Hillary Hosford

A native Seattleite, Hillary’s love of animals began as a child and led to her first job at the Woodland Park Zoo at the age of 16. After working in the non-profit and political world, Hillary started teaching puppy and dog training classes in 2014, where she realized her passion for working with clients and helping them build their relationships with their dogs.

Hillary is a CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer) and uses force-free methods of training. She is also a member of the Pet Professional Guild (PPG), Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), and is a Canine Good Citizen evaluator for the AKC (Canine Good Citizen, Advanced Canine Good Citizen, Trick Titling, Star Puppy, etc.).

She obtained a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and a MA in International Affairs and Economics from Johns Hopkins University. She shares her home with her two dogs: Bagheera (Border Collie mix) and Oski (Super Mutt).

Hillary is available for private training (puppies, basic skills, reactivity, etc.), and teaches puppy classes, The Basics, Canine Good Citizen, Advanced Canine Good Citizen and Tricks.

Erica Wells

Erica Wells has spent the last 15 years of her life, literally in the company of dogs. She has managed a small dog daycare in Seattle, trained 100’s of K9 Nosework dogs, starting with her own Brittany who desperately needed a job. A local workshop back in 2009 got both Mimi and Erica hooked. Erica went on to become a Certified Nosework Instructor. She has been teaching and competing in NACSW, USCSS and AKC for the last 10 years. Nosework also got Team Mimi in to Truffle Hunting which Erica teaches and loves because it gets her in to the woods.

Nosework was her gateway dog sport. Mimi has competed in Agility, Barn Hunt and Lure Coursing. She has championships in AKC and USDAA agility as well as attending National Events including the first Westminster Kennel Club Agility trial and multiple trips to USDAA Cynosport Games. Mimi has retired from most of her sports except Nosework, Barn Hunt and Truffle Hunting! Erica has her hands full with her young Brittany Gator who always keeps her on her toes. He is training for agility and someday may trial regularly! He competes in Nosework and while it’s not his favorite way to use his nose, he gets more focused every day. He currently competes at the Nosework 3 Level. Gator also LOVES lure coursing. Fast Cat or full CAT he’s in. He earns part of his training money by hunting truffles. He is an expert truffle dog and works like a machine, but that’s not his favorite thing-He also is a true bird dog so Erica stepped out of her comfort zone and entered him in to hunt tests and a field trial. He has his Junior Hunter Advanced and a Derby Placement. Using positive reinforcement Team Gator is working towards Senior Hunter and Actual Hunting! Erica is learning to shoot a shotgun-not something she ever thought she would want to do!

Gator also prompted Erica to finally get her Certified Professional Dog Trainer certification (CPDT-KA) which definitely shifted some of her focus from Nosework. Her favorite dogs are those bouncy obnoxious teenagers who have no clue what they are doing at any given moment. Gator spurred her to put together a class that focuses on the gaps that often happen in training. Tenacious Teen is a class where we work on CALMNESS in any situation and building your relationship with your dog. This a great class/workshop for any dog regardless of age. Puppies to new to you dogs are all welcome. Erica also teaches Total Recall which is exactly what it sounds like. Recall is the first thing her dogs learn and it deserves a class of its own. Leash Walking is a skill that dogs need but we often don’t train very well. Leash Walking 101 gives you the skills to have a polite dog on leash.

She is currently offering workshops and classes including Positive Gun Dog Foundation, Leash Walking 101, Total Recall, Tenacious Teen workshop and full class as well as Canine Good Citizen Prep and testing. This summer she will be teaching Agility for Fun! It’s a great way to see if Agility might be your sport.

She is also available for private lessons.

Julis Hayes

Since 2015, Julis has been working with dogs: At a dog daycare, assisting in training classes, running their own dog-sitting business, and volunteering at local shelters. Now they’ve joined Kokoro Dog to focus on group classes.

Julis teaches Puppy Play and Train, Beginner Nosework, Growing Pains, and Control Unleashed.

Julis has a Masters in Applied Animal Behaviour & Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh, and their Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA). Julis lives in Lynnwood with their partner, Jo, a rescue mutt, Hazard, and Jo’s cat, Penny.