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 pet dog trainer. Sara supports dog rescue. She has worked 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 currently working as a dog groomer, is an avid reader, and attends seminars whenever possible. Sara purchased Paws Abilities in 2010.

Sara has two dogs. Duke, a Labrador mix (affectionately known as a "Labradork"), is a Canine Good Citizen who also has his ATTS (Temperament Test) award and enjoys the honor of being "the good dog" around the house. Layla, a 30lb. mixed breed, competes in Rally Obedience (where she has earned several titles) and also enjoys learning new things. She is working towards competing in Canine Freestyle and dabbles in agility and disc sports.

Shalise Keating, CPDT-KA grew up in Rochester riding and training horses. She has over 14 years of experience training dogs, 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.

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.

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.

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.

Linda Blanchard 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. Dusty is a 12 year old Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix who has earned her Canine Good Citizen Certificate, competes in Agility, and is one qualifying score away from earning a novice title. She loves any kind of training, and even learned how to ride a skateboard! Flint, a 3-½ year old German shepherd, is in Intermediate Agility class, and is working towards competing in Rally Obedience.

Rick and Lindsay 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 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.

Paula Stewart has a degree in education and enjoys teaching, whether in violin lessons or in dog training classes. She grew up in a family with many dogs and has always been a little "dog crazy"! She has done extensive study on clicker techniques and received two years of clicker obedience and agility training under well-known instructors Jean McKenzie (All Dog's Gym, NH), and Donna Duford (Companion Dog Training, MA). Paula started Paws Abilities Dog Training in 1999 with the goal of introducing more humane and effective training techniques to the southeast Minnesota area.

Paula currently has one dog, a sweet, exuberant English Springer Spaniel named Ella. Ella has earned her first title in Rally Obedience, and has her Canine Good Citizen Certificate. She is competing in Agility, Rally-O and Conformation.

Note: In 2002, Paula and Shalise were 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. Sandy received her CPDT certification in December 2004, Sara in December 2005, and Sarala in December 2007. Sara earned her CVT 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.