Julie Dorsey
Director of Training

In 1999 Julie Dorsey started out with her first dog, Keri, by taking both agility and obedience classes and quickly fell in love with dog training.  Since then, she has trained, titled, and competed at the highest levels and thoroughly enjoys it. She now teaches other people to love training their dogs as much as she does.

Her teaching style is all about having a good time with your dog and getting your dog to be anxious and eager to learn.  This is accomplished by using humane and positive methods which reward the dog for performing a certain behavior instead of correcting a dog for doing it wrong. This way the dog learns much easier and the bond that is created between the dog and handler is strengthened.

• Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT)
• Judge for APDT Level One Rally Obedience
• Judge for APDT Level Two Rally Obedience
• Representative for APDT Rally
• Judge for UKC Rally Obedience – all levels

She loves and shares her life with two Dobermans, a Weimaraner, and a Yellow Lab.  

Keri – U-CDX  UACHX  Smack-Dab's Cash N Keri  CDX  RE  OA  MXJ  AJP  CGC  TT  TDI-AOV RL-1  RL-2  RL-3.
She was the # 2 AG II UKC Agility All-Star for 2004, and #3 Ag II All Star for 2003.
APDT Level 2 & 3 Awards of Excellence  

Halo - U-AGI  Smack-Dab’s Tokyo Rose  CGC  TDI  

Mayer  - Arnstadt’s Waveland Wagger  TD  RA  NSD  NRD  CGC  TDI

 Lily Beau – Gregoire’s Wrigley’s Ivy  RN  RL-1 APDT Level 1 Award of Excellence, and Our Dock Diving “Water Dog Extraordinaire!”  

And in remembrance of our “Angel” Tizzi – U-CD  U-ACHX  Smack-Dab’s Sky High  CD  NA  OAJ  CGC

Cindy Masterson, ABCDT, CPDT

Photo courtesy of SiriusPet Images - Karen Hollis

Cindy has been involved in dog training for over 18 years. She enjoys showing how much fun training and developing a relationship with your dog can be through positive reward based methods. She stays up to date on training methods by regularly attending workshops and seminars.

Cindy is an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, a volunteer at DuPage County Animal Care and Control, and is graduated as a certified dog trainer through Animal Behavior College. She is also a member of APDT.

She shares her home with her husband, two children and two dogs. She currently does Rally Obedience with her standard poodle, Annie and agility with her havenese, Shorty.

Annie - Nightwind Jaspers Ghost CGC, RN, RL1
Shorty - TCM La Cucaracha CGC, CL1-R, CL1-H, TBAD, TG1, TG2  

When Roxanne was 12 years old she trained the family dachshund using an obedience training book from the neighborhood library. She had to keep renewing the book until she and the dog completed all of the Novice Obedience exercises. She got her real start in competitive obedience in 1982 with a Shetland Sheepdog, earning a CD and a CDX in six consecutive trials.

Since those long ago days, Roxanne’s experience and understanding of how dogs learn has grown substantially. Roxanne’s educational focus was on the human-animal bond and humane education. 

She is certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers and is an evaluator for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen program (CGC).

Her eight years of experience as a foster home for rescue dogs showed that many relinquishments can be avoided with appropriate training and behavior counseling. For five years Roxanne taught dog training to youth through a local 4-H program. She has taught basic obedience since 2001 and Rally obedience since 2006.

For Roxanne, it’s all about the journey. She finds the process of teaching and learning far more engaging than the act of competing. On this learning quest Roxanne and her dogs have explored the worlds of agility, obedience, rally, sheep herding, sled pulling and tracking. Roxanne’s most significant mission, however, has been her fifteen years of experience in animal assisted therapy (AAT) partnering with four different dogs and a cat.

Roxanne and her animal partners have worked in diverse settings including rehabilitation units, correctional facilities, classrooms and residential facilities. In addition to her practical experience Roxanne has attended conferences and workshops on the human-animal bond sponsored by University of Michigan, Tufts and Censhare, and visited therapeutic sites such as Green Chimneys in New York. She has presented courses on AAT to volunteers and professionals including the Illinois School Social workers. In addition to their regular therapy programs Roxanne and her canine partner Onchu are members of a crisis response unit.

Diane Everson

Diane was a public school teacher for 34 years, teaching and coaching junior high students. Using these skills of communicating, she is now working with students of the four-legged variety.

Diane does extensive volunteer work with Therapy Dogs International along with her sweet Aussie Jane. They visit rehab centers, work with special needs children at one of the local elementary schools and have instituted the Read to the Dog program at several of the local libraries. 

Diane coaches people on how to have fun with their dogs by training in rally obedience.  She says, “Having a dog and training that dog should be one of the happiest times you can have. Each and every skill or trick we teach them should be done with love and respect. We expect them to give us 100% of their focus while we are working, and we should do the same for them. They look to us for leadership. That leadership should never betray them through harsh or negative treatment. Through training with positive reinforcement, you will gain a loyal companion for a lifetime. I strongly feel teaching obedience and rally obedience in this manner will show your true personality and produce the best in both of you!”
She shares her life with her 9 year old Australian Shepherd (Aussie Jane) and her 4 year old Border Collie/Great Pyrenees (Winston Churchill).

Aussie Jane – CGC, TDIAOV, RL1X2, RL2X2, RL3, ARCHX, RLV, URO1, CW-SR, CW-AR, CW-ZR1, CW-OB1
Award of Excellence in - RL1, RL3, RLV
AMBOR NATIONAL in 2007 - 2nd overall in class

Winston – RL1X2, URO1, CW-SR, CW-ZR1, CW-OB1

Chris Eastwood