Our Trainers

Our trainers are volunteers with deep experience working with all breeds and temperaments.  Many have professional certifications. 

Lucy Bailey, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA, AKC CGC Evaluator

GSLTC Member since: 1965
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 1970

Lucy retired from the Saint Louis Zoo. She enjoys training her dogs and teaching Rally, Obedience, Tricks, Earthdog, Barn Hunt, Lure Coursing, Conformation, Breeding and Puppy Training. All of her volunteer activities are related to the Greater St. Louis Training Club.

“I have had the pleasure to be part of the Greater St. Louis Training Club’s transition to clicker training. I have seen the classes become calmer, the dogs become more engaged in training and the families appreciate the response of their dogs to positive reinforcement marker training due to our modern training methods. I am so proud of our training team’s commitment to continuing education and the fact that, as volunteers, many of them have credentials far beyond those of local commercial trainers. I am so happy that more people are learning to read canine body language and are able to better understand when their dogs are feeling anxious or uncertain. I look forward to the day when all pets and all dogs in AKC competitions are trained with positive reinforcement marker training.”

See the referral list for Lucy’s dog training business: Come Click! LLC

Frances Beezley, CGC Evaluator

GSLTC Member since: July 2003
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2004

Fran is a retired High School math teacher. She enjoys participating with her dogs in Dog Scouts. She also enjoys training her dogs in obedience, rally obedience, scent work, and barn hunt. Fran also volunteers with the Humane Society of Missouri as a puppy foster parent.

“Training is essential for building a successful relationship with your dog. It should be fun and rewarding for both of you. Remember to take into account the dog’s likes, dislikes and needs as well as your own.”

Anne Cath

GSLTC Member since: 2010
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2018

Anne is retired. She enjoys training her dogs in obedience, rally and tricks. All of her volunteer activities are related to the Greater St. Louis Training Club.

“I really enjoy seeing students improve in their handling skills as they progress through our classes. I would love to see more of our students take the leap and participate in obedience and rally. I find these activities enjoyable and ways to continue building a positive relationship of teamwork with our dogs.”

Sherri Chisholm

Board of Directors
GSLTC member since: 2022
GSLTC Trainer since: 2023

Sherri is an engineer in the pharmaceutical industry. Primarily, she analyzes process data and test results to ensure that those processes stay in a state of control.

Her main dog activity is dock diving. She has also participated in Obedience and Rally Obedience with prior dogs. In her free time, she is a community gardener.

“Training is so important for building a strong bond with your dog, which is why using non aversive methods is so key. It keeps the bond between the human and pet healthy and strong. Plus, who doesn’t want their dog to be well behaved?”

Lisa Flaum, KPA-CTP, Fear Free Certified Trainer, Puppy Start Right Trainer

Board of Directors
GSLTC Member since: 2017
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2017

Lisa is an Information Technology specialist and a dog and cat trainer at Columbia Animal Hospital in Columbia, Illinois. At the hospital she uses her Fear Free certification knowledge to help the clients and their pets feel more accepting of veterinary exams and procedures. She enjoys training her dogs tricks, just for fun.

“I came to training through a fear aggressive dog and have a special interest in those dogs.  I also spent years working in a shelter. I love the lightbulb moment when a dog realizes that there is two way communication going on, that what he does matters and that he can make me click. It is great fun to teach people how to get that communication going with their own dogs.”

Rosemary Gottlieb

President, GSLTC
GSLTC Member since: 2012
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2014

Rosie is a stay at home dog mom. She enjoys training her dog in obedience and playing backyard games. All of her volunteer activities are related to the Greater St. Louis Training Club.

“It is important for our companion animals to build a bond, one click at a time. Positive training techniques build positive canine/human interactions.”

Jennifer Jones, CPDT-KA, AKC Farm Dog Certification Evaluator,  AKC CGC/Tricks  Evaluator

GSLTC Member since: 2022
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2024

Jennifer is retired from a career in molecular and plant biology. In her later years, she helped to run a grant program for soybean research where she was responsible for managing research projects and communicating complex scientific results and data to soybean growers.

She’s been training and competing with dogs in conformation, obedience, agility, rally and herding since she was a teenager. She is currently focused on rally and herding. She also has a certified touch therapy dog that visits with children. In addition to GSLTC, she is active in the St. Louis Herding Club and the Gateway Australian Shepherd Club.

“I love sharing positive reinforcement training with human students, especially if they have previously used other training methods. It is a special moment when the dog becomes an active learner and the human leans into a new way to communicate with their best friend.”

See the referral list for Jennifer’s dog training business: Double Bond Dog Training

Barb Kohner, PhD

Board of Directors
GSLTC Member since: 2022
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2024

Barb is a clinical child psychologist, specializing in learning and adjustment problems. She enjoys training her dogs in obedience, Canine Good Citizen skills and tricks. She enjoys walking the neighborhood, hiking on local trails, and meeting new people with her dogs. She is involved with Brittany Rescue and she trains and socializes shelter puppies at the Humane Society of Missouri. She is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainer (APDT).

“In my work with children, I often find that despite the best of intentions, parents and teachers tend to misinterpret negative behavior as a ‘motivation’ problem or ‘stubbornness’ instead of what it usually is – a reaction to stress and lack of confidence or a skill deficit of some sort. Adults then fall into the trap of using negative consequences to try to ‘motivate’ the child. These approaches not only fail to produce the desired effects, but often result in even greater frustration for everyone. When I took classes with the GSLTC, I met trainers who understood the underlying causes of negative behavior and taught the kinds of responses I believe in and try to promote in my work as a clinical psychologist. I greatly admired
and respected their knowledge and wanted to be a part of this group.”

Shelley Pryor, KPA-CTP, Fear Free Certified Trainer

GSLTC Member since: 2012
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2015

Shelley is a professional dog trainer who specializes in puppy development and behavior. Two of her dogs help her teach K-12 classes about kind animal care, welfare and safety at the Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO). She helped them earn conformation, Canine Good Citizen and Tricks titles. Each summer, Shelley and her dogs team teach 200 children dog-training skills at HSMO’s “Kids for Critters” camps. She works with her two other dogs – both rescued Akitas – on behavior and medical issues resulting from their tough beginnings at puppy mills. Shelley also works regularly with puppies and dogs at HSMO who need behavioral support. For 8 years she worked in hands-on rescue for Midwest Akita Rescue Society (MARS). She has served on the boards of the Greater St. Louis Training Club (GSLTC) and Akita Club of  America Rescue (ACAR).

“I fully endorse and practice only force-free training and handling methods. My great love is working with animals at their level – those who are quick studies of course, but also those who may be on edge or need support. They have taught me a lot about compassion and the sheer resilience of animals. I collaborate with veterinarians on behavior cases to improve family outcomes and quality of life.”

See the referral list for Shelley’s dog training business: Spry Dog

Judy Speck

GSLTC Member since: 2018
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2021

Judy is a medical research technician retiree and a parent to an adult child with neurodivergent conditions. Harvey (a Golden Retriever) and Judy work as a therapy dog team through CHAMP Assistance Dogs. Besides being an adept schmoozer, Harvey also performs many clicker-trained party tricks during these visits. In addition, Harvey applies his strong canine social skills when he assists in the rearing of foster puppies through Love a Golden Rescue.

Besides volunteering with GSLTC and CHAMP, Judy is an avid gardener, focusing almost exclusively on growing native plants that provide cover and food for the ‘locals’, e.g. birds, bees, and butterflies. The results of these efforts are included in citizen science studies and shared during occasional garden tours.

“Although I have (quasi) trained quite a few family dogs over the years, it wasn’t until my son got an assistance dog (trained using positive, noncorrective training methods) that I appreciated the value of such an approach. Later when I took “adolescent Harvey” through GSLTC classes, I also learned the importance of a training approach that kept the dog’s perspective in mind. Communication between trainer and pupil (pup included) is key. Having worked with an exuberant dog helped me to be aware of the different challenges GSLTC students might face on any given day. And taking this into consideration, look to offer supports that would help them be successful in their training of their dog.”

Alane Wolins

GSLTC Member since: 2012
GSLTC Training Team Member since: 2021

Alane is happily anticipating retirement, so she can spend more time with horses and dogs.

“When I was 13, my mom tried to convince me that I really didn’t like or need horses and suggested a dog instead. It didn’t work though: horses have always been “top dog,” but dogs do run a close second. I got my start with GSLTC via Molly in puppy kindergarten in 2012 and am a trainer on Monday nights. Currently I am involved with my dogs Kelly, Summer and Molly in various activities including disc sports, paddle boarding, backpacking, tricks and dry land mushing, have passed the CGC with Kelly, as well as novice Rally Obedience with Summer.”