Judy Bowman
Judy Bowman, graduate of the San Francisco SPCA Dog Training Academy in 2002 with a Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC), is also a Certified Pet Dog Trainer (CPDT) through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluator. Judy teaches puppy, basic, and advanced manners topics at ARF and other east bay locations, as well as doing private training (check her company website www.compleatcitydog.com for more information). Judy believes that positive reinforcement works for both people and dogs, and classes should be fun.
Kelley Filson
Kelley Filson is a Certified Dog Trainer and owner of AmiGO DOG Training, LLC with over 15 years experience working with animals. For seven years Kelley served as the Director of Humane Education for The San Francisco SPCA where she built a nationally recognized shelter education and volunteer program and taught many classes. Kelley enrolled in the SF/SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, graduated with honors at the top of her class in 2004, and started her own dog training company. Kelley lives with three dogs, two cats, and several birds. She is actively working towards her obedience titles with her dog Amigo – her original training inspiration - and regularly volunteers at two bay area shelters.
Judy Gamet
Judy Gamet, B.S. Dance Education, has combined her life long career of teaching dance with her love of training dogs. The result is "Dogs Can Dance" a unique canine freestyle program dedicated to coaching the handler and dog team how to move to music, how to develop a joyous bond, and create freestyle routines that are uniquely their own. Judy is proud to announce her newest program, Paws 4 Fitness, a canine freestyle fitness program for senior dogs and overweight dogs! Visit www.dogscandance.com for more information on Judy and her rottweilers.
Narae Kim
With great results at agility trials, Narae (pronounced as na’-ray) soon got bitten by the agility bug and began teaching others. Her dog training philosophy is 1) No two dogs are alike, so custom-train each and every dog; 2) Have patience and give it time to make your dog a ‘thinking’ dog; 3) Keep your training sessions short and playful, with a sense of humor; 4) Your dog can never do anything wrong…it’s just you. Narae tries to have all the students go home satisfied, bonded with their dogs even more, and slightly improved at the end of every class. She describes her classes as cheerful and intense. In addition to competing and training, Narae has rescued over 30 homeless border collies, rehabilitated them, and adopted them out. Narae is owned by three rescues, Zulu, Bianca and Igne.
Valerie Schillaci-Levy
Valerie Schillaci-Levy is a recent Honors Graduate of the Animal Behavior College Dog Trainer program. Valerie completed her externship at ARF with Sara Scott as her mentor trainer and continues to volunteer with ARF. She joins ARF with a wealth of corporate training experience for the human aspect. She has spent the past three years training her beagles, Shobi who was raised from a pup, and Harley who was adopted a year ago. Both experiences led her to combine her love of teaching and her lifelong goal to work with animals into becoming a trainer. Valerie is an Animal Behavior College Certified Dog Trainer, APDT member and founder of Wonderdog Behavioral Training.
Sara Scott
Sara Scott is a certified pet trainer and behavioral counselor with close to 10 years experience training dogs. She is certified by the Council for Professional Dog Trainers, received her certification in pet training from the Petsmart Pet Training Academy and received her dog trainer/behavioral counselor certificate from the Marin Humane Society Dog Behavior Academy. Sara is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and is a certified Canine Good Citizen evaluator with the American Kennel Club. Sara is the owner of What's Up Dog Training, a training service for dogs and cats and rabbits. She teaches all levels of obedience classes, specialty classes, private lessons, and offers behavior consultations at various bay area locations. Sara has extensive experience with pit bulls and heads the training committee for BADRAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls). She is the dog trainer at Pit Bull Hall, a joint adoption effort between the Oakland SPCA and BAD RAP. Her pack includes a Lab/Heeler mix and a rescued pit bull who survived Hurricane Katrina.
Alison Smith
Alison Smith, CTC, is the owner of Canine Culture and works to understand and enhance your relationship with your dog by evaluating your needs and creating a program that works for everyone involved. After more than a decade of managing pet supply stores and working with many dogs she decided to pursue a career as a professional dog trainer and began to learn about positive reinforcement and operant conditioning. To gain a thorough understanding, she attended the Academy for Dog Trainers at the San Francisco SPCA and graduated with honors in December 2000. Since then, she has worked with hundreds of Bay Area dogs in private homes, classes and shelters. She has spent much of her time working with rescued shelter dogs helping them become adoptable and helping new adopters build a successful relationship with their new dog.
Norman Taylor
Norm has been training dogs for over 14 years and successfully competed with his own dogs in conformation, obedience, field, pulling, sled dog racing, and agility. Norm was the Director of Dog Training Programs and Master Trainer for ARF April 2004 - January 2006. He owned and managed a boarding kennel for dogs in Oakland, CA and is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. He has an MBA in E-Business from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in Electrical Engineering. He also has a multiple dog househould with five dogs he uses for demonstrations, competition, and fun loving good times.
About Our Trainers