Private Lessons - What a Great Dog! Training Center

Private lessons at our facility can be the ideal way to start your training or bring focus to particular problem areas. Your trainer will focus on your priorities, and help you meet your training goals. Our Pet Manners trainers are highly skilled with typical training issues like jumping on people, pulling on the leash, excitement around strange dogs or people, minor to moderate fear-based Issues, training obedience and tricks.

If your dog is experiencing more significant behavior issues, however, you will need to request your private with one of our Senior Trainers. With their extensive education and experience, they are also qualified to help with the more challenging behavior issues:

Reactivity to dogs (barking and lunging toward them)
Fear related behaviors

Please note we are not able to accommodate aggressive dogs in our facilities. If your dog lunges aggressively toward people, or has bitten a person, we can help with a referral to a qualified behavior specialist. Puppy play biting is not included in this category.

If you’re interested in learning more about our option of a Virtual Private Lesson via Zoom, please click here.

Specialty Lessons: We also offer private lessons in all our specialty areas: Agility, Conformation, Barn Hunt, Nose Work, Rally, Trick Dog

Fees

Pet Manners Lessons
- Senior Trainers are $95 for a 40-minute lesson
- Make-up Lessons for missed Pet Manners classes are $45 / half hour.
Specialty Lessons are $80 / half hour
NOTE: All private lessons must be prepaid. Lessons must be cancelled at least 24 hours in advance to be eligible for a credit or refund.

Schedule

To schedule your private lesson, call our Front Desk at 214-297-3000

Your Instructors

Founder / Head Trainer
Maureen Patin CPDT-KA Head Trainer
Maureen Patin CPDT-KA founded What a Great Dog! Training Center in 2007. Maureen earned her certification from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She keeps current on the latest evidence-based, positive training techniques through online courses and attending seminars. As WAGD’s Head Trainer, Maureen utilizes positive, reward-based training methods to help people achieve fabulous results with their dogs. She […]
Co-owner / Head of Operations
Sharon Lacaze – Operations Mgr / Trainer
Sharon Lacaze joined What a Great Dog! in January 2016 and is a co-owner responsible for overseeing operations. She is passionate about positive, reward-based training that makes learning fun for both dogs and their owners. Sharon has been actively involved in dog training since 2011, taking hundreds of classes with her own dogs at WAGD. She has also attended numerous […]
Co-owner / Head of Operations
Kenna Sloan – Director of Business Services
Kenna joined the What a Great Dog team as the Business Manager back in 2011 when WAGD was just a single, small facility in Prosper. She put some skin in the game in 2016 when she joined the ownership team. Kenna is responsible for procuring the great products you find in both our retail locations. She enjoys attending educational seminars […]
Our Training Team ➡️
Great Dog Day School and WAGD on Wheels Trainer
Brittany Wingfield ADT, FDM
Brittany Wingfield is a professional dog trainer with a background in biology, animal care, and behavior. With more than five years of experience working as a zookeeper, along with experience in management and professional dog training, Brittany brings a broad understanding of animal behavior to her work with dogs and their families. Her training approach focuses on building communication, confidence, […]
Nose Work Trainer
Devin Turk
Devin has been involved in dog sports since 2008 and began specializing in nosework in 2017 alongside his Great Dane, Gemma. What started as a partnership in scent detection developed into an accomplished journey that has helped establish new milestones for Great Danes in competitive nosework. Together, Devin and Gemma made breed history, with Gemma becoming the first Great Dane […]
Rally Trainer
Diane Cocchiara CPDT-KA
Diane Cocchiara joined WAGD in 2018. She teaches Rally, Pet Manners and Private Lessons. She also sometimes jumps in to help with Great Dog Day School. She completed her Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations course in 2018 and WAGD Trainer Education Program in 2019. She now is certified through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers and an AKC […]
Ellen Heavner
Ellen is Director of the nosework program at WAGD, and joined the team in 2020. She teaches at all levels of nosework/scentwork. She designed the curricula used by the other nosework instructors at WAGD. She has been teaching scent work for the last 12 years, competes in many venues, and is a judge for many scent work organizations, including: AKC, […]
Great Dog Day School and Pet Manners Trainer
Dylan Benedetto
Dylan began his dog training career in 2022 while managing a local doggie daycare and boarding facility in Deep Ellum, TX. Dylan completed WAGD’s rigorous Trainer Education Program in 2024 and has attended multiple virtual and in-person seminars from respected industry trainers, including Mike Shikashio and Shade Whitesel, as well as online training classes and canine first aid/cpr courses. Additionally, […]
Specialty & Pet Manners Trainer
Gabi Vannini CPDT-KA
Gabi Vannini CPDT-KA joined the WAGD staff in fall 2018. She teaches barn hunt, agility, conformation, rally and manners. She is an AKC CGC, trick, ACT test, temperament test and farm dog evaluator. Gabi competes in a variety of dog sports with her own dogs and has titled in obedience, agility, rally, conformation, lure coursing, dock diving, barn hunt, tricks […]
Jan Muennink
Jan joined the WAGD Team in 2018 after retiring from her career as an Intellectual Property Paralegal. There’s a good chance you have talked to her on the phone or interacted with her in person as a front desk team member. However, her first experience with WAGD was in 2016 when she enrolled in her first manners class with Noelle, […]
Great Dog Day School and Pet Manners Trainer
Joy Hampton
Joy joined WAGD as a pet trainer in 2026. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Before graduating with her master’s she realized that animal training would be a better career/personality fit than counseling. She has always been an avid animal lover and became a vegetarian at 12-years of age. Even in high […]
Julie Morton
Julie is a self-described nosework and dog training nerd. She began nosework instruction in 2018 and began working as an AKC Scent Work Judge in 2022. Julie’s love of nosework began while working with her reactive Australian Cattle Dog mix, Eleanor Frisbee. Julie and Ellie began their nosework competition career in 2016 and competed until Ellie’s retirement in early 2024. Together they […]
Julie Prigmore
Julie Prigmore teaches Nose Work classes at What a Great Dog! She has enjoyed all forms of dog sports for over 37 years, competing and titling in conformation, obedience, agility, fast cat competitions and coursing. She has also achieved certifications in working aptitude, CGC, and Nose Work. Julie has handled and finished multiple champions, Doberman Pinschers, Alaskan Malamutes and Tibetan […]
WAGD Site Manager and Pet Manners Trainer
Keri Zamagni
Keri brings a diverse background in canine behavior, training, and client service to her role as Site Manager and Trainer at What A Great Dog. She is passionate about helping dogs and their families achieve success through positive, engaging training that makes learning both effective and fun. Keri served as a Pet Partners therapy team handler and completed Mike Shikashio’s […]
Matt Henry
Matt first joined the What a Great Dog! Team in March of 2022. He completed the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations course in the fall of 2022, and finished the WAGD Trainer Education Program in 2023. He teaches Pet Manners classes and does WOW In-home Training Sessions. As a child, Matt dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. Although he didn’t […]
Nose Work Trainer
Mickey Schufman
Mickey has been involved with dogs for over 40 years and has competed in conformation, obedience, rally and agility. She started an in-home training business (Four Paws Training School) in 2002 and worked with owners using reward based training. Some of the trainers who have influenced her most are: Susan Garrett, Bob Bailey, Pat Miller, Kathy Sdao, Jean Donaldson, and […]
Separation Anxiety, Nose Work & Senior Pet Manners Trainer
Rhea Northcut CPDT-KA ABCDT CSAT
Rhea Northcut, CPDT-KA ABCDT CSAT FDM is a Senior Trainer with What a Great Dog! She joined the WAGD family in 2016. Rhea has taught Pet Manners and Nose Work in both group classes, private lessons, and online courses. She mostly focuses now on a training program aimed at resolving separation-related issues, while also maintaining online manners and nosework classes. […]
Stephanie Schwanke
Stephanie joined What a Great Dog! in August of 2020. She is a Pet Manners trainer and the Coordinator for both our GDDS (Day School) and WOW (In-home) programs. If you have visited our retail store you may know her as “Aunt Stephanie”. All the pups know she’s always ready to give some extra love and treats, for good behavior […]
Pet Manners, Tricks and Nose Work Trainer
Victoria Johnson
Victoria is a Senior Trainer at What a Great Dog, teaching a variety of classes including all Manners class levels, Puppy Preschools, Trick Dog, Nosework, and Canine Good Citizen. She also helps dogs and their owners, in private one-on-one lessons, work through behavior struggles and gain new skills. She taught previously taught Barn Hunt and has a deep understanding of that sport. Her passion for dog training lies in […]