Hessian Hill Trainers

Visiting Trainers - The Dog Behavior Institute

Kim Palermo CPDT-KA CCUI

Kim Palermo CPDT-KA CCUI (she/her) specializes in the Control Unleashed program with private clients, teaches a high volume of in-person CU classes, and incorporates CU into all of her membership-style group pet dog classes for her dog training business, BlueDog in Andover MA. She has been professionally training dogs for over 10 years, and has been training dogs personally for over 25 years. She is the teaching assistant for the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy CU classes and is a mentor for the Control Unleashed certification program. Kim has trained and competed in a number of dog sports including rally, obedience, nose work, agility, herding, tracking, and conformation and incorporates CU into every sport.

Ran Courant-Morgan

Ran Courant-Morgan (they/them) is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst who holds multiple dog training certifications and has been working professionally with dogs for over twenty years. After years of working with dogs independently, Ran joined with Dr. Stephanie Keesey-Phelan to found the Dog Behavior Institute, whose mission is to provide a behavior analytic approach to dog training to support both families and professionals in living and working with dogs.

Stephanie Keesey-Phelan

Stephanie Keesey-Phelan (she/her) is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who earned her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Simmons University where she continues to teach as an adjunct faculty member in the Behavior Analysis department. Stephanie has been training dogs professionally since the early 2000s and holds multiple dog training certifications including: Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT), Certified Control Unleashed Instructor (CCUI), and Fear Free Certified Professional (FFCP) and founded The Dog Behavior Institute with Ran Courant-Morgan.

Canine Center at Hessian Hill Trainers

Kyle McCraith

Obedience, tracking, detection, scent work, search & rescue

Kyle McCraith is a Master Trainer of Utility, Explosive Detection and Wildlife Detection with The North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA.com), and recently retired as Department Chair/Program Coordinator/Instructor at SUNY Cobleskill’s Canine Training and Management Bachelor (BT) Degree Program.

He has 25 years’ experience in handling and training working dog teams for police, military, search and rescue and private security clients. Kyle currently owns and operates KM K9 LLC (kmcanine.com) where he conducts behavioral assessments and training using LIMA standards. Kyle is routinely called upon to certify and train working dogs for private, government and Search and Rescue organizations throughout the United States.

Learn more about Kyle’s upcoming workshops and classes.

Kathy Stevens

puppy, Obedience, Therapy & Service dogs

Kathy Stevens feels fortunate to have turned her life long passion of caring for animals into a passionate career. She has over 35 years of experience in training dogs. Kathy is a certified dog trainer through the Certified Council of Professional Dog Trainers)

Kathy is certified as a Service Dog Training Coach and has been the lead dog trainer in the Guilderland Schools dog program for the last 18 years. She has assisted other school districts and nursing facilities in their development of canine assisted programming.

She has co-authored the book “The Canine Nitty Gritty, How to Build a Facility Dog Program,” with her friend Catherine Ricchetti.

Kathy focuses on breeding Labrador Retrievers to work as therapy dogs, facility dogs, service dogs and emotional support dogs.

She is a co-owner of Paws 2 Connect LLC, a training organization focusing on building successful programs.

Learn more about Kathy’s upcoming workshops and classes.

Tylor Stevens

puppy, obedience

Tylor Stevens began training and showing puppies and dogs at a young age, with the teachings of his mother, Kathy. Tylor began learning and understanding the importance of “positive reinforcement” in building a strong foundation and connection early on in his career. Tylor has had a working K9 for several years, and enjoys teaching and learning to help himself and others.

You will find Tylor in the training center providing one on one assistance, ensuring clients have the best experience possible.

Jessica Dinowitz

Nose work

Jessica Dinowitz, CCDT ANWI CPDT-KA, is a dedicated and certified Professional Dog Trainer recognized by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. Jessica engages in a diverse array of canine sports with her borzoi and berger picard, such as rally, nose work, lure coursing, and barn hunt. Her affinity lies in training and trialing off-breeds, showcasing her versatility and commitment to her canine companions.

Creating a constructive and lively training atmosphere, Jessica employs positive reinforcement methods to ensure a positive learning experience for all teams. Her proficiency spans across canine sports, with a notable devotion to nose work.

Learn more about Jessica’s upcoming workshops and classes.

Jared Slingerlands

Agility

Jared Slingerlands has participated in agility for 15 years with his mixed breed dogs. He has competed locally in five different organizations earning many top titles.

He has also competed on the national stage at Cynosport World Games and CPE Nationals. Jared is an approved UKI Agility judge and recently served as the Agility Training Director at Schenectady Dog Training Club where he taught all levels of classes.

Learn more about Jared’s upcoming workshops and classes.

Sonja Galley

Herding, Agility, Rally & 4H

Sonja Galley began working with the Otsego 4-H dog program in 2013 as a volunteer and has since coached youth handlers to championship titles at the NY State 4-H dog show in agility, rally, and showmanship. With her own dogs, Sonja enjoys training in a variety of dog sports – including agility, rally, disc, dock diving, skijoring, and of course herding. Most importantly, her dogs are her teammates on the farm, helping with everyday chores – from bringing cows in the barn to putting cows through a handling chute to loading cattle on a trailer and anything in between. Her dog Bindi was named the 2021 American Farm Bureau’s farm dog of the year! You can see their amazing story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyG5vpFAB2c

Sonja is just beginning her journey instructing adult handlers, but her years of experience coaching youth, mentoring farm interns, and her public speaking background have well prepared her for the task. She believes in meeting people where they are in their dog training journey and using her skills and knowledge to lead them towards their goals with kindness through easy, fun games. She also continues to study and learn from multiple sources – in person lessons, online programs, books, articles, mentors etc. – aligning with her personal mantra that “Better is never done.”

Alyssa Mix

Play is training, training is play

Alyssa Mix first began her training career with horses, working with youngstock, riding, training, showing and racing through her twenties. Alyssa strives to use a positive reinforcement with all animals she works with. After adopting her first dog as adult, she began to seek out more dog specific training knowledge to help her very “soft,” sweet dog, learn confidence. Her quest for training knowledge has continued over the years, most recently exploring different sports with her current dogs. This helped her fine tune how she handles her dogs today. Alyssa makes a point to be mindful about creating a relationship with each dog.

Her primary goal as a trainer is to make training fun for dogs and people, helping improve their connection, and providing enrichment in both their lives!

Canine Center at Hessian Hill AKC & Youth Coordinators

Erin Saddlemire

Erin Saddlemire is a lifelong resident of Schoharie County with a passion for youth in agriculture. She was an active member in 4H and FFA, and has continued to remain active as an alumni. Erin’s love of agriculture has been passed down to her daughters who are active in 4H and FFA and also compete with their dogs and horses on the local, state and national level. As the Youth Coordinator at the Canine Center at Hessian Hill, Erin will promote a variety of opportunities to encourage young people to have fun and learn with their dogs in a positive environment.

Judi Bogardus

Judi Bogardus is looking forward to assisting with the continued growth of the Canine Center at Hessian Hill Youth Program, including the many opportunities offered through AKC for youth members and creating a frisbee and toss & fetch league.

Since childhood, German Shepherds, Malamutes and Huskies have always been a huge part of Judi’s life. Throughout many years assisting in rescue, she has welcomed many dogs into her home. In her rescue work, Judi focused on dogs with special needs and abuse cases. For Judi, watching a dog gain confidence and happiness with proper training, and a lot of love, makes the struggles worth it.

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Katerina Weingarten

Katerina Weingarten, owner of Mosaic Mountain Media, manages all marketing and communications efforts for the Canine Center at Hessian Hill. She currently lives in Cobleskill, NY with her long-haired miniature dachshund, Oakley, and is a member of the Schoharie County Kennel Club.

After receiving a Master of Science in Agricultural Communications from Oklahoma State University in May 2022, she returned home to Schoharie County. Since then, she has worked with local businesses to develop and execute realistic digital marketing strategies.

Mosaic Mountain Media currently offers a variety of digital marketing services, including web design, photography, digital strategy development, graphic design, and more. Visit www.mosaicmountainmedia.com or email kat@mosaicmoutainmedia.com to learn more.

Lois E. Goblet, Owner

Puppy Classes, Foundation Agility

In 3 short years, The Canine Center at Hessian Hill Farm has grown the array of offerings for private and group classes, workshops and visiting trainers. The areas of interest have expanded in the last year and we now are offering so much more.

The list of trainers and coordinators are listed above because without each of them, the Canine Center at Hessian Hill Farm would not be where it is in 2024. They truly are my inspiration. Each trainer and coordinator has an area of expertise that I am so incredibly proud to bring to Schoharie County and our region. As a team we try to discover what makes your dog happy, what motivates your dog to have fun and what motivates you to have fun with your dog? Is it agility, scent work, obedience, detection, Fast Cat, herding or playing enrichment games for a good quality of life?

The trainers at the Canine Center at Hessian Hill Farm are talented beyond their areas of expertise, they have the experience to teach teams at a variety of levels and they are exceptional with youth. Youth handlers are a priority at the Canine Center. Our 4H Canine Workshops are always a highlight.

I could go on and on about each of our trainers but see for yourself.

As for me personally, I enjoy teaching puppy classes and foundation agility. You can read more about me as a farmer, a mom and a Mema on our Hessian Hill Farm webpage.

The Canine Center at Hessian Hill Farm practices reward based, relationship based training.

I am always available at 518-365-4085 or caninecenterHHF@gmail.com.