Sami Jo Menning always loved animals, but never imagined how far dogs would take her into her career. She was always finding herself in the field with her father and his trained Labradors every fall following in his footsteps. From there she found working with dogs was very rewarding.

After graduating, she went to attend Starmark Academy and earned her accredited certificate as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. Since then, she has used her communication skills to help dog owners learn to love living with their dogs! "Dog training can be a very personable job. Your clients let you into their homes, routines, struggles and into their lives. And sometimes the changes that training requires can be hard," she says. "I love to be the support and encouragement while those changes take place, and I love to see the results in the home that comes with training!"

Sami Jo has 5 dogs: Blu, a 9 year old German Shepherd; Tex, a 6 year old Black Lab; Lola a 6 year old corgi with so much personality, a 4 year old Dalmatian named Ray AND a new 8 month old Black Lab, Zyn. Blu is her everything dog who enjoys any sport she puts her mind to, she has accomplished a lot in her 9 years. Tex is her retrieving fool who has earned his Hunting Retriever Champion in the UKC hunt tests, has titled in dock diving, the AKC obedience ring along with Rally. Lola loves to steal the show at any dock diving event while also competing in barn hunt and frisbee. While Ray recently earned his Championship in the conformation ring and enjoys dock diving, barn hunt, obedience and his favorites - Nosework and Frisbee! One of Sami Jo's passions is dogs with jobs or in a sport and dogs who are active, healthy members of the family.

Sophie is our Training Assistant Manager! She has always had a strong passion for animals, but her love really grew for training when she began taking puppy classes at Paws with her family's pups when we firt opened. Sophie has been at Paws since 2021 and has loved being able to step into every training aspect we offer. From working with our puppy students, adult dogs, and clients directly, she loves to help coach owners and create strong foundations for a better future with their pets. Along with her training experience, Sophie has also completed her degree in Veterinary Technology with hands on experience in the veterinary field.

Sophie's personal dog is an Australian Shepherd named Journey. She loves to compete in different sports and activities with her to challenge each other and grow a stronger relationship together. Sophie is also a volunteeer puppy raiser for a service dog organization and will have a service puppy tagging along with her as well.

Taryn had a big passion for animals growing up. Being surrounded by dogs her whole life helped guide her way into dog training. Her first job was working at a dog daycare and boarding facility. While working she received hands on exposure to dog body language and behavior. From there her passion grew and she completed her online Animal Behavior College for Canine Obedience. She made her way to a Senior Dog Trainer at her last job and continued to get exposure to puppy socialization, solving problem behaviors, clicker training, leash walking and teaching group classes. At Paws Pet Resort you will see her being a lead trainer in our Puppy University program where she is getting puppies started off on the right track to socializing and learning. She is also a dog owner to Frost, her Australian Shepherd and Kira her German Shepherd. She loves to spend time training and working them.

Olivia has always had a strong passion for animals, she grew up riding, training and competing with horses. She has always loved dogs and cats and had a dream to be a dog trainer one day. She attended and graduated from Kennelwood Academy for Professional Dog Trainers in July of 2023. Upon completion, she was heavily involved in puppy imprinting, agility, specific odor detection, tracking, advanced retrieval and obedience alone with protection dog development. While at school she was invested in client interactions and helping owners feel empowered. She acquired a Belgian Malinois, Cisco, to train throughout schooling and plans on competing in PSA, Dock Diving and AKC Scent Work and Obedience with him. She enjoys spending her time with him hiking, swimming and teaching him new tricks. She states ‘I have a strong pull to help owners be successful with their dog and watching them achieve all of their training goals’.

Madison has been with Paws since the beginning of dock diving started. Madison helps run all of our dock diving classes, swimming lessons and dock diving advanced jumps. You may see her standing pool side encouraging all the dogs as they learn the sport of dock diving and swimming. She loves to see them progress through and gain confidence in the water. You may see her around competing herself with her personal dogs Dixie and Bailey in Dock Dogs as well as spending time training Seargeant. Madison is a wonderful asset to the team of Paws and our dock diving growth!

Meet Delaney! Delaney is an up and coming trainer with a natural born talent. When working with the training dogs, she especially loves seeing when the confidence grows in the dogs. Whether it is a new puppy settling in their crate, beginning to express their personality, or when they really understand their training goals and commands. She loves connecting with clients and helping guide them with advice and relating to them on various subjects. She love spending time with her personal dogs, Archie (Border Collie) and Phoebe (Golden Retriever). Archie is involved in Herding, Dock Diving and Trick Training. He obtained his CGC and we know that is just the start for titles for him. Delaney loves working with them on obedience and polishing their off leash training as well. She loves working with her own dogs to be fit, mentally stimulated and happy.

Parker was born and raised in Sioux Falls and is currently working towards earning his Masters Degree in Athletic Training. He has a boxer named Griffin and will be receiving a service dog puppy to raise from Freedom Service Dogs in December. He has been with Paws since July of 2021 where he started in our boarding department. He loves working in Puppy University and seeing them progress throughout their training and gain confidence, along with getting to know their personalities. Parker’s goal as a trainer is to always put the dog and their owners in the best position for success and helping them get there however that may look!

Hollie has always loved animals and knew she would always work with them one way or another. One of her first jobs was working at a dog boarding kennel in Stillwater, Minnesota where she grew up. Hollie graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Fish and Wildlife biology degree, and after college worked as a zookeeper for 15 years. Although she has left that career behind her, animals have remained a big part of her life. Hollie is a licensed master falconer and loves to spend time in late summer and fall flying and hunting with her hawk. Hollie first discovered AKC Obedience at the local kennel club and has been competing in AKC Obedience since 2014. Her German Shorthaired Pointer Faust (13 years) is retired from AKC Obedience with several High in Trial awards, High Combined, and received his Utility title right before retirement. Onyx, her 4 year old Pomeranian is currently competing in AKC Obedience. Her 1 year old Golden Retriever, Lark, is currently training for Obedience and also loves dock diving.