KDTC is proud to introduce our Instructors
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Elly Burke
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Since joining KDTC in 1995, Elly has been a very active exhibitor and
instructor of our competition classes. Elly's dogs have placed at the World
Series and Gaines tournaments. Her Sheltie, OTCh U-UD Eska's Ultimate
Legacy UDX6, Canadian CDX, "Bijou", is KDTC's first OTCh and
UDX. "Secret", OTCh U-CDX Winterlight's Best-Kept Secret UDX3 PTs, is her
second OTCh/UDX dog and the Club's third. She and her shelties have earned
four perfect 200 scores in obedience competition.
Elly has taught all of the CD series, Open and Utility. In addition to her
love of training, she is very interested in canine nutrition and herding.
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Jim Croteau
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While Jim has trained his own dogs since the early 90's, he began to get more serious about dog training in 2002.
After taking many classes at the Kalamazoo Dog Training Club, he decided to give competition obedience a try.
Jim began individual lessons, joined the club, and began assisting in classes.
His yellow lab, Bell earned companion dog titles in both AKC and UKC; taking home some
blue ribbons from Novice A.
Shortly after he got Frosty, a young black lab, Jim "crossed over" to clicker training.
Jim loves the energy and enthusiam his dogs display when clicker trained. Jim has become so
excited by clicker training that he started clicker classes at KDTC and also created a website/blog
to promote clicker training in southwest Michigan:
Clicking Canines in Kalamazoo
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Sandy Gorka
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Sandy was a member of KDTC from 1984 until her passing in 2005. She taught puppy and
CD classes and served on a number of committees including class curriculum revision committees.
Her competitive obedience highlights came mostly with her Golden Retriever, Harley, and
included a Dog World Award and Therapy Dog certification. Sandy was the 1998 recipient
of KDTC's Committee's Choice Award.
Sandy's Mlive obiturary and guest book entries.
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Russ Holroyd
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Russ has been a KDTC member since 2004. He has assisted in many Beginning, Puppy and Advanced Beginning classes; he graduated to instructing those classes after that experience. He is recipient of the President's Choice Award and was elected to the KDTC Board of Directors in 2007. Russ and his wife, Barb, are owner's of Shanghai, a Golden Retriever who has taken several classes through the club.
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Joan Hines
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Joan is one of three living Charter Members of the Kalamazoo
Dog Training Club.
She has been its Puppy Instructor since the club's inception. Joan has also
served as a 4H Leader for both the Dog Project and Leader Dogs for the
Blind Puppy Project for more than 25 years. She shows and wins with her
Golden Retrievers on a regular basis. Joan firmly
believes that while winning titles and ribbons with her own Goldens
broadens the scope of her dog loving hobby, it also creates a dog who
is a delight to live and travel with. Joan has been featured as our
member of the month:
Joan's Biography
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Marcia Johnson
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Marcia first began training dogs with the Dog Owner's Training Club of Lynchburg,
Virginia in 1971. She has put Utility titles on multiple dogs including Kasey and
Valor who both earned multiple Dog World Awards and High-in-Trials. Dog training is a fascinating
and rewarding hobby as you and your best friend learn to work and play together.
Marcia has taught all of the competitive classes; novice through utility. In October, 2007, Marcia and Sabre
earned thier OTCH. Sabre was 5 and a half at the time and formally known as:
OTCH U-CDX Fireside Sabre Wing UDX JH WC SHR.
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Mary Law
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Mary instructs the competitive classes for KDTC. In the fall of 2005, her Airdale, Spice,
earned her OTCH, making breed history as the first Airedale ever to earn an Obedience
Trial Championship. Spice is formally known as Ch. OTCH Caleb Acres Aireham Spice, UDX.
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Kiirsa Pokryfke
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Kiirsa has been training dogs since 2001. She enjoys learning new ways to train dogs and different ways to teach people. Along with dog training, she has a full time job, house-sits for people on a regular basis and works for her mother-in-law's boarding kennel.
Kiirsa lives in Portage with her husband and a total of 34 animals; from dogs to frogs and everything in between. She loves and enjoys every single one of them! Pictured from left to right are her dogs Maia (Great Dane), Iikka (Walker Hound), Billy (Catahoula Leopard Dog), Selena (Irish Setter).
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Lorena Santek
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Beginning Class Instructor
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Beth Schroeder
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Beth has been a beginning class instructor for at
least the past six years, usually teaching one class per session.
She is actively involved with the 4-H Dog Obedience project and
is also a volunteer at a local hospital, where she visits once a week with her
Therapy Dog. Her greatest passion in the "dog world", however, lies in training puppies
for Canine Companions for Independence.
In recognition of her contributions to KDTC, the sport of obedience and the community,
Beth was presented with the KDTC Founders' Award in 1997.
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Karen and Steve Stahr
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Karen and Steve are two of KDTC's most active members.
Karen teaches a puppy class and Steve teaches beginning. They
are joint winners of the following club awards: President's Choice 1999;
Founders' Award 2001. Both are members of KDTC's Board of Directors.
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Grace Stevens
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Grace discovered KDTC when she began training her Duece in 1982. Since then
she has been very active with club projects as well as instructing
all levels of pet classes. Grace has titled her own dogs and raised a
number of leader dogs who are now helping the blind lead more independent
lives. Grace has been featured as our member of the month:
Grace's Biography
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Barb VanEseltine
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Barb's first dog led her to KDTC: her Springer Spaniel, Sasha, seemed to
need a little settling down! More recently, her dogs have been
Belgians. Barb's dogs have earned multiple High-In-Trial awards, won
agility classes, completed tracking and advanced tracking titles and
been highly successful in breed competition. Barb
has instructed both pet and competition obedience classes as well as conformation classes.
She is pictured with HIT Carlin, UDT, MX, AXJ.
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Becki VanderWeele
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CD Class Series Instructor & Kid's Class Co-Instructor
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Ellen Wilson
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Ellen Wilson, who came to Kalamazoo in 1985 from upstate New York,
is a public schools art teacher. The owner of two chocolate Labrador Retrievers,
Indy and Scully, Ellen is involved in competitive obedience and agility and occasionally
does some Lab foster care and placement. She has taught competition level classes for the
past eleven years with KDTC as well as for the past four years at Battle Creek's Canine Companion
School. Ellen has also served as both a match judge and a 4-H judge.
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Karen Wood
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CD Class Series Co-Instructor
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Brenda Zielinski
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Brenda joined KDTC in 1994 with a German Shepherd Dog named Kala. It was
obvious Kala needed a job to do; Brenda chose competitive obedience. On her way to 5
High-in-Trials, 3 Dog World Awards and an award in 1995 for the Highest Scoring Dog in KDTC,
Brenda's love for the sport and dogs grew. Brenda has taught all the CD classes and
will always be grateful to Kala for getting her started in our great sport.
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