Meet Our Certified Trainers

Her inspiration came from training her own dog, “Tia, her beloved Boxer/Bulldog” who struggled with fearful and reactive issues.

Nancy takes pride in teaching positive reinforcement/force-free methods. She feels it is the best way to build confidence, trust, and enhance the human-canine bond. Nancy believes that Dog Training should be a positive experience that teaches the dog to think for itself, and to choose the right path to succeed. Her style is to utilize motivational techniques to teach in a calm and collected way.

Her roots stem from helping those with anxiety, separation, reactivity, and fearful behaviors.

Nancy teaches good manners classes along with puppy socializing classes. She also offers one-on-one private lessons and consultations.

In addition to teaching, Nancy has fostered and placed over 200 dogs and puppies, including hospice, critical care, behavior issues, and handicapped dogs of all breeds, ages, and sizes.

She is also certified in CPR for Dogs Society.

Max has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Toledo. He’s a Certified Training Partner through the Karen Pryor Academy, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (Knowledge and Skills Assessed) through the CCPDT, a Certified Fear Free Professional, and a graduate of Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course.

He’s done a bit of everything in the dog world: running playgroups for daycares and shelters, raising puppies, doing behavior assessments for local rescues, and fostering. Through Toledo’s PET Bull Project, Max gives presentations on dog-related topics at local correctional facilities and leads the Teachers’ PET class, where local teens learn to train foster dogs.

Outside of work, Max likes hiking and backpacking with his dogs Clover, Lilly, and Ash. He also does Rally Obedience and plays guitar.

Assessed through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a Certified Training Partner at Karen Pryor Academy and a Certified Fear Free Professional, Cory is the only Family Paws Certified Educator in Northwest Ohio! He believes education and learning are the basis for us to better engage ourselves with our animals.

When Cory is not helping people and dogs communicate, he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, Mechelle, and his two dogs, Coda and Fidget. He has two turtles and takes great pride in decorating their tank with different themes. Enjoys backcountry backpacking, landscaping, and tying knots in paracord.

Megan currently works at Hartman Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary assistant. Education is one of Megan’s passions, and she enjoys helping clients understand how health and training come together to affect an animal’s behaviors. Throughout her life, Megan has worked for the Toledo Animal Rescue, where she trained the shelter dogs, helping them learn good manners and behaviors to make them more adoptable. She also worked as a veterinary assistant at Westside Veterinary Hospital. Megan has also worked in multiple doggie daycares, running playgroups, and worked in a canine hydrotherapy clinic. Megan has a passion for and has been involved with the rescue world from a young age. Her family has adopted and fostered dogs since she was a young girl.

When not working with shelter dogs or assisting with group classes and private training, Megan enjoys hiking with her dog Ivy, reading a good science fiction book, and binge-watching Gilmore Girls.

From there, Chris spent three years in dog daycare and two years as a veterinary assistant, picking up practical experience with canine behavior and health along the way.

After moving back to his hometown of Toledo, Chris started helping out in classes with his lifelong friend Cory at the Pet Bull Project. He’s now teaching a beginning Good Manners class and studying for his CCPDT-KA exam.

Krystal works with dogs of all breeds and backgrounds, and they tailor their approach to each dog’s individual needs and temperament. They’ve built a track record of working through even tough behavior cases.

Krystal also has experience training exotic animals, including pigs, parrots, and wildlife. That background gives them a broader perspective on animal behavior that carries over into their dog training work.