I wanted to give you a little background on me. My intro video shows a little about my dogs and how I train, but here's a bit about my background.

Melissa is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), A Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT), a member of Pet Professional Guild (PPG) and the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). She is a graduate of The Academy of Dog Behavior, where she worked closely with renowned trainer and behavior expert, Trish King, for two years. She works closely with the Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV), where she is often called upon to help newly adopted dogs settle into their homes or help resolve behavior problems to ensure pets stay in their homes. Melissa is focused on Early Puppy Socialization and Training and founded the highly successful “Sunday Puppy Socials” at HSSV to help new puppy parents learn about the importance of teaching life skills and helping puppies develop confidence in a safe and controlled manner. She also specializes in treating Separation Anxiety and separation related problems in dogs.

Melissa Dallier, CPDT-KA, was raised in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has always been a bit, well, dog obsessed. She has always been fascinated with how these creatures worked, with how we were able to have animals with big sets of teeth and no real way to communicate, live in our homes. She wanted to learn to communicate with them. In order to become a compassionate, successful trainer, she combined her love of dogs with another interest: a love and curiosity of the human condition and why humans do what they do. Melissa studied acting and was an actor in New York City for about 10 years. This combination of a love of both dogs and people can be difficult to find among people in the animal world. Many people get into this business because they love dogs and soon find out people come along for the ride, but Melissa is thrilled to work side by side with both to help them understand each other and learn to live harmoniously.

Melissa now lives in Campbell, CA, with her husband and two dogs: Moxie, a spitfire of a pit bull mix who taught her most of what she knows about high arousal and driven dogs, and Rodger, a goofy shepherd mix with 2 bionic knees and a heart of gold. They are active and enjoy hiking, swimming, and finding new adventures! There’s also Tobey, the cat who actually runs the house.

When she isn’t training her own dogs, teaching group classes, or helping private clients, she is in a constant state of education. She is always striving to learn more about how dogs perceive the world, their emotional state, the most effective ways to help modify challenging behaviors, and how she can help better their lives and the lives of their owners in the most humane way possible.