Olean Kennel Club
Meet Our Trainers!
Amanda
Agility & Manners
AKC Evaluator for STAR Puppy, CGC & Trick Dog Titles
Amanda is an active competitor in AKC agility and conformation (dog shows) with her pugs. She has experience training dogs for their S.T.A.R. Puppy, Canine Good Citizen and Trick Dog titles, and has done Rally and Therapy Dog work with her previous pups.
Amanda's primary goal in all of her classes is to help pet owners learn techniques to communicate fairly and (hopefully) clearly with their dogs through honest body language, building value in verbal/physical cues, and reinforcing correct behavior. She doesn't train your dog, she trains you to train your own dog!
Donna
Bonding through Trick Teaching
Donna first became involved with the OKC in 2015. She and her dog, Ellie, participate in many AKC sports including agility, rally, scent work, tracking, and trick dog. In fact, Ellie has earned the highest level possible in Trick Dog titles – Elite Performer! Donna and Ellie also participate in other dog sports such as Nose Work and Barn Hunt. In addition, Ellie is a registered therapy dog. Donna is a certified dog trainer (ABCDT) through Animal Behavior College and as a trick dog instructor (CTDI) through Do More with Your Dog.
Beth
Puppy STAR, CGC, Therapy Dog, Multilevel Obedience, Rally
AKC Evaluator for STAR Puppy, CGC & Trick Dog
Evaluator for Therapy Dog International
Beth has been active in AKC obedience, rally, and agility and has worked with therapy dogs since the mid-90’s. She has also participated in AKC conformation, carting, tracking, lure coursing, field work, and scent work as well as UKC obedience and NACSW nose works sports. She is an Evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen / STAR program as well as Therapy Dog’s International and is a Certified instructor, #1097, through the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors (NADOI) with additional certification from NADOI in puppy training.
Jo Ann
Puppy Start Right, STAR Puppy, CGC
Jo Ann has been involved with dogs and dog sports for most of her life. She has participated in conformation showing, Scent Works, Fast Cat, Barn Hunt, Happy Ratters, Rally Obedience, and so much more. She enjoys being the trial secretary for many local Scent works trials, and also judges for USCSS trials. When she isn't behind the scenes crunching numbers you can see her trialing with her 2 Havanese (Minnie and Lucy), Standard Poodle (Stig), or even her little "terrier who isn't a terrier" (Desi).
Clarisse
STAR Puppy, CGC, Preparation for Sports, Senior dog fun
AKC Evaluator for STAR Puppy, CGC & Trick dog
I grew up doing 4h horses and dogs and competed with horses. After graduating high school I was a riding instructor and horse trainer, but continued to actively train dogs on the side. I started working in shelter medicine in 2015. In that position I developed a training and rehab program primarily for dogs (with some focus on cats), where I gained experience working with hundreds of dogs of different breeds and backgrounds in a high stress environment. The program, which was especially geared for hard to adopt and reactive dogs, added enrichment and training for dogs, provided education for staff and volunteers, and after some training and socializing, many dogs who had waited years finally went home. While working for the shelter I took puppy and agility classes through the OKC and graduated college with an associates in psychology. I'm now an AKC CGC evaluator, compete in AKC agility and rally, NADD, and kicksled and run canicross noncompetatively.
Kristina
Multilevel Obedience, AKC Evaluator for STAR Puppy, CGC, Trick & ACT
Kristina has been a dog person her whole life. Dogs are her passion. Kris raised a guiding eye puppy in high school and that started the training journey. She has played and competed in obedience and rally for over 20 years. Agility, however, is her true love. She has competed in many venues at the highest level. Her Bullmastiff, Ruby, was an agility champion. Kris doesn’t believe in “one training philosophy”, rather she believes in dealing with the dog in front of you. Every dog is an individual. Kristina loves to find how to activate the dog's individual brain. Sometimes activating owners' minds as well. Kris makes training fun!! You never know it all and it’s fun to keep learning! She is also a certified CGC ,ACT and trick dog evaluator. Kris currently owns a bulldog mix and a bullmastiff. They enjoy hiking, exploring and walking every day!!! Her dogs are her companions first and foremost.
Becoming a Trainer at OKC
Olean Kennel Club classes are led by several of our trusted and experienced club members. These members have volunteered to share their knowledge and love of dog training and sports with the public.
Club members who want to lead classes must apply to the club's board of directors, and meet numerous criteria to be allowed to offer classes at our facility. Each instructor is highly active in our club affairs and activities, and has demonstrated not only proficiency, research, and ample training in their course topics, but also the ability to communicate this knowledge to their students and their dogs. Our own members make up a significant portion of our class rosters - so you know that we trust our fellow Instructor-Members! Additionally, we maintain an active training committee who shadows classes, provide instructor feedback, and share resources for continuing instructor education.
Most of our instructors are avid competitors and exhibitors in multiple dog sports with countless titles awarded to their dogs. And whether you have a puppy or a senior, a purebred or an All-American dog, or if this is your first dog or 10th - all of our instructors welcome you to come try a new activity with your canine best friend.
Photo Release, Liability Waiver Info
Olean Kennel Club requires all class participants to acknowledge the inherent risks of dog training and group classes. Our priority is for everyone to have a safe and fun class experience. Please be sure to review our COVID Mitigation Protocols and Hold Harmless (Liability) Waiver, which require your signature (check box approval) as the last step before you submit your class registration form.
Please also consider approving the Photo Release form, which allows us to post your dog's photo on our social media pages and/or website to celebrate your successes in class!
We encourage you to save a copy of these waivers in your records (Click here for pdf). Your instructor may have additional waivers or class policies for you to review and sign. Contact your instructor if you have any questions about the club's policies and they will put you in touch with club leadership if need be.