HAYLIE GERNET DOTT WORKSHOP! BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH MOTIVATION AND PLAY, JUNE 6TH
Laurie Strimavicius
Laurie is the founder and owner of Train M.E. Along with her husband Tom, daughters, Emma and Sarah, her family pack also includes four Labrador Retrievers and two Basset Hounds. Laurie's classes focus primarily on Competition Obedience. Her passion for helping people reach their full potential and reach their goals was the catalyst to opening Train M.E. Laurie is a firm believer in training the dog in front of you and loves problem solving and thinking outside the box to find the answer.
Alongside winning multiple HIT's, HC's, and 200's, Laurie has been invited and has attended many prestigious national competitions including Westminster, the National Obedience Championship, and The Obedience Classic.
Aside from group classes, Laurie offers in person and virtual private instruction as well as seminars and workshops.
OTCH Southpaw's It's All About M.E. UDX6 OM7 (Novice A to OTCH)
OTCH4 Katalyst's Hotter Than A Fantasy UDX4 OM6 (#2 Labrador Retriever, 2025)
Wheatland's Perfect Storm
Katalyst's Into The Woods
Danette Chorney
Danette has been competing with her Labrador Retrievers since 2008 in Rally, Obedience, Agility, Dock Diving and Fetch. Her dogs have earned multiple AKC & CDSP UD titles, AKC RACH and WCRL ARCH titles, multiple High in Trial, High Combined and High Triple Combined awards, and multiple Agility championship titles in AKC, USDAA, UKI and CPE. Danette is an active AKC Rally judge, CGC & Trick Evaluator, and Fetch judge. She was honored to judge the 2018 and 2023 AKC Rally National Championships in Ohio, and is still actively exhibiting her own dog in AKC & CDSP Obedience and AKC & WCRL Rally.
Danette has been teaching a variety of dog training classes in MA and CT since about 2010, ranging from basic obedience skills to competition level handling. In addition to her class offerings at Train M.E., she also offers in person as well as virtual private lessons based on availability, seminars and workshops.
Danette was born and raised in Western Massachusetts, and currently resides in Meriden, CT with her husband, Chris and her two Labrador Retrievers “Enzo” and “Cash”.
Jackie Florio
Jackie has been training and exhibiting dogs in obedience and agility for over 20 years. Her first love was the Maltese, most notably “Soda Pop” who achieved titles in AKC, USDAA, and CDSP. She is currently trialing Working Cocker Spaniel “Snacks” in obedience and agility. Her home includes Maltese “Blueberry” and snake “Dolorhissss”. Her previous competition experience includes Aussies, Border Collies, and Sport Mixes. Jackie enjoys teaching foundation work, engagement, and problem solving. She ensures training is a positive, fun, and exciting experience for both dog and handler. She loves discovering each dog’s unique learning style. Jackie offers classes on a variety of topics as well as private lessons (including behavior consults).
To contact Jackie:
Kaleigh Gagnon
Kaleigh is the proud owner of two Labrador Retrievers, Nor'Easter and Beacon, a Border Collie, Riot and four mischievous cats. She also volunteers as a service dog puppy raiser and often has an extra Labrador with her! Her journey into competitive dog sports began with her Labrador, Beacon, who she adopted after he was released from his service dog program. Together, they fell in love with scentwork, earning multiple High in Trial titles and even a spot demonstrating at Westminster. Kaleigh adores teaching scentwork and seeing the amazing bond it creates between dogs and their humans, while allowing the dogs to do something they naturally love. She loves that scentwork is accessible to all dogs and owners, regardless of background. Kaleigh and Beacon's success in scentwork has let them to join the Rhode Island Canine Search and Rescue team.
Chris Chorney
Chris Chorney is an instructor and also an evaluator for the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC, CGCA, CGCU), Fetch, and Trick Dog programs. Chris has over 30 years of experience in training and handling dogs for wilderness search and rescue, and was a certified handler for two working SAR K9s (Jet and Ellie). Jet was also a TDI certified therapy dog who served the community for over four years, and Chris' current dog Cash is also training to prepare for therapy work. Chris enjoys teaching to provide young or inexperienced dogs a solid foundation of skills and improve the working relationship between dogs and their owners. In his spare time, he enjoys singing and playing bass with his band, motorcycling, camping, and spending time in the woods with his dogs.
To contact Chris: