Our staff consists of applied animal behaviorists who are graduates of The American Institute of Animal Science. Our training methods are based on positive reinforcement and motivation theories acquired from university research in applied animal behavior.

Debbie Shoener MacDonald - ACBC, CPDT
Debbie has been training dogs professionally for over 30 years. During that time, she has worked with over 12,000 dogs, both in private and group situations. She was a former competitor in the AKC obedience ring, where she earned several titles. She also participated in the sport of Schutzhund, where she earned the highly coveted Schutzhund III title. She originally started her career working with local police departments and security dogs, then later started serving the general public with their family pets. Debbie is a member of NADOI (National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors) and APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) in which she is a CPDT (Certified Pet Dog Trainer). She is also a member of the ACABC (Association of campanion Animal Behavior Counselors) and is certified within that organization as an ACBC (Associate Canine Dog Behavior Counselor). Debbie is certified in CPR by the Red Cross and is an American Kennel Club, CGC (Canine Good Citizen) evaluator.

Shirley Miyahara - ACBC
Shirley has been training dogs personally for over 20 years. She has competed in the AKC obedience ring and in the sport of Schutzhund with her dogs. She has earned titles in both rings. Shirley has been working at Canine Academy since 2000. She started working as an assistant to the training director and is now a part time trainer, instructing her own classes. She is a member of the ACABA (Association of Companion Animal Behavior Counselors) and is certified within that organization. She is also a member of the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers), and is certified by the Red Cross in canine CPR.