in rescue organizations, pet shops, in homes and quarantine kennels helped her develop a deeper understanding of dogs and other pets, and how they interact both with us and with each other.

Liz currently lives in rural Australia with a young daughter and three dogs, three cats and an assortment of rats, horses and sheep. She is now focused on online titling and training with her own dogs — the ideal alternative for country trainers!

Kristin is a truffle hunter, teacher, and trainer in the Pacific Northwest. She has been teaching and developing educational programs since 1998. Her business, Wagnificent K9 Truffle Dogs LLC, was founded in 2010 and enables her to explore her passion for truffle hunting with her own dogs while also teaching others to do so and educating them about the importance of developing a partnership with animals. For Kristin, when a student’s dog finds their very first truffle, it’s a magical moment! Every single time. And while her students are successful at finding truffles, she relentlessly reminds them that “it’s just a truffle” and everything comes down to the relationship they share.

Laura Waudby (she/her) trains and competes in obedience, rally, and agility. She was halfway to her OTCH with her UDX corgi, Lance, before his unexpected early retirement. She also has championship titles in USDAA and UKI agility. Laura was previously a service dog trainer for 10 years in a variety of roles from directly training the dogs for their specific jobs, to helping the puppy raisers and clients with how to train their dogs.

Due to the special behavior needs of her duck tolling retriever, Vito, Laura developed a strong interest in learning how to create motivation and confidence in dogs that struggle, either through genetics or through less than ideal training, to make it into the competition ring. Laura is excited to bring her insight and talents to the Fenzi Academy team!

Laura's personal website is TandemDogSports.com and Laura shares training content regularly on facebook (Laura Waudby), Instagram (@laura.waudby), and TikTok (@laura.waudby).