HAPPY DOGS TRAINING - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Office Administrator & Virtual Trainer
Benah began training and competing in agility in 2012, she fell in love with the sport and never looked back. Agility inspired Benah to understand the intricacies of canine behavior and communication, with a specific focus on relationship building and R+ training methods. Benah has studied under leading trainers around the globe, and started taking on clients herself in 2015. Since then, Benah has helped her clients better understand each other and effectively communicate using reward-based systems. Benah wants every dog to feel heard, validated, and supported by their person, and uses her knowledge of canine communication to help owners meet those needs. Benah has successfully competed in multiple dog sports, and titled dogs in agility, dock diving, trick dog, and disc. Her main focus has been agility, in which she has competed at the national level. Benah loves nothing more than helping her clients experience a more fun and engaged relationship with their dogs, and loves watching teams develop more effective methods of communication. Benah lives in Chatham, NY, with her Border Collies and cat.
Job Titles:
- North Charlotte Trainer & Group Class Instructor
Caleb has been working with dogs since he brought home his first dog, Ghost, an Australian Shepard, in late 2017. It was quite the task to bring home an Australian Shepard as your first dog, and Caleb credits Piper Novick and Emily Greene with showing him all the benefits of training "happy". Caleb has always had an interest in teaching and psychology, so he latched onto dog training quickly, reading every book he could get his hands on. This training philosophy helped Ghost go from being an anxious puppy to a confident dog that is a certified Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog.
After years of training with Ghost, Caleb began working at PetSmart, teaching group classes and helping clients live better lives with their dogs. This led to Caleb pursuing his CPDT-KA certification, continuing education, and taking on more responsibility for helping the Charlotte and San Diego humane societies by teaching group classes, helping clients, and fostering dogs with behavioral issues. Caleb is passionate about helping dog parents develop the skills necessary to build a stronger relationship with their dogs. This includes helping dog parents better understand their dog's body language to interpret how they are feeling and better anticipate how they might act as well as helping clients teach their dogs the necessary "life skills" such as leash walking, greetings and confidence building, to lead to a more productive and stress-free life for everyone!
Job Titles:
- Lake Norman Trainer & Group Class Instructor
My dog training life began in earnest with Bob Bailey in '03. I'd had an interest in the experimental/animal behavior side of things as a psych undergrad in college and doing a 90 hour, full-immersion workshop devoted to shaping, criteria, and cueing sounded like a perfectly reasonable way to spend a few weeks. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to learn foundations from the best early on. I'd grown up in a world heavily infused with the vocabulary of dominance, force, alpha, and punishment; I was so happy to have found my way into a more effective and joyful one.
Since then I've enjoyed learning from trainers and teachers with varying backgrounds, always taking away the parts that help me achieve my training goals with the preferences and abilities of my canine partner at front of my mind. Dog life is such a fragile and fleeting blessing - at the end of the day, I want to make sure I can be proud of how we spent that time together.
These days I'm loving training for and trialing in Rally and Scentwork with my current competition dog. I have two others that are championship snugglers and adventure-walk takers but I haven't found a titling venue for that yet. I love the dog sport world because I enjoy the structure and camaraderie of it. My philosophy? Success in dog sports rests on the same pillars as any other team sport endeavor: play, partnership, and practice. Play the games you love, be the best partner you can be, and practice until you're really ready. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
I've taught classes, judged show-n-go's, and run trials for the Charlotte Dog Training club for the past few years and am looking forward to helping grow the sports community in the LKN area with the rest of the great team at Happy Dogs.
Job Titles:
- Behavior Trainer & Reactive Dog Class Instructor
Emily joins us as a contractor instructing our Reactive to Relaxed group classes and consulting with behavioral training cases. Co-owner and director of behavioral programs at Free Will Animal Training in Charlotte, North Carolina with years of experience, she brings a unique skill-set to the Happy Training team.
Emily started working as a dog trainer for PetSmart years ago, this is where she really grew to love the atmosphere of teaching humans how to train their pets. When she moved to the Queen City, Emily became a trainer at Zoom Room Charlotte where her love for reactivity and aggression came to light. After Zoom Room closed, she was presented with the opportunity to start her own business with her business partner Amy, Free Will Animal Training was born!
At home, Emily lives a pretty awesome life with her adorably crazy Lab mix, Jack, and puppy, Pete the "hound boy." Jack and Pete were both adopted from the Humane Society of Charlotte where Emily volunteers on a weekly basis. Emily says her dogs have made me a better caretaker and dog trainer.
Job Titles:
- Trainer
- Professional Dog Trainer
Karen Andersen is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and the owner and principle trainer for 4 on the Floor Dog Training. Karen joins the Happy Dogs team teaching group training classes in Mooresville, NC.
Job Titles:
- Mooresville Group Class Instructor
Karen brings years of experience with pets of all kinds. She has worked in Pet Sitting, Boarding, Doggie Daycare and Grooming. But her one true love is training. Karen understands that all dogs need physical exercise, mental stimulation, and communication in order to be healthy happy members of the family.
She is a graduate of Triple Crown Academy for Professional Dog Trainers where she received certification as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. Karen is also a certified Pet Saver through Pet Tech, Inc. She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers as well as the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Karen is also a certified AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator.
Karen volunteers for various animal welfare groups including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control, That Will Do Again Herding Breed Rescue, and Cornelius Animal Shelter.
In her free time she enjoys hiking with her dogs!
Job Titles:
- Trainer, Training Assistant & Dog Walker
Job Titles:
- Happy Dogs Trainer
- Lake Norman Trainer & Frisbee Instructor
Happy Dogs Trainer, Laura Moretz, has been training dogs professionally since 2000. Laura believes that positive training, structured play, and exercise, are the key to building and maintaining the human-canine bond. She knows every interaction with your dog is a learning opportunity and wants to help you understand how to mold your dog into a great family member using simple, fun exercises. She currently lives with a pack of 9 high drive performance dogs.
Laura was the owner and head trainer of an in-home behavioral dog training business in GA and SC for several years until she was able to travel and perform full time as a trainer with the Purina Incredible Dog Team. She has been on the Purina team since 2005. She has judged and taught seminars internationally promoting the sport of canine disc in Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland, Canada, and all over the US.
Job Titles:
- Mooresville Trainer & Agility Instructor
Lori's passion for dog training begun in 2007 when she discovered it was possible to train using only positive methods. She continues to expand her knowledge on reward based training by learning from nationally renowned dog trainers. She strives to continuously improve her training to better teach owners to do the activities they love with their dogs.
She believes dogs were bred to "problem solve" and thrive in a learning environment. Whether learning a new trick, training in dog sports or hiking in a new park, Lori believes exploration through learning can enrich both a dog and owner's life.
Lori has trained and titled with her own dogs in a number of different dog sports including Obedience, Rally Obedience and Agility. Additionally, Lori is a member of two national Therapy Dog Programs and volunteers with her certified therapy dogs regularly. She feels blessed to be part of the reward-based dog training community and to be cultivating her love of dogs. When she's not helping clients or training her own dogs, Lori enjoys hiking and boating. Lori and her husband moved to North Carolina from California in 2014 with their two Tibetan Terriers, a Border Collie and their family including two darling grand-dogs.
Job Titles:
- Trainer
- Behavior Trainer & Agility Instructor
Meagan is a second-generation dog trainer who has actively competed in the sport of agility for more than 20 years. Including the top levels across multiple venues. Meagan is a sought-after agility judge for UKI and USDAA trials of all levels, she has been judging professionally for more than 5 years. Meagan enjoys fast, flowing course designs that challenge teams while also building confidence.
In addition to her agility accomplishments, Meagan is an accomplished dog trainer, she is a controlled unleash certified instructor who has spent the last 10 years working with reactive dogs in a variety of settings. Her approach to dog training is based on positivity, motivation, and common sense. Her goal is to meet students and their dogs exactly where they are and offer highly tailored coaching that will make the team better. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, but the bond between handler and dog always comes first, as it is the foundation for success across disciplines and venues.
Meagan is currently competing in agility with Wookie, a 4-year old Border Collie, and doing foundation training with her young Border Collie, Vesimer. Retired agility competitor Gael and terrier mix Skylar keep the whole pack in line!
Job Titles:
- Agility Trainer & Training Assistant
Olvia has been training ever since she was young but her passion for it really took off when she started agility with her labradoodle Cooper in 2013. She was bit by the training bug and has constantly been looking for ways to improve through reading, understanding research, listening to podcasts, and taking classes. Olivia loves the enrichment that training and sports provide for dogs and the bond it helps facilitate. When helping clients, she loves being able to see that bond grow and help build understanding between owners and their dogs. Her goal as a trainer is to help people build the language between their pets and themselves as well as help enrich their lives through different outlets such as sports and training.
Olivia has a labradoodle, Cooper aged 8, a greyhound, Cassie aged 9, two Schapendoes (dutch sheepdogs), Munin and Saoirse aged 2, and a Central Asian Shepherd, Briar aged 6 months. I compete mainly with my Schapendoes in a variety of different dog sports. Munin is the number one Dock Diving Schapendoes in 2021. She will also compete in Barn Hunt, Rally, FastCAT, Herding, and Agility. She also has a small farm with a variety of sheep, goats, chickens, rats, and two cows. Briar protects the livestock and the sheepdogs help with farm chores.
Job Titles:
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer
- Owner, Head Trainer, & Agility Instructor
*Please note that Piper is only accepting limited clients at this time*
Happy Dogs Training founder and head trainer, Piper Novick, is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Animal Behavior College graduate. Her "Train Happy!" philosophy has helped owners better understand their dogs for 10+ years!
Piper knows the importance of basic training and manners for every dog to live a happy life. Using an evidence-based approach to training she improves the day-to-day interactions between dog and owner. Owners are educated on how to train and reinforce good manners and modify their dog's "naughty" behaviors. Piper helps you train for real change to help you have a healthy and Happy Dog.
In addition to helping her clients with their dogs, Piper uses her "Train Happy!" approach and training expertise to excel in the sport of dog agility. As a successful agility competitor, having trained and titled five of her own dogs, she trains to compete in agility at the top national and international tournaments, you can learn more about her agility accomplishments below! As an agility coach, Piper is invested in teaching other dogs and owners to enjoy the sport too! Piper takes an active role in the agility community by learning from top trainers to expand her knowledge and volunteers to educate the local Charlotte community about dog sports. Piper helps her agility students reach a variety of goals; whether they aim to earn championship level titles or to simply have fun with their dogs.
Outside of dog training and competing, Piper is constantly pushing to better herself through her passion for health and fitness. As a long time cross-fitter and certified trainer, she understands how to keep learning flexible and fun for any activity. Piper values making a personal connection with her clients and is truly invested in each and every case. This includes investing in herself; Piper challenges herself to always be learning more about dog training, business ownership, and sport-specific knowledge to develop her career and improve her clients' experience.