K-9 Obedience Training Club of Essex County, NJ

I've been a member of K9 OTC since 1998, having served two terms as President.  I am presently a member of the Training Committee and teach classes for K9 and for other clubs. I got my first dog when I was 8 years old and trained him so well that neighbors would ask me to train their dogs.  My professional career in dogs started in 1974 when I opened Lenore’s Canine Clippery, a grooming salon. I also offered obedience training.  I started professionally showing my Borzoi in 1984 in breed competition and then decided to show in competition obedience in 1989 with my first collie, Gus. Fella was my second and I had the greatest honor when he was invited two years in a row to the National Obedience Invitational.  Since then, I have continued showing my blue merle collies and have put numerous titles through Utility level on my dogs, from different registries such as AKC, UKC and CDSP, and different venues, including Competition Obedience, Rally, Conformation, Herding and Lure coursing .  I also dabbled in Agility and Tracking with one collie.

  I have over 50 years of collective experience in training and handling dogs. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with novice trainers and sincerely try my best to help them attain their personal goals with their own dogs. My training philosophy is to find the best way to HAVE FUN while teaching your dog what he/she needs to know.

I stood outside a ring at the first dog show I attended and thought “This looks easy. My dogs could do this.” I quickly learned I was a bit naïve. 

This was my introduction to dog obedience. Marianna West, a dear late K-9er, was a volunteer in the hospital department where I worked. When I shared with Marianna my family expanded when two one-year-old Great Pyrenees, neither had ever been in a house, on a leash, were delivered by a wonderful breeder to my yard, Marianna suggested I might want to investigate obedience training. I listened to Marianna’s advice and began attending classes at K-9.

I quickly learned Great Pyrenees do not often exhibit in obedience trials. The breed is very independent, do not understand repetition, and live up to the reputation of being selective listeners. To earn a title, your dog needs to come when you call it. Often in trials, unfortunately, my dogs have lived up to their reputation. 

Exhibiting in Obedience Trials has been challenging but I am proud of my dogs. My female, Alicia Keys, was named Great Pyrenees Obedience Dog of the Year in 2019 and my male, Batman, shared the top scoring Rally Great Pyrenees of the Year in 2019. We are proving Great Pyrenees are trainable. 

Earning titles is something we strive for but there are other benefits to training. When I walk my Pyrs in my neighborhood, fellow dog owners often comment on how my Pyrs are so well-behaved. My dogs are also certified therapy dogs. This certification would not have been possible to earn without ongoing training. Dogs are special – they uniquely connect with our treasured seniors as well as young autistic children. It is a gift to share our dogs’ specialness with special populations.

     I discovered the world of obedience when I happened across an obedience trial in East Orange NJ, early in 1979. Even though I had a reasonably well-behaved pet, I had never seen the likes of obedience competition and I was immediately hooked.  Lady, my puppy mill collie, and I joined The K-9 Obedience Training Club in April of that year and the rest, as they say, is history.  Lady earned her CD in June of 1980 and she died in July of that year of a brain tumor. Since then, I have matured as a trainer and my collies and I have earned many obedience and rally titles.  I have also dabbled in breed showing, but my first love is obedience.

    My association with K-9 OTC has also matured over the years.  I went from wide-eyed novice, to Secretary of the club, to Board member, to President, and finally to Training Director.

Bio in progress

My love affair with dog training began in 1993 when my family and I got our first dog; a Rottweiler we named Molli.  As much as we loved her, two things became apparent almost immediately: first, the romance would not last long unless we got some training into her and second, none of us were equipped to do the training!  

I was referred to a professional trainer who both started me off on the right foot with Molli and, more importantly, introduced me to the larger world of advanced obedience training.  

In the following years, Molli earned her AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC), Companion Dog (CD), and Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) degrees.  She also participated in Agility and Tracking and was working toward her Utility Dog title when age and health concerns made retirement a wiser choice.  Beyond my initial training, I credit much of my ongoing progress with Molli to my membership in, and association with, K-9 OTC.  I have also had the good fortune to train under some of America’s top obedience trainers, including Jack & Wendy Volhard and Martha McCluskey of Flying W Dog Training.

Today, I am a Certified Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and STAR Puppy Evaluator.  I teach and assist in all classes offered by K-9 OTC and work hard at training my own Labs for Obedience, Rally, Agility, and Field trials. Over the years, my dogs have earned Utility Dog Excellent (UDX), Obedience Master (OM), Rally Master (RM), multiple Agility titles, and Junior Hunt (JH) Titles. They have also earned multiple High in Trial (HIT) awards. In addition, my Labs also have Trick Dog titles and are certified Therapy Dogs with Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dogs.

I am retired and continue to live in Wayne, where in my “spare time,” I play viola (my other passion) in two community orchestras.

Bio in progress

A dog lover forever, and a dog owner most of my life, I was constantly admonished by my mother for petting every stray dog I saw on the street.

While I trained my own dogs to be good house pets, I became interested in training other dogs when I started a dog walking business over 15 years ago as a second career. It was then that I found myself having to teach all types of dogs how to walk on a leash; this to make the hours of daily walking enjoyable and safe, instead of a nightmare and dangerous.

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In 2008 when I got Voltaire, my third German Shepherd Dog at eight weeks old, I immediately started taking him to various training classes. It was during this time that I became intrigued with how much more Voltaire and I learned, and what a powerful bond we formed in the process. Soon I learned about dog obedience training competitions, and that started a passion. In 2013 I came upon K-9 OTC. And there, under the tutelage of some of the most experienced, decorated, and patient trainers, my passion became a love affair. I joined the wonderful K-9 OTC family, earned several Rally titles and a CD on Voltaire, joined the Board of directors, and then became the president. Now, I also have Matisse, whom I have been training for competition since I brought him home.

Happy training and I look forward to meeting you and helping you and your furry friend enjoy training with us at K-9 OTC.

Bio in progress