Nicole Stewart, CPDT-KA, Director of Training

Nicole strongly believes that dog training is as much about the people as it is about the dogs. That’s not just because they are the ones paying the bill, but her experience has shown that people truly want to know how to understand and communicate with their dog effectively.

Her first introduction to training came after an inspiring meeting with Paul Owens, co-author of “The ‘Original’ Dog Whisperer“. Paul introduced her to his non-violent dog training approach and Nicole was hooked. She then studied for a year with him, got an apprenticeship, and finally taught for Paul over the course of three years in Los Angeles. Nicole furthered her education by attending various conferences throughout the country, which she continues to do today. Her love of family and the Midwest finally lured her back home in 2003.

It was then that Nicole started her own business on the North Shore of Chicago focusing on helping families and their furry members. Seven years later, in 2010, she joined AnimalSense Canine Training and Behavior, Inc. as the Director of Training, where she is honored to mentor young trainers just as Paul had done for her.

Her favorite place to be is at home with her fabulous – and patient – husband, her two kids, and her steady Clumber Spaniel, Finlay.

Nancy Paolucci, CPDT-KA, Senior Trainer & Client Service Coordinator

Nancy graduated from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa with a degree in Marketing and found herself in the world of promotional products where she met her husband. They adopted their first dog in 2007 and Nancy never looked back. She delved into training and dog behavior research, realizing her dream of working with dogs. In March of 2013, she completed a six month behavior and training program at CanineLink Academy in Chicago and began training with AnimalSense. In 2017 she became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, CPDT-KA and continues to learn and grow as a trainer. Although she loves working with puppies, Nancy has a soft spot for dogs with both anxiety and reactivity issues, having had rescue dogs with both. She has taken Agility, Nosework and Dock Diving classes with her own dogs, past and present. Present including Gunner, a yellow lab and COVID pup, Rocco, an English Bulldog/Pittie mix.

Katie Moody, CPDT-KA, Senior Trainer

Katie grew up outside Detroit in a house filled with pets including cats, guinea pigs, mice, hamsters and always at least one German Shorthaired Pointer. Unfortunately, her educational and professional path prevented her from having her own dog for several years. Katie earned a BA in Economics from John Carroll University and an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She then worked for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and The Boston Consulting Group, travelling extensively to do technology and strategy consulting projects. She did manage to continue to pursue her interest in animal behavior and education during this time by volunteering as a docent at Lincoln Park Zoo for six years.

After marrying a lifelong Lab-owner and buying a house in Oak Park, she and her husband, Ned, unintentionally compromised by getting a German Shorthaired Pointer / Lab mix puppy in 2001. Soon after, she found herself in puppy preschool at AnimalSense. She then made a significant lifestyle change by deciding to quit her consulting career to stay home with her daughters, born in 2002 and 2004. After adopting her next dog, Ruby, in 2008 and returning to AnimalSense for more classes, she decided to look into dog training as a potential second career. She enrolled in AnimalSense Academy (now Fetchfind) in 2009 and joined the AnimalSense staff as a Senior Trainer. Katie then reentered the world of business strategy in late 2015 by accepting the role of VP of Strategic Initiatives for AnimalSense’s parent company, Paradise 4 Paws. Katie has also expanded her canine family, welcoming another Black Lab, Tucker, into the family in 2011 and a rescue Yorkie Mix, Hobo, in 2013.

Greg Raub, CPDT-KA, Senior Trainer

Greg Raub credits his first West Highland White Terrier for turning him into a dog lover. He credits his second with sparking his interest in learning more about dog behavior and training.

Greg first came to AnimalSense as a client to address his then two-year-old dog’s reactivity issues. Fast forward a few years; throw in a desire for a career change; and Greg enrolled in the AnimalSense Academy (now FetchFind).

Greg’s career as a dog trainer follows a long-term career in marketing and communications. He holds a degree in Journalism/Advertising and has worked as a copywriter, creative director and corporate communication manager.

Originally from Lafayette, Indiana, Greg has lived in the Chicago area for more than 25 years. Outside of work, he is an avid Chicago Cubs fan, enjoys theater and traveling and is active in the community. He is a past member and chair of the Oak Park Area Gay & Lesbian Association board of directors. Greg and his husband Steve live in Oak Park, where they share their home with now 14-year old Ernie, the dog who got Greg into this business in the first place.

Paulette Solinski, CPDT-KA, Senior Trainer

Paulette was born and raised in Chicago. She is a lifelong animal lover who had to be satisfied with a canary until she successfully lobbied her parents for a puppy at the age of ten. Laddie, a black cocker spaniel, was her first dog, but has since been followed by many other wonderful canines.

For the last few decades Paulette has worked as a corporate attorney. In 2010, Paulette was encouraged to attend AnimalSense Academy (now CanineLink) by her daughter Sarah. They attended the six month program together and were both fortunate to join AnimalSense as part of its training staff. While she still continues to practice law for CanineLink and a new company called FetchFind, she is also a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a Licensed Instructor and Team evaluator for Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program, and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. She lives with her husband, Dick, and her two therapy dogs, Sitka and Sophie.

Nate Herman, Senior Trainer

At a young age, Nate grew fascinated by the field of animal behavior. He had three cats growing up, two of which had issues with using the litter box. Later on, Nate learned that this was a common issue with cat owners, and, through this experience, realized that he wanted to pursue an education in animal behavior so he could, in turn, help other pet owners strengthen their bond with their companions. Nate recently graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s in Animal Science, specifically focusing on animal behavior. Throughout his undergraduate career, Nate gained invaluable experience in the field working at animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and zoos, and was even fortunate enough to travel abroad and study animal behavior in the rainforests of Costa Rica. Now, Nate proudly works as a Senior Trainer at AnimalSense and is striving to earn his dog training certifications with CPDT, IAABC and more. In a few years, Nate will continue his animal behavior education in graduate school, and will work toward his goal of becoming a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB), helping pet owners learn more about handling and caring for their beloved companions.

Gretchen Decker, MA, CPDT-KA, Senior Trainer

My passion is teaching owners that training can be fun and successful. I received my training certification from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and am a full member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. My professional experience includes being the current owner-operator of Gretchen Decker Pet Services and a former Manager of Canine Operations at Oak Park’s Animal Care League. I also volunteer with Pets for Vets, training and placing shelter dogs as family dog companions for veterans with PTSD.

Lindsay Joern, Junior Trainer

Born in Marshfield and then raised in a small town, in the north woods of Wisconsin, Lindsay always had different breeds of dogs growing up (Shih Tzu, German Short-haired Pointer and a Westie). Then, in 2004 she moved with her family to Illinois, where she lived in a condominium that unfortunately didn’t allow dogs. Not having a furry four-legged companion around was tough but that didn’t stop her love of dogs, it actually made her realize that a career in the dog field would be a great fit, for being such a dog-lover and also wanting to learn the history and behavioral side of these loving creatures. In 2013, she started a six month course at CanineLink Academy in Chicago. After graduating in 2014, Lindsay decided she wanted to take some time to figure out if dog training was something she wanted to move forward with but still immersed herself in anything dog-related which included: Dog walking, dog sitting and even working for a year at an Animal Hospital as a Kennel Assistant. Realizing all this time that dog training was something she wanted to still pursue, in late 2017 she finally went back to AnimalSense to become a junior trainer and since then never looked back. In the near future Lindsay hopes to become a Senior Trainer and even get involve in Therapy work so that one day when she gets a pup of her own, she can train/work with him to become a therapy dog.

Barbara Harvey, Senior Trainer

Barbara, who grew up in the Chicagoland area, has worked at animal shelters for the past five years these shelters include, Wright Way Rescue and PAWS Chicago. During these adventures, she discovered her love of training animals. Currently, she has two rescue dogs named Luke and Stella (pictured), and has had dogs since she was a baby. During her time at the shelters, she helped many dogs and cats find their forever homes. While, working with the animals she realized how important it is to train animals to keep them in their forever homes. She also became very interested in learning more about animal behavior and the science behind training. She was a certified Petco dog trainer. Barbara is excited to start her journey with Animal Sense as a Junior Trainer. She is looking forward to helping humans and dogs create great bonds through training.

Emma Brkic, Senior Trainer

Originating from a farm in Wisconsin, Emma was surrounded by animals of all kinds from a young age. Relocating to Chicago took away the chickens, pigs and cows from her life but her passion for animals still remains. Emma has always had a love for any and all animals, but dogs hold a special place for her. Volunteering throughout college at a humane society led her to adopt her dog, Lucy, a dachshund, flat-coated retriever mix (don’t ask how she happened, no one knows) and made her realize just how much joy dogs can bring us humans.

Emma is thrilled to be working with Animal Sense and seeing how much joy other people’s dogs bring them, as well as learning from some of the best at such a wonderful organization. Enrolling in the FetchFind classes, as well as becoming a junior dog trainer, has shown Emma just how much there is about animal behavior, communication and handling that she has yet to learn but she is looking forward to doing so. Becoming a dog trainer has been her dream job throughout her life and Emma can’t wait to work with both dogs and humans alike!

Allie Carleton, Junior Trainer

Allie graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May of 2020 majoring in Environmental Sciences. Her initial goal was to pursue a career in Marine Biology until she underwent multiple training courses with her German Shepard, Rambo, that made her realize a path working with dogs was her real passion. Allie grew up in Chicago and has had the pleasure of owning multiple Labradors and one German Shepherd with her family throughout the years. She is hoping to gain certifications with both basic and behavioral training.

Additionally, Allie completed an internship working at PAWS Chicago with the Intake team. This position required her to ensure each animal had the proper treatment and place assessments nationwide in the right foster or forever homes. These initial assessments further solidified Allie’s love for training and her belief that every dog should have a chance to grow up in a loving home, and be treated with compassion. She is now using the knowledge and training she obtained over the past few months to work with her black lab Chief!

Eike Marten, Junior Trainer

Eike grew up in rural Germany, where animals – particularly dogs, cats and horses, where always around and central in her life. Life in the city as a student in social work and then in social sciences meant a lot less animals. During grad school, it became apparent that a canine friend was desperately needed, one who would make sure she’d have enough exercise and playtime to keep her grounded. In 2011, she adopted then 20 months old Tessa. Like a proper rambunctious Husky girl should, Tessa sure made certain that there wasn’t a dull moment in Eike’s life ever again. Training her with the help of an amazing trainer, and learning more and more about animal behavior along the way, had Eike become passionate about understanding training better, and fascinated with resonances between teaching humans and animal learning. But, for many years, life had other plans. 

After relocating to Chicago in 2017, Eike decided to learn more about teaching human-dog teams to thrive together. She worked Chicago Bark District as a dog walker in 2018, and volunteers at a local dog rescue when possible. After some online coursework about pet dog training (with Fetchfind and with Karen Pryor Academy), and reading more and more books about animal behavior and training, she decided to enroll in The Academy for Dogs Trainers in fall 2020, and shadowed classes with Nicole at AnimalSense. Eike is overjoyed to be a Junior Trainer now, and is looking forward to honing her skills, soaking up as much knowledge as possible, and hopes to become a Senior Trainer in the future.

Gabi Jedrzejewska, Junior Trainer

Gabi grew up (and still lives) in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. Although she did not grow up with many pets, her love of animals has always been a driving force in her life. Not long after starting college at DePaul University, she got involved at PAWS Chicago, as a volunteer, intern, and eventual staff member. 

In order to further her impact on the rescue community in Chicago, Gabi also joined One Tail at a Time as a foster, volunteer and member of their behavior support team. This led her to adopt her dog- Jolene- who is always eager to help practice some training skills. 

Knowing how important good training foundations are with pups from all backgrounds Gabi’s interest in training led her to join Animal Sense to help owners feel confident communicating with their dogs in all situations.

Lynn Brezina, CPDT-KA, Behavior Consultant

For over 40 years, Lynn has had man’s best friend at her side, first in the show arena and now as a trainer. Although Lynn began her college career as a psychology student, she ended up earning a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from DePaul University. She also attended Northeastern Illinois University for an Early Child Education teaching certificate. Even though Lynn completed the necessary work for certification, when she got an offer to train dogs she took it.  It was then that Lynn discovered she loved working with people and their dogs much better than she liked competing with her own dogs.

In 2003 Lynn created her private practice CompanionAbility, LLC.  Lynn is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.   She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, as well as an American Kennel Club, Canine Good Citizenship evaluator. She is also an academic instructor for CanineLink, formerly known as AnimalSense Academy.

Lynn is delighted and very proud to be a behavior consultant for AnimalSense.