Our Story

The Maine Dog Training Company has reinvented itself several times over the years. Teri Robinson started as a one woman show in 2003, teaching at several training/daycare facilities in Southern Maine. Feeling the need to 'get back in the trenches', Teri took a management position at a local shelter in 2010 where she met Amanda. Fast friends, their common interest in dog behavior, training, rescue and performance sports (agility and retriever  training) eventually cemented a partnership. Together, their mission is to give dogs and owners the quality of life they deserve.

Teri's "staff" dogs - Brees, Zuzu, Lumi and Porter - have work experience as class assistants, demo dogs, and play therapy experts. Their activities include agility, obedience, protection sports, tracking and nose work.

Teri Robinson 
Teri Robinson has over 25 years of animal care experience, studied psychology and animal behavior at USM and has been helping dog owners solve problems for over a decade. 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 the Shelter Dog Training Program.

While Teri's formal obedience experience stems from IPO (Shutzhund) and AKC Obedience in the performance ring, her adaptation and application of those skills to the real world is what makes her training particularly effective. Along with obedience training, she also participates extensively in herding, conformation, agility and nose work.

Teri is a lifetime student and has completed 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.
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 Teri is a member of the  American Belgian Malinois Club  &  American Working Malinois Association  

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Amanda's "staff" dogs - Nuke, Gem and Zara - have work experience as Demo dogs, neutral dogs to help with reactivity and class assistants . Their activities include Retriever training, agility,  obedience and nose work.

Amanda Stearns 
​​Amanda Stearns has spent a lifetime with dogs.  As a child, she spent countless hours with her father training English Setters for bird hunting and Labrador Retrievers for duck and goose hunting.  After recently retiring from a career in municipal planning, she has joined the Maine Dog Training Company team to pursue her lifelong joy of dog training. 

Amanda spent 8 years training her own dogs for competitive retriever field trials. Finding herself less interested in competing and more interested in training, she continues to teach performance concepts to her dogs, integrating them into recreational activities. Amanda can be found on any given day walking the many trails in the Cumberland area with one or more of her dogs.

Amanda uses positive reinforcement training combined with e-collar conditioning and reinforcement to create a balanced set of tools to keep her dogs safe, respectful of others and allow them the freedom to enjoy off-leash sports. She adds to the already robust menu of training options offered by Maine Dog Training Company, including private sessions and recreational retrieving.  

Please e-mail Amanda with any questions!