Maureen McKernan

I’ve been training dogs for over 40 years, blending my lifelong passion for animals with my professional background in education. I hold a Master’s Degree in Education and spent 38 years as a Special Education Teacher in public schools before retiring last year.

My dog training journey began as a teenager with our family’s Labrador Retriever, who was so ball-obsessed she’d chase it into the street. To keep her safe, I taught her to lay down at the curb and wait—a simple lesson that sparked my love for training. Years later, I began formal obedience training with our next Labrador and discovered the exciting world of dog sports, starting with flyball.

Over the years, I’ve taught basic obedience classes, trained three dogs through Utility, and earned a Utility title on my first Belgian Shepherd (Malinois). I’ve competed in flyball for over four decades with a variety of dogs, including many Jack Russell Terriers I fostered, trained, and rehomed through Jack Russell Rescue. Many of these dogs went on to become outstanding sport dogs and cherished family companions.

I began training agility in the late 1980s when it was still called Steeplechase and have taught agility classes for many years, working with dogs of all breeds and skill levels. Today, I compete with my three dogs—Salsa (Sport Mix), Nightshade (Belgian Shepherd Laekenois), and Tempest (Belgian Shepherd Malinois). While my primary sports are agility and flyball, my dogs also enjoy scent work, barn hunt, dock diving, Fast CAT, and disc.

I love helping dogs grow in confidence, skill, and joy. I strive to create training environments where every dog-and-handler team can achieve their goals—and discover they’re capable of even more than they imagined.