Our Trainers

AKC CGC & Trick Dog Evaluator  DMWYD Trick Dog Evaluator Updog Judge Mikaela has always had a passion for animals. Growing up, she had pretty much all types of animals including but not limited to: dogs and cats, horses, freshwater and saltwater aquariums, and even more unique pets like chinchillas and sugar gliders! Growing up she had a German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, and a Shepherd/Husky/Collie mix. As she aged, she developed allergy induced asthma, one of the allergens was animals. She chose to go the long process of allergy shots so she could be around animals. During this process, she looked into breeds that did not shed. Her “first dog” of her own, was a miniature schnauzer named Angel. She wanted to get more involved with training Angel compared to previous family dogs, something beyond basic obedience. After a lot of researching, she discovered the sport of Agility. Angel and Mikaela were very successful in their agility trials and Mikaela’s love for sport dog training began. During college, Mikaela acquired Chloe. Chloe was a reactive miniature schnauzer, barking excessively at people. This sparked Mikaela’s interest in animal behavior and behavior modification. Mikaela practiced behavior modification techniques and took a well-rounded approach teaching Chloe many tricks to boost her confidence, Chloe became a different dog! One who was much happier, and much more enjoyable to be around! Mikaela earned Trick Dog Championship titles with both Angel and Chloe. They were the first miniature schnauzers in the United States to earn this title! In 2014, Mikaela obtained her first “real” sport dog, a crazy fast Border Collie named Flash. She had to re-learn the sport of agility with a much faster dog who challenged her timing and mechanics, she also had to continue to learn behavior modification techniques to handle the typical over-arousal issues found in many sport dogs. Mikaela currently has a Border Collie and two Belgian Malinois. She enjoys training the high-energy, high drive dogs the most. Especially as her interests span many dog sports such as Agility, Disc, Mondioring, Dock Diving and Tricks. But she also has a soft spot for dogs that are great cuddlers. Over the 15 years Mikaela has been training and competing in dog sports, she has learned an expansive knowledge base through formal education of classes, seminars, workshops and through the experience of a variety of other professional mentors. Also, while working as the training manager at a large dog daycare facility, teaching many group classes every week, she is fortunate enough to have worked with thousands of dogs, gaining knowledge and experience you can’t find in a book. In the rare moments Mikaela is not thinking or talking about dogs, she enjoys playing board and card games, watching a variety of TV shows and movies, hiking at places with gorgeous views, and bonfires. Mikaela is an ambitious and dedicated trainer, constantly increasing her knowledge and experience to continually improve her abilities as a dog trainer.