Trainers

Ali Peace, co-Owner

Ali Peace is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP) who has been training professionally since 2005. Despite her first word being "doggie," Ali studied Biological Sciences at Stanford and then spent 4.5 years in a Biochemistry PhD program at Duke before coming to her senses and switching to dog training. She has never looked back and never been happier. Ali teaches group classes and private lessons in puppy, manners, canine good citizen, control unleashed, behavior modification and agility. Ali's dog training philosophy is to design training plans that are pragmatic and reinforcing for both the humans and the dog. For fun, Ali enjoys backpacking, trail running, cross country skiing, growing vegetables, and making and eating pie.

Jill Seward, co-owner

Jill loves learning, has a lot of letters behind her name (CPDT-KA, UW-AAB, CCS), and would be a full time professional dog student if attending seminars paid the bills! She has competed locally with three very different agility dogs and is treasurer of Rainier Agility Team. After leaving the corporate world in 2008, she started a popular Seattle area pet business, Little Furry Things. In addition to managing her team of dog walkers and cat sitters, she provides day training for reactive dogs and coaching for their humans. Jill teaches Control Unleashed and Agility classes at Kinship, and has taught growly/shy dog agility classes at Ahimsa in Ballard for five years. She loves to see confidence build in both owners and dogs while doing fun things. In her spare time, she draws on her iPad, trains her husband, and her baking skill is ‘roll cakes’, which is almost perfected.

Jeanne Sklorenko, Instructor

Jeanne (CPDT-KA and KPA CTP) has been competing in Agility for 18 years. She owned and ran a dog daycare for 8 years. Using positive reinforcement-based methods, Jeanne created a fun environment for all the canine clients that attended. Jeanne is actively pursuing continuing education in agility and reinforcement-based training techniques. She is currently teaching puppy manners, adult manners, and agility intermediate classes at Kinship Dog Training. Jeanne has worked with a wide array of dog breeds, sizes, and ages. Her focused interests are in multi dog groups and canine body language. 

Karen Beattie Massey, Instructor

Karen’s first career was as a board certified psychologist in Australia helping people learn new ways to work effectively within their organizations. She developed training programs, ran workshops, and created training videos. After moving to the U.S. she started working in the software industry creating instructional materials. Taking her knowledge of how people learn and think about solving problems, she later applied this to designing the software itself. For over a decade she worked as a program manager leading teams to create new products. It was only natural that this fascination with learning and working with people would spill over into her life with dogs. She started teaching foundation agility classes and seminars in 2006. After retiring from software in 2012, she started MayaLu Training, focusing on agility instruction and dog behavior training.

Karen is best known for her work with Pumis – a rare herding breed from Hungary. Her first Pumi Bella has been on the U.S. team for multiple Agility World Championships – FCI 2014 (reserve), WAO 2016, IFCS 2016, 2017 and represented the U.S. at the European Open 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and the Americas and Caribbean Championships 2012, 2015. Bella was also a finalist in the AKC National Agility Championships (2014) and a silver medalist in the USDAA Masters Challenge Biathlon at Cynosports 2015. In addition Bella has a number of obedience and rally titles.

Amongst Bella’s offspring from MayaLu A and B litter there are multiple dogs now competing at the Masters level in agility. Karen is also competing in obedience and agility with her next generation of Pumis – Knixa (mother of C & E litters), Ben (father of B litter), and Aria (mother of D litter) – with Aria already earning placements at the UKI US Open agility competition in 2015. Karen is a American Kennel Club Breeder of Merit and an active member of the Hungarian Pumi Club of America.

heather archer, Instructor

Heather has been helping dogs and their families communicate since 2012. She is experienced in socialization, general manners, and behavior problem solving for dogs of numerous breeds at every stage of life. Her favorite behavior problem solving cases include potty training, play nipping/mouthing, inappropriate chewing, new dog introductions, door/guest manners, jumping up, counter surfing, leash manners, settling at home and in public, recall/coming when called, attention and manners away from home, reactivity and fear to other dogs/people/bicycles/cars etc, and vet and groomer visits. 

Heather's varied background includes placing and integrating rescue dogs into new homes, curating healthy and fun group interactions for doggy daycare, and coaching owners in group classes and private lessons. Her training approach is based heavily in positive reinforcement, classical and operant conditioning, and environmental management. 

Heather is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) with a commitment to continuing education. She is passionate about the sciences of learning and applied animal behavior. In her free time she enjoys hiking, creating pottery on the wheel, and baking cookies. 

janey wilcox, instructor

Janey is a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) with the National Association of Canine Scent Work. In 2015, she took her first nose work class with a then 10-year-old, retired agility dog. Janey and Tucker fell in love with the sport, and Janey has never looked back. Competing in 5 different nose work organizations. Janey has put multiple titles on 4 different dogs, including NACSW’s Elite Champion title. She also competes in other scent sports such as NASDA’s Lost Item Recovery, Trailing & Locating, Urban Locating, and Shed Hunt. She loves scent work because it brings dogs so much joy and ALL dogs excel at it.

Prior to competing in nose work, Janey trained and competed in agility for more than 20 years, putting several titles on different dogs in a few different organizations. She and various dogs have also dabbled in other sports like, Obedience, Rally, Parkour, Tricks, and Lure Coursing. Janey has taken many positive training classes, seminars, & workshops, attended clicker expos, and worked with some of the best animal behaviorists over the years. She loves continuing education and wholeheartedly believes dogs learn, and perform, best when happy.

Kaylee SEAL, instructor

Kaylee has been training, trialing, and showing dogs since her start with Massachusetts 4-H in 2012 with her Bearded Collie mix, Fenway. After working as a pet groomer, Kaylee began her journey of becoming a professional handler by assisting many of the top AKC handlers in the US, traveling to and working at dog shows, and beginning to take on her own show clients. A pandemic, a move west, and a desire to focus on training and trialing her three Bearded Collies has given her the opportunity to venture into other dog sports and share her experience through teaching. She is a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) with the CCPDT. Kaylee is an active member of the Northwest Bearded Collie Club of Puget Sound, Bearded Collie Club of America, Northwest K9 Sniffers, and has titled dogs in nosework, conformation, obedience, rally, herding, and tricks. 

Anna mcbrady, instructor

Anna has been working with dogs since 2018, and started her own daycare and dog walking business in 2020 called Go Fetch Fred! Pet Care where she helps young and reactive dogs with socialization by offering daily exercise and enrichment to meet their needs. She graduated WWU with a B.S. and is a certified trainer through Karen Pryor Academy (KPA CTP). Through the years, Anna has been dedicated to positive training methods and works with many breeds, sizes and temperaments. She has helped clients with leash reactivity, recall, and manners. Her current focus is on creating simple and positive solutions for owners and their dogs to live in harmony. As a proponent of continuing education, she has completed many courses including Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT), Aggression in Dogs Mastercourse, and more, continuing to advance her knowledge in dog training. She is an AKC CGC evaluator and Fit Dog Level 2 instructor. Additionally, she has completed sport titles in AKC Trick Dog, All Dogs Parkour (ADP), and International Dog Parkour Association (IDPKA). Anna’s hobbies include longboarding with her 2 dogs, hiking, and playing her harmonica.

DYLLAN FREEBURG, INSTRUCTOR

After following many a folly, Dyllan (she/her) found her deepest joy in the magic of supporting dogs and the humans who love them. Her work centers well-being at both ends of the leash - helping dogs feel safe, understood, and fulfilled, and their people feel seen, supported, and equipped.

She holds a BS in Equine Science from Colorado State University, graduated with distinction from Karen Pryor Academy as a Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP), and soaks up continuing education every chance she gets; Dr. Susan Friedman’s Living and Learning with Animals was a recent favorite.

With experience in animal welfare, sheltering, rehabilitation, community support services, and various corners of corporate America, Dyllan blends evidence-based training with compassion and practicality. She’s especially passionate about helping busy families succeed while empowering all learners through fun, effective training, championing low-stress veterinary care, and supporting whole-dog well-being - physical, behavioral, and beyond.

When she’s not supporting canine-human teams or brewing espresso behind a local coffee bar, you’ll find Dyllan spending time with her family (especially her three niblings), adventuring with her dogs Juniper and Clementine, nerding out on behavior podcasts, and chasing sun and stars in her campervan, Sunflower.

AUSTIN SMITH, INSTRUCTOR

Austin is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer—Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) and holds a Certificate in Canine Studies (CCS) from the Northwest School of Canine Studies. He is currently working toward his Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) credential. After a career in IT, he followed his passion for dogs and made the leap into professional dog training. His journey began through dog sports and volunteering at Seattle Humane, where he discovered his passion for building trust-based relationships between dogs and their people.

Austin is committed to continued learning and regularly pursues professional development to stay current with science-based training methods. He also contributes to animal rescue efforts by fostering dogs in need, helping them build the skills and confidence to thrive in their future homes.

Outside of training, Austin competes in a variety of dog sports and enjoys exploring the outdoors with his dogs, Willy and Cowboy.