Meet Our Trainers

Dana Mongillo, CPDT-KSA
Head Trainer and Owner

Dog training should not feel like a chore or be a time-sucking burden. It should simply be a natural side effect of the fun time that you and your dog spend together. If you behave appropriately, with clear, consistent rules, your dog will learn faster and with less confusion. Ultimately, my goal is to help create happy families, where the dogs and the human family members understand each other and respect each other.

I started working with dogs in 2000. I use positive-reinforcement based methods because they promote an efficient and enjoyable way to build a good relationship between dog and human. Positive dog training appeals both to the side of me that loves its scientific foundation in learning theory and the side of me that feels that the relationship a person can have with an animal is profoundly magical and fulfilling in a way that science cannot explain.

My educational experience includes working with great positive dog trainers and attending many seminars, workshops, and conferences. My favorite experiences include clicker training chickens at a Bob Bailey workshop and going through Pat Miller’s training academy in Tennessee. I believe that continuing education is crucial to my growth as a dog trainer so I attend one or more conferences each year.  I am always excited to learn more about current training techniques and dog behavior.

I am a Certified Pet Dog Trainer–Knowledge and Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA), the highest level of nationally-recognized certification. This means I passed an exam administered by the National Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (www.ccpdt.org) and submitted videos of me training people and dogs. You can reach me directly with any questions about my training classes at training@fuzzybuddys.com.

Please note: I no longer do private consults for behavior challenges.

Brooklyn Hirst, Trainer

Brooklyn’s dog handling experience began over ten years ago volunteering at the Seattle Humane Society. They started working at Fuzzy Buddy’s in June, 2010. Since then, Brooklyn has logged over 14,000 hours keeping the play safe in the Fuzzy Buddy’s playroom. As a side project, Brooklyn is obtaining hours training cats.

Brooklyn is always excited to learn new things about the animal world and  attends dog training conferences each year to keep current on dog training methodology. Brooklyn is passionate about helping people and dogs understand each other better and has found that positive reinforcement-based dog training is the most effective way to make that happen.

Brooklyn lives on Alki Beach with her dogs, Batman, Buffy, Daisy, and Dottie, and her cat, Mr. Man.

You can email Brooklyn directly with any questions about her classes or to set up a private consult.