Nancy Hansen

Nancy Hansen has been working with dogs all her life. As a child, she accompanied her older sisters to their dog training classes and dog shows. By the age of 15 she was training and showing her own dog, an Irish Setter, in conformation and obedience trials. Together they earned a CD (Companion Dog) degree and a CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) degree.

In 1975 the City of Montebello CA hired Nancy, only 17 at the time, to teach obedience classes for the Parks and Recreation department. She continued teaching classes for the city while attending the University of Southern California. She graduated in 1980 with a BA in Physical Education and a K-12 teaching credential with a special education endorsement.

After graduation, Nancy became a trainer at a personal protection/guard dog kennel while she did substitute teaching for Los Angeles County. In 1982 she moved to West Seattle and started her own business, The Puppy Perfectors Dog Training School.

Nancy has taught private and group obedience classes for more than 35 years. She stays current with new teaching methods, attending seminars and training classes with her own dogs on a regular basis. She is a member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers and earned the Certified Pet Dog Trainer title from 2001 through 2005, one of the first trainers in Seattle to do so. She is also a member of the Wasington State Obedience Club, an AKC Canine Good Citizenship® tester, and 2009 Best of Western Washington nominee, receiving 46 five-star reviews. She also received the 2009 award for animal training services from the US Commerce Association.

Nancy is active in showing and training her dogs in obedience, agility, flyball and herding. Over the years she has earned obedience titles on six different breeds of dogs. She currently shares her home with two dogs: a Belgian Malinois and an Australian Cattledog. She also spends time with her "grand dogs", a Great Dane and a King Charles Spaniel. Nancy is married and the proud mother of three girls; two are college graduates with successful careers and the third is on track to become a veterinarian.

Bethany O'Brien

Bethany has had dogs her whole life, dabbling in obedience training and mushing with her second Siberian husky as a teenager. She began to pursue advanced obedience when she adopted an amazing Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Lab mix and met Nancy in 2001.

Now working with her miniature dachshund as well in agility and rally, Bethany finds working with dogs a lot like her previous career of 15 years as a nanny/educator, except that the dogs always listen better (but sometimes drool). Bethany is a certified Pilates, Yoga and exercise instructor as well as a personal trainer. She loves getting to incorporate her love of teaching fitness and dogs into her Dogalates classes.

Kathy Weaver

Kathy Weaver has trained her own dogs and instructed training classes for over 40 years. She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and is a volunteer instructor for the Washington State Obedience Training Club. She stays abreast of advances in training techniques by attending several training seminars and workshop each year.

From early on, competition has driven Kathy’s keen interest in dog training. She has titled her dogs in AKC obedience and rally, in canine musical freestyle and heel-to-music with the World Canine Freestyle Organization and Paws 2 Dance organizations, and earned numerous championships in United States Border Collie Handler’s Association herding events. She feels privileged to have shared her passion for dog sports over the years with a variety of breeds: Belgian Tervuren, Australian Shepherds, Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Jack Russell Terriers and Border Collies.

Sharing her knowledge with students and helping them achieve their goals are just a couple of reasons Kathy enjoys teaching classes. The primary goals in Kathy’s classes are to strengthen the relationship students have with their dogs and to help them achieve their objectives. Kathy challenges students to be creative in their training and, most importantly, to have fun working with their dogs. "Each class I teach inspires me in some new way. I have learned a lot from my students over the years and found true joy in seeing teams pleased with their progress. Smiles and wags are a huge reward. Of course, it’s equally rewarding to watch a student earn a perfect 100 in rally."

Kim-Marie Motado

Kim-Marie has enjoyed Dog Training since the age of 10. A pursuit that has deepened and evolved since the purchase of her first Australian Shepherd 15 years ago. Originally intending to compete in Conformation, she quickly became interested in the Performance Events as well. It was the unique opportunity to form a partnership with her dog that she found most satisfying. She then went on to study, train and successfully compete in: Conformation, Obedience, Herding (Cattle, Sheep, Ducks), Agility and just recently has taken an interest in Rally Obedience as well.

The Australian Shepherd Club of America, of which she is a member, holds an Annual Nationals Competition. It typically draws 500+ competitors and 1,000+ dogs. Kim-Marie’s favorite venue is the Most Versatile Competition. An event where the Dog/Handler Team must qualify in Conformation, one of the Performance Events (Obedience, Tracking, and or Agility) and at least one class of Stock Work (Cattle, Sheep or Ducks) to qualify and stay in the running for Most Versatile Aussie. This past Nationals her dog, Dot, finished in 9th place overall and Kim-Marie was also part of a second team that finished 10th. The second reason for attending Nationals was to compete in the Agility Finals. She and her dog, Dot, were among the 62 teams that were invited to compete from ASCA’S worldwide membership. They took 1st place in the Jumper’s Round.

When discussing life with her dogs, Kim-Marie insists that despite a bumpy start where they seemed to speak different languages things have slowly come around. "My dogs love every sport that we try. It is this enthusiasm, especially for the sport of Agility, that has placed me where I am today. I had to figure things out. Nothing came natural to me. However my reward has been this amazing relationship with each of my dogs where they now seem to read my mind. Who’d have guessed from where we started that life would take us here? I firmly believe that Agility is a great way to play with and build a relationship with your dog. I look forward to helping others meet their training goals. Whether it’s just a chance to play or eventually compete."

Class Information:

We have a variety of dog training classes for you to choose from. For more detailed information about each class, click on the links below. Starting dates for new classes, duration of classes, and fees are available on the Schedule & Fees page.

Puppy Kindergarten: For puppies under 5½ months. Learn basic commands, encourage good manners, and develop important socialization skills with other dogs and people. Also good for older shy and fearful dogs.

Novice: For dogs (5½ months and older) with little or no training. This class is divided into 3 levels. Drop-in format.

Intermediate and Advanced: For dogs that have completed all three levels of the Novice program or by instructor approval.

Day Training: Let us train your dog while you are at work. We will customize the training program to your needs, providing your dog with socialization, mental stimulation and exercise throughout the day.

Rally-Obedience: Dogs and owners navigate through a course of 10 to 20 stations, each station has a skill that the dog must perform.

Dogalates In this class you will learn to incorporate your dog into your yoga and Pilates practice.

Click-a-Trick Take positive reinforcement training to a new level with clicker training in our "Click a Trick" class. You'll learn how to train simple and complex tricks while you're mastering clicker training techniques.

Agility: A fun sport to develop confidence in your dog. Give them mental stimulation, physical exercise, and increase the bond between owner and handler.

Flyball: A dog race with four dogs on a team. A fast-paced sport that is a great energy release for those high-drive dogs.

Conformation: Sessions will concentrate on teaching you how to show your dog in the breed ring.

Canine Good Citizenship: This class prepares you to take the AKC Canine Good Citizen® test.