WLAOTC - Meet Our Trainers

WLAOTC Home | Site Map

Meet Our Trainers

Danielle - Agility

Tawn - Obedience and Conformation

Gabrielle - Obedience

Debbie - Obedience

Back to Classes Page

Tawn

I have been involved in the sport of dogs since I was eight years old and checked out Milo Pearsall’s “Obedience Training Your Dog” from the local public library. I was enthralled with the visions that the book opened up for me and proceeded to train, not only my family’s own collies and mutts, but every dog in the neighborhood that happened to venture through our backyard. No fences or leash laws in those days in rural Indiana.

While I was a sophomore at UCLA, I acquired a sheltie mix puppy from the pound, snuck him into my “no dogs allowed” apartment and took him to class with me every day. While passing Stoner Park one evening, I spotted a dog obedience class in session and decided that “Bandit” and I should enroll. I was hooked and Bandit and I went on to attend classes all the way through Utility. In those days, there were no formal degrees for mixed breeds, but we were able to get the equivalent of our All American UD by competing in match competition.

In 1974, my husband and I moved to Malibu and I became an assistant trainer for Haleridge Kennels. Evelyn and Jimmy Hale raised English and Irish Setters and had raised and trained the Irish that were used in the making of “Big Red”. I took over the job of training the dogs of their private clients and assisting with the group classes they taught for the Malibu Township Council. In 1978, the Hales retired to Big Bear and turned their classes over to me. I have taught novice, advanced novice, open and utility in Malibu since then. I began teaching for the West Los Angeles Obedience Training Club in 1998 and teach advanced novice, competition obedience, open, utility, and conformation handling classes.

Over the years, my methods of dog training have changed considerably, from the old “never use food, or they won’t obey you unless they’re hungry” philosophy to becoming an avowed enthusiast of clicker training. Dogs and the people who love and train them are all different. A method of training which works for one team may not be ideal for another. As a dog AND people trainer, I believe it is my job to help the owner find and effectively use the method which works best for them, as long as the results are positive for dog and owner alike. In my classes, you may well find the dog and handler teams using different methods to accomplish the same goals. I think this flexibility make for a unique and rewarding group training experience.

My current dogs are all Keeshonden. I have been breeding, training, and showing Kees in conformation, obedience, agility, and therapy dog work since 1977 under my “Shoreline” kennel prefix. I have bred 37 conformation champions, 16 CD’s, 5 CDX,s, 1 UD, and numerous agility titles.. Several of my dogs also work as therapy dogs. I am the President of the Keeshond Club of Southern California and also serve as the Rescue Chairman and Health Committee Chairman for the Keeshond Club of America.

In my non-dog life, I am a graduate of UCLA with a degree in Psychology and work as a bureaucrat for the State of California, where I am the Southern California Director for Medi-Cal Disability. I am married to a very patient husband and have a daughter who is also very active in showing dogs and horses.

Danielle

Danielle has put NATCHs on two Australian Shepherds and is close to a NADAC championship on a third Aussie. She came to dog training through horses. For the last twenty years, she has trained horses and taught riding while also competing successfuly on the Paint Horse circuit.

Gabrielle

In 2007, I began teaching Novice obedience classes for WLAOTC. This year, in addition to Novice classes, I am also teaching an Intermediate obedience class. My goal is for my students to learn how to communicate successfully with their dogs which includes understanding what their dogs are trying to communicate back. If both people and dogs are comfortable with the same vocabulary then training becomes a conversation, a dance, and a pleasure.

While I’ve had dogs since I was a teen and even took WLAOTC Novice obedience classes with my dogs as far back as 1981, I never knew anything about competitive obedience until I began taking classes with our very own Tawn Sinclair. I started classes just to get my then hellion dogs under some control but became interested in going on in training while watching Tawn’s higher level classes. She was always very encouraging with both my present dogs and pushed me to get an AKC recognition of one of my shelter dogs so that he could compete in AKC obedience trials. I learned the ins and outs of obedience competition from Tawn and many of our WLAOTC members and, of course, so did my dogs. I’m happy to say we’ve enjoyed some success* but the biggest prize is the deepening of the bond my dogs and I share.

In addition to dog training, I’ve worked in a number of eclectic jobs including costumer for Club Med in the French West Indies, administrative assistant at the L.A. City Public Library main branch, photo archivist at the Getty Center, horticulturist at the Getty Villa, ecology and natural history instructor for the L.A. Museum of Natural History as well as for the Santa Monica Mountains Resource Conservation District, the Mountains Education Program, the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry, and many public and private schools. I hold a degree in Communication Studies from UCLA and one in Biology from CSUN. I’ve enjoyed participation in biological field research in our local mountains, deserts and coastal regions as well as in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Venezuela. Currently, I am a substitute teacher in the Santa Monica/Malibu School District and work in diverse classrooms from pre-school through high school and from advanced placement to special education.

* One of my dogs was nationally ranked as number 10 Brittany in AKC obedience trials in 2006. He has also earned a High In Trial honor with a 199.5 score (out of 200 possible points).

Debbie

Debbie received her first dog, a poodle, for her sixth birthday (after much pleading to her parents) and took her first formal training class at age 11, with the family Saint Bernard. She is a graduate of Triple Crown Academy, completing the Canine Training Specialist Certification under some of the world's foremost authorities on dog behavior and training. She also attended Martin Deeley's International School For Dog Trainers, studying with Mr. Deeley to become an E-Touch method remote collar dog trainer. Her experience includes puppy and dog obedience, behavior modification, problem solving, agility, rally, clicker and tricks, sheepherding, therapy dog work, rescue, flyball, grooming, & CGC. She has put many titles on different dogs, and her dogs have appeared in movies and on TV. She is currently a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals, West Los Angeles Obedience Training Club, & the Papillon Club of Southern California. She has served on the Board of Directors for WLAOTC, and served as Director for Santa Monica Dog Owners Group, helping overturn laws that prevented leashed dogs from entering any Santa Monica park, and opening the first two off leash parks in the city.

Debbie is a firm believer that all dogs, and owners, can benefit from consistent, positive training. She likes to say "There are many tools in the toolbox, we need to find what works for each team, there is no "one size fits all" in dog training. And remember, bad dogs need training, good dogs deserve it!"

WLAOTC Home | Site Map