About Us

The Puppy Perfectors was founded by Nancy Hansen in 1982. We opened the doors at our Columbia City facility in September 2012, and changed ownership in 2017.  Summer Frazier, the school’s current owner, educates and helps dog owners develop a relationship with their pets that enables them to enjoy many happy and rewarding years together. Dogs are intelligent and enjoy learning; most are not satisfied just sitting around doing nothing. Many problems people have with their dogs arise because the animals are bored and under-stimulated. Training a dog is a lifelong process, and The Puppy Perfectors has developed its programs over the years to accommodate the busy lifestyles and different learning paces of individuals and their dogs. The Puppy Perfectors dog training school encourages people and their dogs to continue training over the years, not just for one 6-8 week set of classes.


Instructors & Staff

Summer Frazier

Owner

Summer grew up with dogs. During her childhood in rural California, her family had Australian Shepherds, toy Poodles, and Golden Retrievers running around the property.

She moved to Washington State to attend the Evergreen State College, where she earned a BA in Fine Arts. After college she worked for years as a chef, until her interest in deaf dogs was kindled by Malcolm, a very dog-reactive pit bull mix. Owning Malcolm allowed Summer to appreciate the unique challenges of working with reactive and deaf dogs.

After Malcolm passed away, Summer enrolled in a Puppy Perfectors class with her new dog Jeff, a deaf pit bull mix puppy who welcomed any and all training Summer threw his way.

Jeff and Summer attended every class they could, learning activities like Agility, Nose Work, and Rally. They eventually figured out that Agility wasn’t Jeff’s true calling and focused their efforts on the more controlled sports of AKC Rally-Obedience, AKC Obedience, and K9 Nose Work. Summer and Jeff work hard to provide a positive counterpoint to pit bull and deaf dog stereotypes.

In 2016, Summer agreed to foster another deaf pit bull mix puppy, Jaws, who has quite a different personality than Jeff. Energetic and engaging, Jaws ended up staying with Summer and continues to provide new opportunities for both learning and patience.

Puppy Perfectors founder Nancy Hansen saw promise in Summer; she hired her as a trainer in 2015 and eventually as a substitute instructor later in the year. In 2017, Summer bought the business and became the new owner of The Puppy Perfectors.

Summer has completed the Walks ‘N’ Wags Pet First Aid course. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPTD-KA). Summer has also been certified as an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC, CGC-A, and CGC-U) evaluator. She has also completed the Aggression in Dogs workshop with Trisha McMillan Loer and Michael Shikashio. Summer is currently working on certifying as a K9 Nosework Instructor. A lifelong student, Summer continues to expand her knowledge base through workshops, classes, and competition.

Diana Simonsen

Diana Simonsen

Rally Instructor

Diana has been involved in various dog sports for over a decade – training, competing, and teaching. She is a patient, dedicated instructor and a passionate advocate for positive, force-free dog training.

She attends ongoing formal training to always bring her students the latest customized training solutions, including attending the three-day Clicker Expo annually, studying with expert trainers from around the world, and attending training and behavioral workshops.

Diana is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA), a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, and the Association for Force-Free Pet Professionals. She is also certified as a AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC, CGCA, CGCU) Evaluator, and a Certified Trick Dog Instructor.

In the ring, Diana and her dogs have achieved multiple Obedience and Rally titles in both American Kennel Club (AKC) and United Kennel Club (UKC). Her first dog overcame behavioral issues to earn the AKC (Rally Advanced Excellent) RAE2 title, and was ranked in Front & Finish Top Ten German Shepherds in AKC Rally for four years. She has also trained in Trick Dog, K9 Nosework, Rally Freestyle, Sheepherding, Agility, and Dog Parkour,

Diana enjoys helping steward the obedience and rally shows, and helping judge Rally Fun Matches and 4-H competitions. She is currently working on the requirements to become an AKC Rally and Obedience Judge.

Outside the ring, Diana participated as a Therapy Dog Team with Therapy Dog International (TDI), visiting Assisted Living facilities. She also volunteered for Washington German Shepherd Dog Rescue, adopting dogs, doing home checks, transporting, and fostering rescued dogs.

She lives with her husband, son, and German Shepherd, Valen.

Mary Schurr

Mary Schurr

Competitive Obedience Instructor

Mary has been involved in canine performance sports since 1998. In the first half year she competed, her amazing GSD Remy managed to be the #1 Novice A Obedience dog in the US and she was hooked on Competitive Obedience for life.   Since then she has trained and titled her GSD’s through Utility with multiple HIT performances, multiple breed and Front and Finish rankings. Along with Competitive Obedience, Mary and her dogs have explored and competed in Schutzhund, Agility, Tracking, Flyball, Herding and Rally Obedience.

With a strong background in instructing and training that began with coaching young competitive swimmers, Mary began teaching obedience for Washington State Obedience Training Club and spent several years as the training chair. Stepping in to fill the trainer slot at Pawsabilities, she has since continued training a dedicated group of competitive students in the Greater and South Seattle areas.

The biggest influence on her training style has to be the incomparable Sylvia Bishop and she still attends her yearly seminars. Working with Sylvia she has learned that creating a great relationship with your dog is the best way to enhance performance and enjoyment.  Her student’s dogs are known for performing with great enthusiasm in the ring, and they are as fun to watch as they are to train.

Mary is currently living and competing with her homebred GSD Trip (U-CDX) UD Can CD GN GO RE NAC TN-N HIC HCT TC TDI FFXP FFXG and her newest partner a Belgian Malinois named Jazou.

Lisa Eddington

Obedience Instructor

Kindness towards animals was a value Lisa learned from her family at a young age. She grew up living with and caring for cats, dogs, rabbits, and horses. While volunteering as a dog walker at Seattle Animal Shelter, her love for dogs grew and led to the adoption of her shelter dog, Kingsley, a rambunctious pit bull mix. Lisa’s interest in dog training began out of necessity to teach her dog some manners, but it quickly revealed a desire to pursue it even further which led to her employment at Puppy Perfectors in 2015.

 

Lisa has gained hands-on experience training dogs through the Day Training program since 2017. She has also assisted teaching group classes in agility and obedience. Lisa is CPDT-KA certified and is committed to her continuing education by taking part in training conferences, seminars, courses, and online learning. She is also a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, and proud to be part of a group of kind and knowledgeable professionals committed to providing expert support and education for families with dogs.  

 

She believes that training should not only be effective but enjoyable for the dog, and that positive reinforcement methods should be employed whenever possible. Lisa is passionate about helping shelter and rescue dogs and is an advocate of pit bull-type dogs. 

 

As a new mom, Lisa recognizes the challenges of having a dog and a young child in the home as well as the importance of learning stress-reducing solutions to ensure successful relationships between all family members. As a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, she has gained the skills needed to help expecting parents prepare for life with dog and baby, and be able to offer ongoing support and education to families with dogs and children of all ages. 

Katie Marvin

Katie Marvin

Agility Instructor

Katie Marvin is the agility instructor here at Puppy Perfectors. She started assisting and developing the agility program in 2010 and became the head instructor in 2014.

Katie comes from a canine competition background. She competed nationally for the title Most Versatile Junior (MVJ) three years in a row,earning second place each time. To obtain this title, you must receive a qualifying score in the following sports: confirmation, agility, obedience, and herding. Qualifying contestants are then ranked based on their scores in each event.

She has also worked as a private trainer and behavioralist since 2013. This diverse background has given her a wide range of skills to utilize in any training setting.

Katie is known for her good nature, patience, and ability to build the teamwork between you and your canine companion.

Refund Policy

Full refunds are given if classes are cancelled by The Puppy Perfectors Dog Training & Agility Center and no reschedule opportunity is offered.

If you cancel your enrollment (in a class that is not rolling enrollment) 48 hours prior, you may request a refund minus a $35 processing fee.

There are no refunds on prepaid packages or classes once you start using them.

Credit towards a future class may be granted when medical or veterinary emergencies force withdrawal from classes. (Doctor’s note may be required).

You may request a full refund if you cancel your enrollment a week prior to the start date.

There is a $35 fee for all returned checks.

Private lessons must be canceled at least 48 hours in advance or you will be charged the full cost of the lesson.


Questions?

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