Lorraine joined the GSTLC in 2004 when she was exploring a career transition. After adopting a beautiful Sheppard mix named Grace who showed aggressive behavior toward other dogs, Lorraine discovered the joys of dog training. She went on to supplement her doctoral training in behavioral psychology with extensive reading about animal behavior and completion of the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Training certification course. Now a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, Lorraine has extensive experience conducting behavior evaluations for common and severe behavior issues and has taught all levels of classes offered by the Greater St. Louis Training Club, including Puppy, Family Dog, Canine Good Citizen preparation, Reactive Dog and Dogs With Issues. For the past 2 years she has also co-taught, with Lucy Bailey, the GSLTC’s Assistant Trainers course. Her knowledge of the theories of learning leads Lorraine to focus on dog training techniques that foster respect, trust and harmony between dogs and their human companions. Lorraine runs a private behavior and training consultation business, Lorraine Martinez Behavior Evaluations and Training, and most recently worked as the Behavior and Training Department Supervisor at the Humane Society of Missouri. She currently shares her home with an exuberant American Staffordshire Terrier named Sara, a comical Pit Bull named Dolly and a graceful, older Border Collie mix named Oreo.
Crystal Rolfe
Crystal joined GSLTC in 2006 with her new Boston Terrier pup,
Bender, and is now an active assistant in the classes. She has
worked with dogs most of her life and volunteered at the Humane
Society of Missouri at the age of 14. Since then, dogs have
always been a big part of her family. She tries to stay involved
with her own dogs as much as possible, always looking for fun
activities to do with them.
"The classes at GSLTC have been a real eye opener for me and
have refreshed my desire to become involved in a more active
way," says Crystal. "I'd love to help more folks learn how much
fun training can be, and that it truly does strengthen the bond we
share with our dogs."
In the past, Crystal has earned CGC and TT titles. She also did
Touch Therapy with a Brussels Griffon. Crystal is a certified all breed pet stylist in the city at a healthy pet market and has done a lot of rescue work with various groups. She currently shares her home with her husband Jim and 2 daughters (Chloe and Jessica), Kira the Shar-Pei/ Pitbull cross, Bender the Boston and several other critters.
Tina Ward
CPDT-KA
My name is Tina’s Logan, CGC, RAE, CD. Tina
is my human. She already knew a lot about
rescue dogs and dog training before she got me in
2004, but because of me she’s learned a whole lot
more. We first learned about GSLTC when we took
a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) class. Since then
we’ve taken lots and lots of classes and I’ve been
going to dog shows. I like going to shows a lot because they’re a whole lot of dogs, it’s really
exciting and I’ve won a lot of neat stuff. So far I’ve passed my Canine Good Citizen test and I’ve completed my Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE) and Companion Dog (CD) titles. It’s a lot of fun and I hope you and your dogs will enjoy spending time together as much as I love being with Tina and going to classes and doing all these fun things. In the picture you can see me, I’m the tall dark handsome Golden Retriever, and Jemma, she’s the short but mighty Golden Retriever, and Tina – she’s easy to spot since she’s the human.
Tina has been a member of GSLTC since 2004. She and her rescued/re-homed Golden Retrievers, Logan and Jemma, have been classaholics ever since. Although Tina has trained dogs and even horses in the past, her entry into the world of Rally Obedience and Obedience competitions has been recent.
Tina is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA). Her essay Winston – the “Untrainable” Setter was the winner of the 2010 National Train Your Dog essay contest. She has been active in the Shy Dog classes since 2006. As a trainer with GSLTC, she hopes to assists both human and canine partners in finding greater ease, joy and fun in their relationship.
Abbreviations:
Titles
APDT Association of Professional
Dog Trainers
CCPDT Certification Council for
Professional Dog Trainers.
CPDT-KA Certified Professional
Dog Trainer, Knowledge
Assessed
KPA CTP Karen Pryor Acedemy
Certified Training Partner
PSI Pet Sitters International
RVT Registered Veterinary
Technician
TAG Teaching with Acoustical
Guidance
VTS Veterinary Technician
Specialty
AKCAmerican Kennel Club CGC Canine Good Citizen CH Champion DC Dual Champion (CH and Field
Champion, or Herding
Champion) TC Triple Champion (DC and
Obedience, or Tracking or
Agility Champion) VCCH Versatile Companion
Champion (Obedience, Agility
and Tracking Champion) VCD1 Versatile Companion Dog 1
Preferred NA Novice Agility NAJ Novice Agility Jumper NAP Novice Agility Preferred NF Novice FAST NFP Novice FAST Preferred NJP Novice Jumpers w/Weaves
Preferred OA Open Agility OAJ Open Agility Jumper OAP Open Agility Preferred OF Open FAST OFP Open FAST Preferred OJP Open Jumpers w/Weaves
Preferred PAX Preferred Agility Excellent XF Excellent FAST XFP Excellent FAST
AKC Earthdog Titles JE Junior Earthdog SE Senior Earthdog ME Master Earthdog
AKC Field Titles AFC Amateur Field Champion FC Field Champion GDSC Gun Dog Stake Champion NAFC National Amateur Field
Champion NAGDC National Amateur Gundog
Champion NFC National Field Champion NGDC National Gundog Champion NOGDC National Open Gundog
Champion RGDSC Retrieving Gun Dog Stake
Champion
AKC Herding Titles HC Herding Champion HI Herding Intermediate HIAdsc Herding Intermediate
Course A (ducks, sheep,
cattle) HIBdsc Herding Intermediate
Course B (ducks, sheep,
cattle) HIC Herding Instinct Certificate HICs Herding Intermediate Course
C (sheep) HS Herding Started HSAdsc Herding Started Course A
(ducks, sheep, cattle) HSBdsc Herding Started Course B
(ducks, sheep, cattle) HSCs Herding Started Course C
AKC Obedience Titles CD Companion Dog CDX Companion Dog Excellent UD Utility Dog UDX Utility Dog Excellent OTCH Obedience Trial Champion NOC National Obedience
Champion
AKC Rally Titles RN Rally Novice RA Rally Advance RE Rally Excellent RAE Rally Advance Excellent
AKC Tracking Titles CT Champion Tracker TD Tracking Dog TDX Tracking Dog Excellent VST Variable Surface Tracking
AHBA American Herding Breed
Association HTD Herding Trial Dog HRD Herding Ranch Dog HTCh Herding Trial Champion HCTs Herding Capability Tested
(sheep)
ASCA Australian Shepherd Club
of America
ASCA-CD Companion Dog
ATTS American Temperament
Test Society TT Temperament Tested
GSMDCA Greater Swiss Mountain
Dog Club ofAmerica NWPD Novice Working Pack Dog WPD Working Pack Dog
IABCAInternational All Breed
Canine Association of America CAC National Champion UCICB International Champion
MBCA Mixed Breed Club of
America MB-CD Companion Dog MB-CDX Companion Dog Excellent MB-RN Rally Novice MB-RA Rally Advance MB-RE Rally Excellent MB-UD Utility Dog MB-UDX Utility Dog Excellent
NAFA North America Flyball
Association FD Flyball Dog FDCh Flyball Dog Champion FDCh-S Flyball Dog Champion-
Silver FDCh-G Flyball Dog Champion-
Gold FDX Flyball Dog Excellent FGDCh Flyball Grand Champion FM Flyball Master FMCh Flyball Master Champion FMX Flyball Master Excellent
TDAA Teacup Dog Agility
Association TBAD Teacup Beginner Agile Dog TIAD Teacup Intermediate Agile
Dog TSAD Teacup Superior Agile Dog TG1 Teacup Games Level 1 TG2 Teacup Games Level 2 TG3 Teacup Games Level 3
TDI Therapy Dog International
UKC United Kennel Club U-CD Companion Dog U-AG1 Agility 1 U-AG2 Agility 2
Linda Schulte
Linda joined GSLTC in early 1990s when she started training her first dog. She and her Welsh terriers have participated in obedience, rally obedience, clicker training, tricks, conformation showing, earthdog go-to-ground, terrier races, tracking, and agility. Her dogs have earned obedience, earthdog, and temperament titles (both CGC and TT). Linda breeds and shows Welsh terriers through Wysiwyg Welsh Terriers, which she co-owns with Lucy Bailey, and is webmaster for their site. She is the local rep for WTCARES, the national Welsh terrier club's rescue organization. Linda has served on the GSLTC Board, and has been the club’s obedience trial secretary for several years. Linda helped develop the Novice Rally obedience class and Advanced and Excellent Rally workshop (class).
Val Smith
Val has been training with GSLTC for over 20 years. She has held many positions on GSLTC's Board of Directors and has served as GSLTC’s President. Val has been an active member of the GSLTC's obedience trial committee (including trial chair). She has a background in animal behavior and animal husbandry. Val has worked as a zookeeper and is currently a vet tech. She is an AKC CGC evaluator and an AKC Hunt Test judge. Her chosen breed is the Vizsla, which has led her into the world of fieldwork as well as obedience, agility and conformation. Val says "I personally enjoy the companionship of my dogs and strive to help every class member achieve their personal goals so that they will also find their canine companions to be a lifetime pleasure."
Cinder Wilkinson-Kenner
KPA CTP, CPDT-KA
AKC CGC Evaluator
TAGteach Primary Certified
APDT professional member
PSI member
Cinder joined GSLTC in 2004. She has a long
history of animal training, including dogs, birds,
cats, and horses. Cinder switched over to clicker
training in 1995, because she was happy to find a
non-confrontational, non-painful method of clear
communication with animals.
Cinder has worked with several different obedience clubs in the past, done several years of dog rescue with Belgian Breeds, Alaskan Malamutes, Daschunds, and other breeds. She has worked as a Veterinary Technician and professional Pet Sitter in St. Louis and Chicago. In 2009, Cinder worked with the Humane Society of Missouri, an ASPCA behavior team and Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB to evaluate behavioral responses of over 500 pit bulls confiscated in an FBI dog-fighting bust. Cinder has shown her own dogs and client dogs in AKC and ASCA Obedience and AKC Rally, and has trained her own dogs in Herding, Agility and Tracking. She has extensive experience with Shy, Reactive and Aggressive dogs, and finds great satisfaction in helping these dogs and their handlers learn the skills to lead more normal lives.
Prevention of behavior problems is Cinder's first goal, and to that end she is a big advocate of Puppy socialization and training classes. She also likes to participate in public education events, helping the public learn about dog training, working with children training dogs and dog bite prevention workshops.
Cinder's current goals are to learn more about tracking and nose work, show her two currently working dogs to more titles and continue to build on the progress and success of Greater St. Louis Training Club's current program.
Cinder is also the owner of Best Friend Pet Care, LLC, a private training and in-home pet sitting business. She has a husband, 4 kids, and several animals. In her spare time, she likes to read, knit, garden, and run long distances.
Nancy Laffold
Nancy has recently joined GSLTC as an assistant trainer. She has been involved with the shelter training program at the Humane Society of Missouri for several years and has worked with several of her own dogs in obedience and agility. Nancy currently shares her home with an American cocker spaniel, an English cocker spaniel, and a cocker spaniel mix. Over the last few years she has also fostered many dogs and puppies of various breeds through the Humane Society of Missouri. Nancy is most interested in helping pet owners train their dogs to be good family pets.
Lisa Ellis
Director, GSLTC
Lisa joined the GSLTC in 2010. She became dedicated to learning positive training methods when her dog Scout showed great improvement in a class using clicker training for dog reactivity. She has volunteered to provide enrichment and training to shelter dogs to improve their likelihood of adoption. She enjoys working with the GSLTC to further her education regarding dog behavior and help others improve their relationship with their dogs. Her pit bull mix Ruby and lab chow mix Scout keep her on the lookout for new ways to have fun together.
importance of taking a holistic approach to pet care
and that includes utilizing a positive approach to
training. Understanding and strengthening our
relationship with our pets is critical in building
strong bonds together. Utilizing positive training
methods is fun and challenging for both the handler
and the dog and Jeff enjoys helping new handlers
build strong bonds with their dogs as he has done with his rescue lab-mixes, Salem and Foster.
Patti Crites
Director, GSLTC
Patti joined GSLTC in 2007 after going through classes with her English Springer Spaniel, Stanley. Stanley found he had an aptitude for tricks and he was hooked. After attending Novice Obedience classes, Patti decided she wanted to share what she had learned. She especially loves seeing people having success training their happy dogs. Stanley currently allows Patti and her husband Doug to share his house with Buck, the Golden, and his two Maine Coon cats, Scribbles and Ziggy. Both cats are also in clicker training.
Nick Campbell
AKC CGC Evaluator
Nick has worked with animals since he was first able
to walk. He grew up understanding that behavior
problems are the number one reason pets are
relinquished by their owners and decided to do
something about it.
Nick has been a foster parent to numerous animals
with medical and behavioral challenges. Additionally,
he has worked with large numbers of rescue animals
to rehabilitate and prepare them for a successful
transition into their new homes. These experiences
have given Nick a special insight into animal behavior that he applies to all of his canine students.
A member of Greater St. Louis Training Club since 1996, Nick is also a graduate of the GSLTC Trainers Course, and has attended countless seminars featuring internationally recognized experts in animal behavior and training. Nick has mentored under some of the most experienced and talented instructors in this area. He currently owns a German Shepherd named Lenco that he has shown in competition Rally.
Although able to teach many different levels, Nicks’ favorites are the Puppy Classes.
1975, working in the animal shelter, Veterinary Medical Center,
Behavior and Training Department and Administration. She also
worked part-time for fifteen years at The St. Louis Animal Emergency
Clinic gaining invaluable experience in emergency medicine.
A 1990 graduate of the Jefferson College veterinary technology program, Linda became a registered veterinary technician with the state of Missouri that same year. Once she learned of the correlation between problem behaviors and animal surrenders, Linda selected behavior as the focus of her efforts.
Linda joined GSLTC in 1996 and has mentored under some very knowledgeable trainers who share her commitment to strengthening the bond between pets and their owners through reward-based training. A 2004 graduate of the Purdue University DOGS! Course, Linda has worked with a variety of dogs, cats and birds over the years and stresses the motto "The behavior that is rewarded will increase" to all her students. She has developed several programs at the Humane Society that work with animals surrendered from sub-standard and/or abusive environments.
Over the years, Linda has assisted in disaster-related missions (Hurricane Katrina, Missouri floods, and Oklahoma City tornadoes) as well as rescues of animal from abusive/neglected situations. In 2009 Linda and her department worked with an ASPCA behavior team and Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB to evaluate behavioral responses of over 500 pit bulls confiscated in an FBI dog-fighting bust.
She currently has a VTS in Behavior, is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, and is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Linda is a member of the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and a founding member of the Academy of Veterinary Behavior Technicians.
She has lectured at multiple national, state and local veterinary and animal welfare conferences.
Linda shares a home with her husband, Marty, son Nick, and a menagerie of dogs, cats and birds.
Bill Giese
Director, GSLTC
Chair, People Committee
Bill joined GSLTC in 2009 in when he enrolled in
GSLTC’s Trainers' course. Bill completed the
six-month class in October 2009, and immediately
began working as an assistant trainer in several of
the club’s classes. Bill became interested in
training after adopting a Dachshund puppy-mill
rescue named Sam, then more recently a mixed
breed girl, Libby, who came off the street and
straight into Bill’s heart and home. Libby posed
some behavior challenges, so Bill enrolled in the
club’s Shy Dog class and also obtained one-on-one
training assistance from a club member. Living with Sam and Libby, as well as a couple of rescued cats, and learning clicker training through the club has opened Bill’s eyes to the special relationship that we can have with our canine companions when that relationship is built on respect, patience, kindness, and lots of opportunity for fun and games. “I love helping others learn to live in harmony with their dogs and appreciate witnessing the relationships that develop between dogs and their humans - and that’s just what we do that in the Club’s training classes.” Bill aspires to obtain his CPDT and also attend the Karen Pryor Academy. As with training dogs, Bill is taking one step at a time and enjoying the journey. Bill and his wife, Linda, have previously been involved with a Dachshund breed rescue group and volunteered at a local shelter.
Debbie Baker
Debbie joined GSLTC in 2001. She says “I have had Cairn Terriers & Vizslas. I have put CH, CD, CDX, UD, & JH titles on my Vizslas. I enjoy teaching all levels of dog training. I have found over the years that training methods have moved in a new direction. I also do conformation & hunt tests with my Vizslas.” Debbie and Donna Yakel have been breeders of Vizslas for over 20 years, operating under the name of Jazzberry Vizslas.
Donna Yakel
Donna Yakel has belonged to GSLTC since 2001. She enjoys assisting with training classes. She has helped to train her Vizslas that she co-owns with Debbie Baker to earn 4 CD, 3 CDX, 1 UD, 4 JH and 4 CH. She has put an RN, RA, RE on her dog Hope. All of her Vizslas enjoy going to the nursing home to see their grandma and visit with the other residents. Donna says “We do a little bit of everything with our dogs: obedience, conformation, field, and just starting in agility.” Donna and Debbie Baker have been breeders of Vizslas for over 20 years, operating under the name of Jazzberry Vizslas.
Soila Sukupolvi-Petty
Director, GSLTC
Soila has been a member of GSLTC since 2006. She has 3 Chow Chows. Soila trains and competes with her Chows in AKC Rally and Obedience competition, earning titles of RN, RA, RE, RAE, and CD, and the Canine Good Citizen designation. Soila has trained one of her dogs to be a Certified Therapy Dog, they currently work as a Therapy Dog Team with the organization Love-on-a-Leash. Soila also volunteers her time at the Humane Society of Missouri as an Adoption Counselor and a Veterinary Assistant.
Susan Fishbein
Susan adopted a dog from a shelter that ended up
leading her down a path she never would have
imagined, igniting a passion for training, for special-
needs dogs and for rescue. The border collie mix
was so shy and unsocialized that she wouldn't
emerge from under the dining table, except to go
outside for potty breaks, for the first 3 weeks after
adoption. But working with Mysty, and taking her
to a training class led by a trainer who was a
devotee of positive training icons such as Ian
Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, and Trish King,
inspired her to learn more about training and behavior modification. Through the years, she has fostered many dogs and run a nationwide breed-specific rescue organization, but eventually decided that she wanted to focus more on improving her training skills and helping people keep their dogs. She is working toward completing the requirements for certification as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer.
Amy Mitchell
Amy has worked with rescue groups for seven years in the care
and rehabilitation of animals and has been training dogs for six
years. She began group training with Petsmart in 2006 and since
then has worked as a lead instructor for the Humane Society of
Missouri, the St. Charles Humane Society and as a consultant
with foster-based rescues such as the Greater St. Louis Dane
Rescue. In 2009, Amy also coordinated and directed a
socialization program for the HSMO federal dogfighting case
involving 500 pit bulls. Currently she is working in a unique program, Loosen the Leash, designed to teach confidence and critical thinking skills to at-risk youth through dog training. Although she currently does not share her life with a doggie companion, she has owned and fostered 5 pit bulls in the past and plans to get another one as soon as possible. She is in the process of acquiring her CPDT certification.
Nancy Roth
Nancy joined Greater St Louis Training Club around the year 1999, starting with a four month old Sheltie pup in the beginners class and completing a UDX with the same dog in November of 2005. She especially enjoys the partnership that develops between trainers and their dogs when they spend time learning together. She is currently working with her blue merle Sheltie pup, and is exclusively clicker training him, so far with very positive results. She has served as a Club Board Member several times, has served as the Newsletter Editor, and Club President.
Fran Beezley
Secretary, GSLTC
TAGteach Primary Certified
Fran joined the GSLTC in 2003 after taking a class with the club. After joining the club, she enrolled in one of the Assistant Trainers classes and has been teaching for GSLTC for several years. She and her dogs have earned the MB-CD and MB-CDX titles in Obedience as well as the MB-RAE title in Rally. She believes that through positive training an owner and his/her dog can not only have fun but a powerful bond will develop between them. She hopes to share that belief with all of her students and encourage them to further develop their relationship with their canine companions.
Bob Good
AKC CGC Evaluator
Bob came to GSLTC as a Puppy Kindergarten student. He and his Sheltie pup progressed into an amazing team. Bob went through the GSLTC Assistant Trainer's Class and became a sought after instructor, teaching Puppy classes, Tricks classes, and basic training classes. Bob competes in Agility and Obedience with his Shelties, as well as being a CHAMP Assistance Dog Therapy Team, visiting hospitals with his Sheltie, Jake. Bob and best friend Jake won "Highest Scoring Clicker Trained Dog" in our recent Trial. Bob is known as the "Master of Tricks", and his most recent pursuit is Canine Freestyle.
Mary Duncan
Director, GSLTC
Mary has been a member of Greater Saint Louis Training Club since 2005. Waverley, her first exuberant Lab, has proved to be an on-going training project. In fact after years of being trained by Waverley, Mary felt that she could help some other people with their dogs. She has taken on another exuberant lab, Finn, who is catching up fast with his big sister.
Leslie Gallagher
Leslie was born and raised in Boston, MA. She
graduated from the University of Massachusetts
with a BA in English. She went on for another three
years to get her Certification in Court Reporting.
She did depositions and mock trials for eight years
before getting married to her wonderful husband,
Tom. They have five daughters, the last of whom
they adopted from China. Leslie has been addicted
to dogs since she was in diapers, always having to
stop and pet a dog and taking many a stray home.
She has been a stay at home mother since 1994.
She started K9Z, Etc. pet care business in 2002 and became an assistant trainer for GSLTC in 2010. She loves to travel the world, cook, and be in the company of DOGS! Other residents at home are her coon hound, Jackpot and mini dachshund, Claudia. Although she loves all canines, her achilles heel is for black, geriatric and abused dogs. She is working toward her CPDT and is excited to add dog training to her repertoire. She's a member of APDT and Pet Sitters International.
Kim Conway
Kim joined the GSLTC in January of 09. She
doesn’t have pure breds or titles or anything like
that but she does have Riley, a mutt mix rescue
dog with some fear issues but overall, is a wonderful
dog. Interest in becoming a trainer led her to
websites, a couple of area schools, and some local
trainers for direction. Not being satisfied with the
information she received, she called her cousin who
raises Vizslas and she hooked Kim up with club
member Debbie Baker, who put Kim in touch with
Lucy Bailey. Lucy explained what the club does and what to expect and Kim has been on board ever since. Eager to start apprenticing, she acquired the hours needed to become an assistant trainer for the club. She continues working side-by-side with other trainers, gleaning from their years of experience and expertise. She volunteers where and when she can, and couldn’t have asked for a better group of trainers to be associated with and learn from. She is also working towards getting her CPDT
Lucy Bailey
KPA CTP
CPDT-KA
TAGteach Primary Certified
Lucy joined Greater St. Louis Training Club, Inc. in 1965 at the
age of 15. The knowledgeable and friendly instructors patiently
helped her train her Welsh terrier and encouraged her to enter
the club's annual obedience trial. In their first venture into the
sport of obedience, Lucy and her dog, Owen, won first place in
a Novice A class of 63 entries. They went on to earn a CDX title
and Lucy was firmly hooked on the sport of obedience before she
went off to college. Lucy became an Assistant Trainer in the
1970s and a Head Trainer soon after. She was instrumental in helping the club transition to all clicker training and in initiating the collaborative training program which GSLTC maintained with the Humane Society of Missouri for over a decade. She and GSLTC Trainer Linda Schulte raise, train and show their own dogs under the kennel name of Wysiwyg Welsh Terriers. Wysiwyg dogs participate in earthdog trials as well as obedience, agility, tracking and conformation events. Lucy is a Human Resources Training Manager, a member of the American Society for Training and Development, and the facilitator for the club’s Assistant Trainer preparation course. Lucy is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She owns and operates her own in-home dog training business, Dogs Unleashed LLC.
Dixie Tenny
KPA CTP, CPDT-KA
Dixie was a GSLTC member in the early 1980’s before moving to
Seattle; she rejoined GSLTC when she moved back to St. Louis in
2001. Dixie has owned and trained terriers (Welsh, Airedales,
Cairns), herding breeds (German, English, and Australian
Shepherds), toys (Papillon, Phalene, toy poodle-yorkie cross), an
Irish Wolfhound, and a Bernese Mountain Dog. Her training
experience includes tricks, tracking, terrier earthdog, and service
dog training as well as pet and competition training and behavior
consultation. Dixie founded two of the country’s first all-breed
purebred rescue organizations in the 1980’s. During her 13 years
working in rescue, Dixie's training focus turned from competition to
behavior. Dixie is an APDT Professional member, and attends seminars and conferences on many aspects of animal training and behavior. Dixie has three children and four stepsons. She and her husband live with a rotating menagerie of dogs, cats, and birds.
Abbey Spencer
Director GSLTC
Chair, Business Committee
Abbey has been a member of the GSLTC since the fall of 2009. She rescued her first dog, a shy little boy, Indy, in 2007. They moved to St. Louis together the following summer. She started as a volunteer, helping with Puppy Classes and found a true passion for behavior and training. She was so impressed by how effective and fun the GSLTC training techniques were that she jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Assistant Trainers course. The science of clicker training and positive reinforcement especially fascinate her. She loves contributing to a stronger relationship between people and their pets.
Linda Scroggins
Director GSLTC
Chair, Community Committee
Linda first learned of the GSLTC through volunteer
work with a local animal shelter. "I was raised with
Dalmatians and mixed breeds and come from a
long line of animal lovers, my grandfather trained
squirrels to scratch on the back door for food, but
it was not until I acquired my first boxer almost 6
years ago that I truly understood the importance of
training for these high energy, athletic dogs. My
boxer, Lola, has earned her CGC and had started
Rally classes before she unfortunately had to retire
due to health issues. Through my volunteer work
I’ve found my heart really lies with adult rescue dogs, especially the bully breeds who often land in shelters because no one has tapped into their wonderful energy and willingness to work. I was so impressed with the training methods used by the GSLTC and the bond that is built with dogs using these training methods that I knew this was something I wanted to be part of, so I began as an apprentice and completed GSLTC’s assistant trainers course." Linda's goal is to continue working towards becoming certified through CPDT. "I love clicker training and have also clicker trained several cats to do tricks and sit to have their nails trimmed. Once an animal learns clicker training the doors it can unlock are unlimited."
Jacob Kenner
Jacob joined GSLTC in 2004. Growing up on a farm,
he was always around many animals. Mostly, he
rode horses and ponies and played with his dogs and
cats. After he moved away from home he raised a
number of exotics and learned better methods to train
dogs and birds.
In 1999, Jacob got involved in fostering dogs with
Impact for Animals. Soon after, he adopted his
Lab/Pitbull mix, Nilla, whose kennel was tagged at the shelter with a sign reading, "Eats siding." She is a wonderful dog who was instrumental in helping with fostering other dogs for a number of years, and she never ate the siding, only one sock.
Though their training libraries were similar when they met, Jacob has broadened his knowledge of positive training since meeting his wife, Cinder Wilkinson-Kenner. He started by putting a CGC on Nilla at the Canine Olympics. He has attended a number of GSLTC hosted seminars and has been reading and practicing daily. He employs only positive training methods: mostly clicker with the animals, and TAG with his homeschooled children.
Kate Dolnick
Kate grew up in a home that was always filled with dogs and cats,
almost all of them being strays that had wandered into their lives.
But as a child, her main focus was with the horses she loved to ride
and hang out with. Back in 2000 she met her husband and fell in
love with his Golden retriever named Bear. That was the beginning
of a wonderful new love affair with dogs. Her three sons grew up
and moved out, and as an empty nester, it was just a natural thing
to fill her time with learning about dogs and how best to communiate
with them. She volunteered at a local shelter & realized how many
animals were surrendered because the owners had not correctly
trained or socialized their p\ups. Kate realized that helping others
communicate and work with their dogs was the best way to keep more dogs from the same unhappy fate. Through research she found the GSLTC and loved the positive approach that they used to work with their dogs. She joined the club back in 2009 and became an Assistant Trainer in 2010. She enjoys assisting in classes and is amazed at how much she continues to learn from the dogs and the other members. She fills her time by volunteering for two local shelters: helping to train and socialize the dogs, working at adoption events, occasionally fostering and is a member of the HSMO’s Emergency Response Team. Kate shares her home with a very patient husband and 4 rescued pets: Edda the feline “queen” of the menagerie, Sammy - an exceptionally gentle Golden retriever, Buddy - a somewhat bossy Chihuahua terrier mix, and Lulu - a goofy Pit bull mix.
Dog Trainers
