About Side By Side Dog Training

I help you train your dogs by helping them understand what is is that we want them to do — puppies and adult dogs, adopted and rescued dogs, reactive and aggressive dogs, shy and fearful dogs, competition and getting ready for competition dogs (Rally, Obedience, and Scent), therapy dogs, crisis response dogs, and dogs with separation anxiety.

I have a “whole dog” approach to training. We know dogs react and respond to their humans, their environments, their diet, their exercise, and other factors in their lives. In order to best help dogs to live in a human world, all of these things need to be taken into account. My training, behavior modification, and management plans are based on the whole dog and his/her life and life style.

In order to be the best trainer and instructor I can be, my belief is that I have to personally experience/participate in the things I teach. So, when I am teaching a class or a private session, you not only are getting “textbook” material, you are also getting “experience” material. I am passionate about my continuing education and take every opportunity I can to attend conferences, seminars, workshops, and online events.

~ Laurie Schlossnagle KPA CTP, CSAT, CCUI, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, TAGteacher Level 1

Also helping out:

Karl Schlossnagle
Karl is our equipment builder, accountant, and overall support person.  He helps keep our ship floating!  Karl never had a dog until he married Laurie in 2012 when she moved in with three!!!  He is a registered therapy dog team with Dolly and you will often find him attending sessions with any of the family dogs.  He also helps with reactive/aggressive dog private sessions by handling the neutral dog.

Meagan Benedetto 
Meagan is a life-long dog handler (Laurie’s oldest daughter).  She assists in class, helps with the mountains of paperwork, and provides neutral dog handling for classes and evaluations.  Meagan is a C-WAGS Rally Judge and competitor with multiple titles.  She has a Cardigan Corgi, Auggie.  Meagan and Auggie are a registered therapy dog team.

Kendra Buchele
Kendra is also a life-long dog handler (Laurie’s youngest daughter). She has been participating in classes most of her life and has been an active dog sports competitor since she was 9 years old (with multiple titles in multiple venues with multiple dogs). She regularly participates in continuing education opportunities including: ClickerExpo 2015, Michele Pouliot Workshop (February 2016), and Ken Ramirez Seminar (November 2014).
Kendra has one dog — Rafael, a Shih Tzu. They recently retired from therapy dog work. She also handles Laurie’s dog, Blitz, in Rally and she, Laurie, and Karl share Dolly for therapy dog work.

Laurie Schlossnagle
Laurie is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP —www.karenpryoracademy.com), a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), a Certified Behavior Consultant — Canine (CBCC-KA) through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers (www.ccpdt.org), a Certified Control Unleashed Instructor (CCUI), and a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT). She is also a Level 1 TAGteacher. Laurie’s background includes therapy dogs, rally obedience, obedience, scentwork, service dogs, and behavior consultation. Laurie and her Beagle mix Dolly, her Beagle Emme, and her Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Bell are registered Therapy Dog Teams and enjoy reading with children at schools and libraries, visiting residents at assisted living and rehab facilities, attending conferences, and supporting crisis response efforts. Laurie is a licensed Rally judge for World Cynosport Rally, a licensed Rally, Obedience, Scent Detective, and Games judge for C-WAGS (Canine Work And Games), and a licensed Scent Work judge for AKC (American Kennel Club).  Laurie is also a Canine Good Citizen evaluator and a Farm Dog Judge for AKC.

Laurie has extensive, documented experience in dealing with a wide range of dog breeds, behavior issues (including aggression), training plans, and management protocols. She regularly attends educational events to further her knowledge and expertise and to maintain her certifications. Laurie graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy in May 2014 in their Professional Dog Trainer Program, in 2020 from Leslie McDevitt’s Control Unleashed Certified Trainer Program, and in October 2023 from Malena DiMartini’s Separation Anxiety Certified Trainer Certification Course.  Laurie has participated in weekend seminars with Ken Ramirez, Grisha Stewart, Michele Pouliot, Theresa McKeon, Joey Iverson, Hannah Branigan, Dr. Susan Friedman, and Kay Laurence, ClickerExpo in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2023 (3-day educational conferences for positive reinforcement animal trainers from all over the world), the Pet Professional Guild Summit at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in April 2018, and various virtual webinars and conferences.  Laurie regularly takes online classes offered by the Karen Pryor Academy, the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, Leslie McDevitt, and Release Canine.  Laurie and her dogs also take local, in-person classes whenever possible — recently Laurie and Blitz have started learning about musical freestyle and tracking, and Laurie and Emme have started learning about tracking.

Laurie’s dogs:  Dolly (Beagle/Boxer mix) — Laurie’s partner in the Karen Pryor Academy, therapy dog teammate, the best neutral dog ever, and compete in Scentwork, Rally, Games, and Obedience.  Blitz (Australian Shepherd/Catahoula/ACD mix) and Laurie play in Rally, Obedience, Agility, Canine Musical Freestyle, Scentwork, Tracking, and Tricks.  Emme (Beagle) and Laurie work training for Rally, Conformation, Scentwork, Tracking, and therapy dog work. Laurie and Emme ranked nationally in WCRL Rally in 2019 and take private sessions to work on their Scentwork Demo Dog teamwork.  The “baby” of the family is Bellatrix (Greater Swiss Mountain Dog) and they play together in Scentwork, Obedience, and Rally — with an eye on getting started in Draft!

Laurie is honored to have an extended family of dogs too!  She and Rafael (Shih Tzu) recently retired from therapy dog work but continue to occasionally travel and trial together in Rally and Scentwork.  And Auggie (Cardigan Corgi) helps Laurie with neutral dog work for reactive dogs, CGC testing, and therapy dog work.  She is also an amazing lap dog and loves to play in Scent Work.

And the dog that started it all…Laurie and her Beagle, Daisy, earned titles in Rally Obedience and Obedience — AKC (American Kennel Club), APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers), CDSP (Companion Dog Sports Program), and C-WAGS (Canine Work And Games) including several championship titles. Laurie and Daisy earned High in Trial three times — once in Rally and twice in Obedience and ranked nationally in APDT Rally. Laurie and Daisy were therapy dog partners and got their start listening to first graders read their poetry notebooks in Laurie’s daughter’s classroom.  Daisy was the dog that led Laurie to positive reinforcement training and so much more.  Daisy is fondly remembered and much missed.  She crossed the Rainbow Bridge in January 2016.

Laurie is married to Karl, and between them they have three daughters, one son, two daughters-in-law, six dogs (granddogs included!), and a rabbit.

Laurie is a Founder and Director of Paws With Compassion — a canine crisis response and therapy dog group.  She and Daisy volunteered on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois for the anniversary of the campus shootings and at the annual National Parents of Murdered Children (POMC) Conferences in Cincinnati, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  (With Dolly, Elphie, Blitz and Rafael, they also served at the POMC Conferences in Rochester, Minnesota, Orlando, Florida, and Irvine, California.) She and Daisy served in Lake Township, Ohio to support those affected by the June 2010 tornadoes. Laurie went to Aurora, Colorado in the aftermath of the movie theater shooting.  Laurie and Dolly responded to Newtown, Connecticut and the Sandy Hook School shooting.  Laurie, along with her dogs, is a regular presenter at POMC’s Annual Conferences.  She presents on several topics, including Therapy Dogs in Chapter Meetings and K-9 Responses to School Shootings with Multiple Victims. Laurie and Daisy (2012) and Laurie and Dolly (2013 and 2016) have earned C-WAGS’ “Doing Others Good” Award for their work in crisis response. In 2016, Laurie was given the Extra Mile Award at the Annual POMC Conference in Orlando, Florida.

To see Laurie’s Resume, click here:  LLSResume-full (Adobe Document).

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