Authors (20)

Alla is a long time FDSA student and is currently working on obedience, rally, agility, nosework, and tricks with her great dane Lily and aussie Dante.

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...

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

Erin (she/her) is a lifelong dog enthusiast from Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. Erin is certified as a Karen Pryor Academy Training Partner, a Certified Professional Canine Fitness Trainer, a Licensed Family Dog Mediator, and as a Cani-Fit Leader, ...

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.

Amy Johnson (she/her) is the official show photographer for many of the premier agility events in the United States, including the AKC National Agility Championships, AKC Agility Invitational, USDAA Cynosport World Games, UKI US Open, and NADAC Championships, as well as numerous local trials, regional events, and breed national specialties. She has photographed a wide variety of dog sports, including agility, obedience, rally, and conformation. (Click here for full bio and to view Amy's upcoming courses.)...

Liz Joyce has been at the forefront of the fitness industry since 2006, with a specialized focus on the unique needs of dog handlers ...

Leslie Eide (she/her) graduated from Colorado State University’s veterinary school in 2006. She completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine in Albuquerque, NM. She continued her education by becoming certified in canine rehabilitation through the Canine Rehab Institute...

Deborah Jones, Ph.D. (she/her) is a psychologist who specializes in learning theory and social behavior. She taught a variety of psychology courses at Kent State University for the past 20 years. Deb has been training dogs for performance events for the past 25 years and was an early...

Julie Daniels (she/her) won her first award for writing in the fourth grade, and she was training dogs long before that. Today Julie Daniels is one of the foremost names in dog agility in the United States. She was one of the early champions of the sport and helped many clubs throughout the country...

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

Hélène Lawler (she/her) got her first dog, a border collie named Jake, in 1989 and has been training dogs ever since. Over the years, she has trained in obedience, search and rescue, protection sports, rally, tricks, and freestyle, among others. She discovered agility in 2004, and herding in 2005, which have become her main focus and passion in dog sports. (Click here for full bio and to view Hélène's upcoming courses)...

Deborah (Gross) Torraca (she/her), 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...

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.

Jessica Perry Hekman (she/her) is a veterinary researcher who is fascinated by dog behavior. After eleven years working as a computer programmer, she decided to go back to school to research the causes of behavior problems in dogs. She received her veterinary degree in 2012 from the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts, where she also received a Master’s degree for her work on stress behaviors in hospitalized dogs. After graduation, she completed a year-long internship specializing in shelter medicine at the University of Florida Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program. She received her PhD in genetics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studying a group of foxes (often known as the “Siberian silver foxes”) which have been bred over many generations to be friendly to humans....

Nancy Gagliardi Little (she/her) has been training dogs since the early 1980s, when she put an OTCH on her Novice A dog, a Labrador retriever. Since then she has put many advanced obedience titles on her dogs, including 4 AKC OTCH titles, 6 UD titles, 3 UDX titles, and multiple...

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.

Nancy (she/her) is a certified trainer with the CCPDT, and a certified behavior consultant with the IAABC. She teaches seminars, webinars, and workshops on dog training, dog behavior, and the business end of training throughout Canada, the U.S., and Europe. (Click here for full bio and to view Nancy's upcoming courses)...

Nicole Wiebusch CPDT-KA (she/her) has been active in dog sports for over 25 years. What began with 4-H quickly grew into a lifelong passion for dog sports. (Click here for full bio and to view Nicole's upcoming courses)...

Stacy Barnett is a top nosework competitor and trainer, with many Summit Level titles in the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW), (Judd SMTx3, Brava SMTx5, Powder SMTx5). She is also a Wilderness SAR K9 handler with her certified dog, K9 Prize. Stacy has been a faculty member at FDSA since 2015 (Click here for full bio and to view Stacy's upcoming courses)...