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
- Pet Manners Lessons
- Senior Trainers are $85 for a 40-minute lesson
- Standard Trainers are $70 for a 40-minute lesson
- Make-up Lessons for missed Pet Manners classes are $45 / half hour.
- Specialty Lessons are $70 / 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.
To schedule your private lesson, call our Front Desk:
Frisco 214-297-3000 or Richardson 972-677-7094
Your Instructors
Founder / Head Trainer
Maureen Patin CPDT-KA Head Trainer
Maureen Patin CPDT-KA founded What a Great Dog! Training Center in 2007. She is the Head Trainer for both WAGD locations and the online learning division, Great Dog Online. 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. Maureen utilizes positive, […]
Co-owner / Head of Operations
Sharon Lacaze – Operations Mgr / Trainer
Sharon Lacaze joined What a Great Dog! in January 2016. She is the Head of Operations and a Co-owner of What a Great Dog! She also teaches Pet Manners classes. Sharon utilizes positive, reward-based training where owners can have fun and their dogs enjoy working. Sharon has taken hundreds of classes with her dogs at WAGD since 2011. Sharon has […]
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 ➡️
Adrian Phillips FDM
Adrian Phillips FDM is a Senior Trainer at WAGD. They joined WAGD in 2022 as a Pet Manners and Conformation Handling trainer. They are a CGC, Trick, and Temperament Test evaluator. They have been involved in the world of show dogs for over 10 years, handling breeds from every group in the conformation ring. They got their first show dog, […]
Aislinn Meeks
Aislinn joined What a Great Dog! In October 2021. She is a shift manager and pet manners trainer at our Frisco Location. With a passion for pups, Aislinn joined the WAGD team right after finishing High School and receiving a certificate in Wedding and Event planning in 2021. She completed the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations course in 2023 and […]
Manners Boot Camp and WOW Trainer
Brittany Wingfield ADT, FDM
Brittany joined the What a Great Dog! Team in January 2017. She trains in our Manners Boot Camp program and does In-home lessons through our WAGD on Wheels program. She also teaches Nose Work and Pet Manners. She enjoys teaching pet owners all about positive training, building relationships, and better communication between pups and their owners. Brittany Wingfield is an Accredited […]
Charlotte Schuessler
Charlotte Schuessler joined the WAGD team in 2024. She has long been fascinated with human and animal behavior, and got her start in dog training in 2017 through training her own service dog, a Dalmatian named Daisy Mae. Charlotte helped Daisy Mae overcome issues such as car anxiety and prey drive towards small pets to become an exemplary dog, and began training dogs professionally […]
Courtney Brown
Courtney Brown is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer who joined the WAGD team in 2023. Courtney began her dog training career working with service dogs at Texas A&M University. She assisted in the raising and training of service dogs for four years, including one year serving as President of the organization. Courtney’s passion for detection work grew while volunteering as […]
Flyball Trainer
Cindy Dalton
Cindy Dalton has been competing in flyball since early 2008, starting with her rescue cattle dog Bentley. The club she competes on, BreakThrough, is the 3rd all time fastest team in U-FLI flyball, and 4th fastest in the world. BreakThrough travels to the U-FLI Tournament of Champions and in 2022 placed second in Division 1. She currently has four border […]
Nose Work Trainer
Devin Turk
Devin Turk joined the What A Great Dog team in 2019. He and his wife, Ash-Leah, have been involved in dog shows, sports, and training for twelve years. They have been involved in everything from Rally, Obedience, Conformation, Agility, Lure Coursing, Fast CAT, Nose Work, Barn Hunt, Dock Diving, as well as K9 Search and Rescue, Tracking, and K9 Scent Detection. […]
Pet Manners Trainer
Diane Cocchiara CPDT-KA
Diane Cocchiara joined WAGD in 2018. She teaches Pet Manners, Puppy Preschools and Private Lessons. 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 Evaluator. Diane has two dogs of her own, Eugene a Lab/Hound […]
Pet Manners Trainer
Fable Gay IAABC-ADT FDM
Fable Gay joined the What a Great Dog! team in 2017. They are an Accredited Dog Trainer through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, a Certified Family Dog Mediator through Kim Brophey’s Applied Ethology LEGS Course, and an AKC CGC Evaluator. They studied under Michael Shikashio CDBC and completed his Aggression in Dogs Master Course in 2022. They teach […]
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. Prior to that, he attended multiple in-person seminars from some of the industry’s most respected trainers, including Mike Shikashio, online training classes and canine first aid/cpr courses. Additionally, he’s worked […]
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 and is designing the curricula used by the other nosework instructors at WAGD. Ellen started training dogs in obedience when she was 14 in 4-H. She has dabbled in most dog sports over the years, but in 2014 […]
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, a […]
Jennifer Pryor
Jennifer joined the What a Great Dog! team in 2023. She is a front desk team member and pet manners trainer. Jennifer started working with dogs in 2016 as a dog walker and has had the pleasure of working with dogs in a variety of roles since then. She has also worked at a doggy daycare, as a groomer’s assistant […]
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 […]
Lindsey Hawkins
Lindsey has had a passion for animals from a very young age and currently works full time at a veterinary clinic. Her intro to the dog sporting world began with a rescue 6 month old Great Pyrenees mix named Zeus. In 2011, when he was 2 years old he became a therapy dog with Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Throughout the years […]
Liz Alford
Liz earned her Certified Canine Training and Behavior Specialist certification through the Animal Behavior Institute in 2021 after becoming a client of WAGD in 2015 with her rescue dogs. She has stepped through the programs of Manners, Agility, Rally, Tricks, CGC and Barn Hunt. She understands the importance of bonding with her dogs using positive reinforcement training methods and also […]
Martha Connell CDTK
Martha is a Pet Manners Trainer who teaches both private lessons and pet manners group classes. She started her dog journey in January of 2019 boarding and walking pups while her husband was stationed in Virginia Beach, VA. She gained experience working with dogs of all ages, breeds, and personalities. This exposure really got her interested in pursuing dog training […]
Matt Henry
Matt 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, is currently finishing the WAGD Trainer Education Program, and will be teaching Pet Manners classes at the Richardson location. Matt was raised in upstate New York, but he has called Texas home since […]
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 […]
Barn Hunt Trainer
Pam Opanowitz
Pam joined the WAGD team in 2019, bringing extensive knowledge of both training and competing in Barn Hunt. She has been an integral part of launching Barn Hunt at WAGD. She is teaching all levels of Barn Hunt at WAGD Pam began training and competing in dog sports with her miniature schnauzer Lucy in 2012. Lucy has earned numerous titles […]
Separation Anxiety, Nose Work & Senior Pet Manners Trainer
Rhea Northcut CPDT-KA ABCDT CSAT
Rhea Northcut, CPDT-KA ABCDT CSAT is a Senior Trainer with What a Great Dog! She joined the WAGD family in 2016. Rhea teaches Pet Manners and Nose Work in both group classes and private lessons. She also provides a training program aimed at resolving issue with Separation Anxiety. Rhea is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and an Animal Behavior College […]
Pet Manners Trainer
Ryan Shaw CPDT-KA
Ryan joined WAGD in May of 2011, teaching Agility and Pet Manners classes. Ryan worked in the commercial construction industry for 22 years. When she earned her CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer) in 2013, Ryan left the corporate world to pursue her dream of working with and training dogs as a full-time profession. Ryan’s utilizes positive reinforcement training methods, including […]
Stephanie Schwanke
Stephanie joined What a Great Dog! in August of 2020. She is a shift manager and Pet Manners trainer in our Frisco location. 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 of course. Before joining What a […]
Victoria Johnson
Victoria is a trainer for Manners classes, Puppy Preschool, Barn Hunt and private lessons at our Richardson location. After joining the WAGD team in 2020, she completed WAGD’s Trainer Education Program and the Karen Pryor Academy Foundations course. Absolute Dogs’ Pro Dog Trainer and Pro Dog Trainer Geek programs were completed in 2021 and she is enrolled in their ongoing […]