About Us:

Instructors

Sara Reusche, CPDT-KA, CVT became interested in dog training after adopting her first dog, Duke, from a local shelter. She has turned her love of animals and teaching into a career and is dual certified as a veterinary technician and professional dog trainer. Sara supports dog rescue. She has worked as a dog groomer, at several shelters in Minnesota as a vet tech and animal caretaker, and also spent some time as the Head Trainer at a Pit Bull rescue in New York state. She is an avid reader and attends seminars whenever possible. Sara purchased Paws Abilities in 2010.

Sara has two dogs, Layla and Dobby. Both are Minnesota White-Toed Chipmunk Dogs (AKA mutts). Layla competes in Rally Obedience (where she has earned several titles) and Canine Freestyle. Dobby was just adopted, and is learning new things every day. Sara frequently fosters dogs for rescue organizations, so often has a third dog living with her as well.

Sarala Helmer, CPDT-KA grew up riding, training, and showing horses and spent many hours hiking and riding with her dogs. She has an undergraduate degree in biology and a masters degreee in psychology. She has worked in the fields of counseling, Ombudsman, social work, and land surveying. In addition to Paws Abilities, Sarala is an instructor with Rochester Dog Obedience Club. She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She has two dogs, Dalton and Tess, and they all enjoy hiking, agility, and training games of all kinds. Sarala is convinced that cooperation and communication, not coercion, are the keys to a sustainable future on the planet. Sarala pursues learning from her students, peers, professionals in many fields -- and from her dogs -- on a daily basis.

Lindsay Decker CPDT-KA and Rick Decker compete with their dogs in North American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), American Kennel Club (AKC), and Teacup Dog Agility Association (TDAA). They are also members and judges of the TDAA and have a special interest in small dog agility. In 2008 Rick and Lindsay completed a three day seminar given by members of the agility world team. They have started training others in the hope to encourage more people to discover the joys of agility competition.

Lindsay started her agility training with their Yorkshire Terrier (Emma) in 2004 with Paws Abilities. Emma was slow to take to agility but once she did she took off. She has been nicknamed "Pocket Rocket" by several judges and her focus and drive have been compared to that of her much larger Border Collie counterparts, a great feat for a 5 pound dog! Emma has earned many agility titles and in 2009 & 2010 won 1st place at the TDAA National Competition. Rick has always been their coach from the sidelines but in 2007 Rick got his first agility dog. Oliver is a full sibling to Emma and seems to have inherited his sister's drive for agility. Lindsay and Rick recently brought home baby Cairo, a Brussels Griffon puppy, who will also be training in agility.

Julia Breza CPDT-KA has always loved animals and became interested in dog training after taking classes through Paws Abilities. She has an undergraduate degree in special education and a masters degree in counselor education. She currently works as a teacher with the Rochester Public Schools. She is an avid reader of dog training books and tries to attend as many seminars as possible. Her goal is to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer.

Julia is owned by five (yes, five) dogs and 2 cats. All of the animals are rescues and Julia is a strong advocate of animal rights. Three of the dogs, Greta, Gracie and LeRoy, enjoy a life of obedience classes and doggie daycare. The other two dogs, Cubby and Maggie, are enjoying their golden years.

Linda Blanchard CPDT-KA has a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work and worked with developmentally disabled adults for 10 years. She is currently working for the US Postal Service as a letter carrier, is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and has been a member of the Rochester Dog Obedience Club since 1995. While a member of the Rochester Dog Obedience Club she served as an Instructor, Board member, Vice President, President, and was Training Director in 2004 and 2005. She joined the Paws Abilities training staff in 2007, has an extensive library of dog behavior, training, and health books, and attends seminars whenever possible.

Linda currently has two dogs. Flint, a German Shepherd, is working towards competing in Rally Obedience. Tank, a Wirehaired Carolina Schnauzer Mix (a mutt) was just adopted and is training for a wide variety of activities.

Shalise Keating, CPDT-KA grew up in Rochester riding and training horses. She has over 14 years of experience training dogs, and was Training Director for the Rochester Dog Obedience Club (RDOC) from 1999 through 2001. As Training Director, Shalise was responsible for moving that club from choke collar training to positive reinforcement-based clicker training. She is an avid attendee at conferences and seminars on clicker training. Shalise joined the Paws Abilities training staff in January of 2001 and took over as owner of Paws Abilities Dog Training in January of 2004 to December 2009.

Shalise currently has two dogs, Tori and Dexter. Tori is a young German Shorthaired Pointer and has earned her conformation championship and Canine Good Citizen certificate. She is training in agility. Dexter is an English Mastiff who has retired and is enjoying a life of leisure.

Shelly Wegman has been crazy about dogs (and horses) as long as she can remember. Currently, her family has 3 dogs: Charlotte the Lab cross, Sage the working Border Collie (cattle), and Jordi, the latest addition, adopted from a shelter and another who-really-knows-what-breeds-are-in-there girl. All are very different from each other, and all have a lot to teach. There are two kids of the human variety as well, both boys. Evan works and plays with Charlotte and Jordi in the 4-H program, and is certified to do Therapy Dog work with Charlotte. Meanwhile Alden feels a special bond with Sage…and also his chickens. Really. He’s got a good recall on his chickens. They all live on a dairy farm, but the menagerie of animals also includes horses and the afore-mentioned chickens, as well as the few occasional porkers.

Currently, Shelly runs the 4-H Dog Program in Olmsted County. She is responsible for moving that program from choke chains to clicker training. In addition to working with the kids and dogs, a lifelong passion of her's is working with horses.

Crystal Thompson came to dog ownership reluctantly. She disliked the poorly behaved dogs that seemed to be everywhere, so when she fell in love with a puppy, the first thing she did was sign up for a training class. What started as simply a method to achieve a well-mannered companion eventually turned into an obsession. She and her puppy Maisy began racking up awards, starting with the Canine Good Citizen at eight months old, and culminating in a national ranking in APDT rally.

When Maisy began to demonstrate symptoms of anxiety and reactivity, Crystal shifted her focus from competition to behavior modification. She read countless books and attended as many seminars as she could afford. Over time, she and Maisy learned a whole new set of skills. Maisy is now a happy, functioning member of society, and ready to return to the competition ring.

Crystal has a bachelor of science in social work, and works with children with disabilities. In her spare time, she enjoys training her dog and writing about training her dog. Maisy is a Midwest Muppet dog, and enjoys training her person and playing ball.

Kristin Sicotte is a competitor and judge in the exciting sport of Canine Freestyle. She is a member of the Canine Freestyle Federation (CFF) and has been involved with the organization since 2002. She taught classes in Maryland and now resides and teaches in Minnesota. Besides being a judge and competitor, she also presents seminars for CFF and currently competes in Level IV. Kristin loves that CFF provides a creative outlet as well as the incredible opportunity to share her beautiful breed, the Azawakh.

Kristin has three Azawakh. Felaou trains and competes in Freestyle. Konan trains in Freestyle and competes in conformation, lure coursing, rally obedience, and straight racing, and Tagalas is retired.

Sandy Cattanach, CPDT-KA has a degree in Dental Hygiene and works at the Houston Dental Clinic in Houston, Minnesota. She has been involved in dog training for 30-plus years. Sandy is an avid dog book reader and seminar junky attending 3 to 5 training seminars a year as well as being a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Sandy is a member of the Rochester Dog Obedience Club and served as training director in the years 2002 and 2003.

Sandy currently has 2 dogs. Kayla is a Mountain Cur dog, and Morgan is a Bloodhound. Kayla is in Elite Agility classes and Morgan is in Masters agility class with Paws Abilities Dog Training. Sandy also shares her home with 2 cats and 2 horses.

Note: In 2002, Shalise was among the first few trainers in the state of Minnesota and the first 250 in the nation to earn the title Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed. Sandy received her CPDT-KA certification in December 2004, Sara in December 2005, Sarala in December 2007, Lindsay in April 2011, and Julia and Linda in November 2011. Sara earned her CVT (certified Veterinary Technician) June 2006. Trainers are also members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and actively involved in research and seminars to learn from the world's experts.