Here at the Online Classroom we’ve had guest instructors from Dr. Deb Gross-Saunders to Linda Mecklenburg teach, just to name a few. Check out bios for current guest instructors here.

Dr. Debbie Gross

Dr. Debbie Gross has authored many chapters in veterinary textbooks, and writes for professional journals as well as magazines dedicated to the dog enthusiast. She is a regular contributor for Clean Run, Dog Sport, Working Dog Digest, Dogs Naturally, and various breed magazines. You may have seen her on Good Morning America or heard her on Ask Martha’s Vet with Marty Goldstein. She has been quoted in many newspaper articles, television shows, professional journals, and magazines.

Dr. Gross co-taught in the past with Bobbie Lyons here in the Online Classroom!

Linda Mecklenburg

Linda Mecklenburg and Daisy Peel teamed up to teach Linda’s Awesome Paws Skills Drills Class. Check it out!

Anna Hinze

From Anna: “I have been teaching weekly classes at my club for several years now and have always really enjoyed to watch my students grow as handlers and trainers. I love to use free shaping / clickertraining with my students, as the dogs gain a lot of understanding through this method of training. My experience in teaching tricks for canine freestyle and teaching skills for competitive obedience helps me to be precise in what I want to see from my dog and how to get there. Since I am studying psychology, I have a profound background on theories of learning and behavior.”

“During my exchange year in the US I spent a lot of time training and trialing other people’s dogs. Due to this I have trained and competed with a wide variety of dog breeds and sizes, which helps me enormously when teaching.

When teaching a seminar, I am well prepared and organized. I try to find individual solutions for each team’s problem. There are no solutions that work for every team and sometimes I have to be a little creative and try something new. Participants appreciate my ability to explain ideas well and to break new behavior down in small elements,  be it a new skill for the dog or a new move for the handler.”

“I think it is very important to be flexible in your handling. That is why I don’t limit my teaching to handling from ahead or behind the dog. I encourage my students to try different handling strategies. My knowledge about the differences between agility in Europe and the US can be helpful for this. With my courses, I strive to challenge my students and encourage them to go out of their comfort zone for a maximum of learning.”

Jive is 5 years old now and successfully competing in the top level of agility in Europe. Anna and Jive represented Germany at the Border Collie Classics 2012, qualified for German World Team Tryouts in 2013 and 2014 and will be representing Germany at the WAO 2014.

In 2011, Anna started teaching agility at her local club and soon after taught her first seminar. This year, Anna taught several seminars in the US and enjoyed sharing her knowledge with the american agility community. In her seminars she finds the best path for each individual team on challenging international courses. When not teaching or training agility, Anna studies psychology at the University of Göttingen, Germany.