We are proud to have such a talented group of dog trainers at our facility! Their skills combined
allow us to offer a wide variety of classes, providing class opportunities for any interest and any level.
Lisa Bartel is a Reward-Based Reinforcement Focused Dog Trainer who sees her role as a coach dedicated to helping canine guardians.
Her passion for dog training began in 2013 after adopting two fearful, reactive dogs and dedicating time to volunteering and working at a local shelter. Inspired by the connections she made and her trainer colleagues, Lisa committed to expanding her ability to help more dogs and their families.
Lisa pursued and earned multiple professional certifications, including her Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA), Canine Enrichment Technician (DN-CET), and Certified Separation Anxiety Professional Behavior Consultant (CSAP-BC). She remains dedicated to continuing education to support both the human and canine members of the learning team.
Currently, Lisa serves as the Training Manager at Lucky Paws. She is excited to instruct group classes designed to teach students practical skills through fun activities. Her goal is for students to strengthen their bond with their dogs, meet their dog’s needs through enrichment, and fully integrate them as happy members of the family. Lisa shares her life and training journey with her mixed breed dog, Rick, who she credits as her most influential training partner.
Jen’s introduction to dog training was through dog sports. She started obedience and agility training with her first cocker spaniel in the mid-1990’s, and has been hooked ever since.
Jen participates and has titled in a variety of dog sports including Obedience, Rally, Agility, Scent Work, Rodeo Dog, Fast Cat, Trick Dog, and Coursing Ability Tests. Jen began teaching Family Manners and Canine Good Citizen Prep classes at several local training clubs, and started teaching at Lucky Paws in 2021. Jen is a 2024 graduate of CATCH Canine Trainers Academy and soon after completed her coursework to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer in 2024 as well. She is an AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, CGC, and Tricks Evaluator, and is a Certified Brewery Manners Instructor. She is also a Rodeo Dog judge.
Jen believes that all dogs should participate in some form of dog sports, even if they never intend on competing. It enhances the relationship between the dog and owner, and is very enriching for the dog!
At Lucky Paws, Jen teaches Rally, Rodeo Dog and Scent Work, and will be teaching S.T.A.R. Puppy, Basic Manners, and CGC Prep in the upcoming months.
In addition to dog training, Jen has a Masters in Social Work and has spent the last 30 years working with children and adolescents in residential settings and applies the same philosophy in working with dogs and their owners. Jen currently has 6 cocker spaniels and spends the majority of her free time training and participating in dog sport trials.
Ashley has been working with dogs since she was 18. Having a strong passion for rescue, she started off working in shelters and rescue that led her to adopting her first two dogs, who sent her down her training path.
Ashley’s experience as a shelter manager, adoptions counselor, and training assistant played a huge role in her experience that ultimately led her back to school to get her first training certification at Animal Behavior College. After externships and training guidance from experienced trainers around the Pittsburgh area, she obtained her certification as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA).
Thanks to her amazing two pit bulls, Ashley felt extremely passionate for reactive and fearful dogs. Her drive for showing that we can change a dog’s emotion and behavior without ever needing force or aversives led her to become a certified Fear Free Professional Trainer. She has been a Fear Free Certified Trainer for 3+ years now, and has shown with her own dogs just how amazing it can be! She helped guide her extremely fearful dog fighting survivor from debilitating fear, to a certified Canine Good Citizen. Now a parent to a once fearful Great Dane, her Dane is in the works to earning her a Canine Good Citizen and Therapy dog title with how far she has come!
Ashley has been training at Lucky Paws for a few years now. Mainly focusing on private training for behavior, Ashley teaches group classes. as well She has also instructed Reactive Dog classes and other fun behavior specific classes! She is always yearning to share her skills and training expertise, and is looking forward to all of the classes she will be teaching. Ashley strives to constantly expand her knowledge with continuing education; she is working towards her goal of becoming a Certified Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA).
Ashley is excited to meet all of you and share her skills and knowledge, all while having some fun in class!
Jessica is a professional dog trainer with a background in Animal Science and a lifelong passion for understanding dogs and their behavior. She began her dog training career in 2017 while working at a day-training center, where she helped develop and implement training protocols addressing a wide range of canine behaviors.
Jessica later continued her work in animal welfare through local shelters before joining the team at Lucky Paws Pet Resort, where she now teaches group classes, provides private training, and contributes to the continued growth of the training program.
Dedicated to ongoing education and science-based training practices, Jessica is a graduate of the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy where she completed hands-on mentorship with a local positive reinforcement trainer. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), a Family Dog Mediator (FDM) through Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology program, a Certified Trick Dog Instructor and Evaluator (CTDI) through Do More With Your Dog, and an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.
Since 2022, Jessica has taught S.T.A.R. Puppy classes at Lucky Paws along with a variety of specialty classes, private lessons, and play-and-train sessions. She also teaches advanced manners and recall classes, areas where she especially enjoys helping teams build communication, trust, and reliability. Her training approach focuses on creating strong relationships between dogs and their people while teaching practical skills that help dogs thrive alongside their families.
Jessica also enjoys incorporating trick training into her work, using it as a playful and accessible way to help dogs and their owners improve timing, engagement, and teamwork. She is currently expanding the Lucky Paws training program to include dedicated trick training classes.
Jessica shares her life with Reese, a Rottweiler; Scamp, a Chihuahua mix; and Fern, a Flat-Coated Retriever. Her beloved Golden Retriever, Quinn, was also an important part of her training journey. She enjoys hiking and training with her dogs and has a special interest in off-leash skills and recall training.
