Meet the Team

A Belgian shepherd learning how to track


  • Founder

    Dave has been involved in dog sports for more than 20 years and has competed in AKC obedience, tracking tests, agility, herding trials, French ring and rettungshunde.

    While working as a wildlife biologist, Dave trained several conservation detection dogs for surveys of rare wildlife and plants such as Kincaid’s lupine, western pond turtle nests, among others.

    Dave also trained and handled his SARDUS-certified mantrailing dog Sharpy while he was a member of the local K9 search and rescue team.

    Since his retirement in 2019, Dave has more time to share his experience and skill set with other owners of companion dogs and aspiring K9 athletes.

    Dave majored in Psychology at the University of Minnesota with a special emphasis in experimental psychology and animal learning. He also has a BFA in illustration and a MS in Forest Science.

A competiton obedience dog and handler

  • Joan has lived with dogs almost her entire life and was competing as a teenager in AKC obedience trials with her Keeshond named Renny.

    During the last 20 years, Joan has been especially active in AKC, UKI and USDAA agility competition and she regularly participates at regional and national level events. Her partners Rocky, Knife and Dagger have been among the fastest Belgian Groenendaels to have ever competed in the USA. In 2019, Joan and Knife were members of the US Agility Team that competed in the FMBB Championships in the Czech Republic. Joan and Knife’s daughter Dagger were also on the US Agility Team that competed in the 2024 FMBB championships.

    Joan continues to compete in AKC obedience and has trained multiple dogs to novice, open, and utility levels. Joan teaches has been teaching private lessons in agility and competition obedience since her retirement as a wildlife ecologist for the US Geological Survey.

Dave and Joan have earned more than 175 titles, awards, and certifications with their Belgian shepherds in the last 25 years. Since 2019 they have been offering lessons in canine sports, as well as a range of services for family companion dogs. Dave and Joan also breed Belgian Groenendaels under the kennel name Obsidian. They have also shared their home with several foster dogs and regularly help out in rescue cases.