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Teri Robinson, founder and owner of the Maine Dog Training Company, has over 30 years of animal care experience. She studied psychology and animal behavior at USM and has been helping dog owners solve problems for more than two decades. As the former manager/director of training for a large dog daycare/training facility in Portland, she created the dog training curriculum, taught classes, organized seminars and agility trials, and oversaw the care of 50 dogs a day. Teri served as the kennel manager at the Animal Refuge League, overseeing the care for over 700 dogs a year and creating their Shelter Dog Training Program.
While Teri’s formal obedience experience stems from IGP (Shutzhund) and AKC Obedience, her adaptation and application of those skills to the real world is what makes her training particularly effective. She has titled dogs in IGP (Schutzhund), AKC obedience, herding, conformation, and agility.
Teri is a lifetime student and has completed 40 hours of an operant conditioning training course with Mike Suttle of Logan Haus Kennel, a four-day NePoPo seminar presented by Pat Stuart, The Principles of Dog Training with Michael Ellis, and The Shelter Dog Program with Sue Sternberg and Pia Silvani. She regularly attends behavior seminars featuring Kathy Sdao, Sarah Kalnajs, Dr. Nicholas Dodman and Suzanne Clothier.
Our staff dogs – Brees, Zuzu, Porter and Kiddo – have work experience as class assistants, demo dogs, and play therapy experts. Their activities include agility, obedience, protection sports, tracking and nose work. Brees – the corgi – is a professional print model with a ton of personality and incredible obedience. His images have been featured for various dog products, including Subaru dog gear. Contact us for his availability!
Andrea Hoskins has been involved with dog powered sports for the past six years, and currently co-owns a competitive sled dog kennel of 20 huskies with her teen daughter. Andrea has also participated in UKC Coonhound showings and events taking her as far from Maine as Kansas.
Her lifelong enjoyment of helping owners with their animals stems from decades of farm work, 15 years of pet store experience, and three years at a veterinary clinic. As an assistant trainer at MDTC, Andrea continues her training education, gaining experience and satisfaction on both a personal and professional level.
Dogs have been a part of Chris’ life for as long as she can remember, but it was getting that first CD title on her Rottweiler more than 30 years ago that had her hooked on dog sports. That naughty Rottie went on to get his CDX, which cinched the love of the game! Chris’ primary breed has been Portuguese Water Dogs, with the more recent addition of American Water Spaniels. She has titled numerous dogs in Obedience, Rally, Conformation, Agility, Nose Work, and Tracking. She also does Water Trials with the PWD and has numerous titles in that venue. With the more recent addition of the AWS, she is now dabbling in the Hunt Test world. In addition, Chris is a licensed veterinary technician with a certification in canine rehabilitation and has enjoyed that profession for nearly 30 years. She has taught PWD Water Training camps and workshops all along the east coast. Chris believes strongly that it is about the journey. The relationships and understanding that come along the way are what make that journey worthwhile.
Cassie Velez is from Brooklyn, NY and started at MDTC as an intern in 2023. She has since graduated from Suny Cobleskill with a Bachelor’s degree in Canine Training and Management and has since come on as a full time trainer.
Cassie’s focus is to help pet parents build a strong, loving and healthy relationship with their dogs. She trains and tracks all the dogs’ progress in our day school and has a special talent for building confidence in shy dogs. Cassie also sees private clients and teaches classes.
When not working at MDTC, she is training her dog, Opal, in IGP, hiking the Maine woods, reading, writing, and spending time with her collection of exotic spiders and snakes.
Rozalynn Parkhurst has been training animals since a very young age. Starting with her first horse at the age of nine, “Roz” joined 4-H and was head over heels for the love of training, competing her thoroughbred cross into the upper levels in eventing.
Years later, decided to make the switch into dog training, which she found to be very similar to horses. Rozalynn brought her first sport dog home at eight weeks old, and has never looked back. Not only has she started many police dogs, but she continues to compete with her own dog in the Protection Sports Association.
One of Rozalynn’s strongest beliefs as a dog trainer is to never stop learning and improving. Like all good trainers, she continues her education in weekly group trainings and seminars – not only in sport, but other methods and forms of training as well. As a core tenet of her training philosophy, her goal is to develop a mutual understanding between the dog and its owner, and to let the dog train you as much as you train your dog.
Rachel Perigny joined the Maine Dog Training Company team in the summer of 2021. She has been around dogs her whole life and has always had an interest in dogs and training.
As someone who strives to always be learning in this field, she worked at a veterinary hospital for seven years and as a veterinary technician for five years. She has raised and done foundational training for police dog prospects and has completed an animal behavior class at UNH. She has extensive experience with working dogs and owns two Belgian Malinois, Tikka and Akki, that she trains and titles in IGP. To round out her own pack, she also has two miniature Dachshunds, Eleanor and Phoenix, and a cat, Seda.
Amanda has her B.A. in Psychology, has continued education in careers involving behaviorism and leadership, is experienced with raising her three children with multiple dogs and has a passion for self development and learning new skills. She has hundreds of hours spanning multiple decades of self-guided study focused on dog training combined with hands on obedience work with her own dogs.
The MDTC philosophy of teaching owners to have a healthy relationship with their dog based on fairness, clarity and consistency is perfectly aligned with how Amanda has raised her two successful adult children, her young daughter and their three terrier mixes.
She believes in teaching children the proper way to behave around dogs and those dogs how to behave around children in keeping aware of the environment and energy levels appropriate for everyone. Training both simultaneously has resulted in well behaved pets that are members of the family who respect and obey even the youngest pack leader.
The Day School environment is the perfect place for pups to practice family inclusion skills with Amanda as she loves helping to mold confident and calm dogs that will make their owner proud.
The Maine Dog Training Company offers professional dog training services to dog owners in Maine and throughout the Northeast to solve unwanted dog problems and train dogs to be well-mannered companions. Services include Private Training, Group Classes, Board & Train, and more.
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