Meet Our Owner

Claudia

Since 2002
Owner, manager, lead trainer, play supervisor

Claudia started The Better Companion as a 1-person dog group training business in 2002, using different locations. The Regine Dog Training Facility opened in 2005, where Claudia and her husband Frank added supervised Open Play Times and later daycare. The Better Companion now employs 2 office people, 3-4 instructors, 2-3 class assistants and 3-4 daycare supervisors. 

Claudia always LOVED dogs and started her career in Germany with walking dogs for other people off-leash, working as a veterinarian and taking her own dogs to obedience and agility classes (and a first agility trial in Germany in 1999.) Claudia first learned about positive reinforcement training through a veterinary colleague in Germany in the late 1990s. 

Learning about force-free training and proper communication with our pet dogs was new back then, and it intrigued Claudia to become a trainer or behavioral therapist for dogs rather than working as a veterinarian. 

When life brought Claudia to Alaska in 1999 and after she married Frank in 2001, becoming a dog trainer was a dream come true! 

In 2003 Claudia became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KSA,) renewing every 3 years since. Later she added the certification as an Accredited Dog Trainer through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC-ADT) and a Treibball Trainer certification in Germany.  Claudia is a member of the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) and the ABN (Animal Behavior Network). I am a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPTD) as well as an official Canine Good Citizen® (CGC), STAR Puppy® evaluator for the American Kennel Club (AKC). Since February 2012, She is also certified as an instructor and evaluator for the C.L.A.S.S® program through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).

Claudia competed in countless Agility, Nose Work, Rally and obedience trials, participated in several online Treibball challenges and trained all her dogs to be off-leash hiking dogs, later accompanying Claudia and Frank on their horseback riding adventures. Many of you might remember Sally, the Aussie/Husky-mix or Lucy, the Jack Russell Terrier.

Currently Claudia and Frank share their couch with one dog, Alaskan Husky Lucena (Luce, 5 years.). They also own 4 horses; 1 Mustang (6 years) and 3 Icelandic Horses (4, 7 and 31 years) for trail riding, packing and mounted archery.