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(L-R: Niche, Monty, Katrin & James)
About the Trainer- Katrin
Andberg Katrin Andberg started training dogs in 1993 when she began walking neighborhood dogs and realized how little training any of them had. In hopes of making walks more enjoyable, she began to teach the dogs things like sit, down, how to walk on a leash and so forth. Then in 1995, Katrin rescued her first puppy, a retriever husky cross. Barley, by the age of 2 had developed major behavior problems which included biting leading to his death at in 1998. It is through Barley though that Katrin learned about positive reinforcement training and how dogs learn. He taught her many things that have helped her to become the dog trainer she is today. Later in 1998, Katrin go her first liver Flat-Coated Retriever, Regal, who she trained entirely through positive reinforcement training techniques and clicker training. With Regal she competed successfully in conformation, obedience and agility. They competed at the 2001 NADAC Championships in Mankato, MN. Regal died of Hemangiosarcoma in February 2007, at age 8 and a half. By the time of his death he was competing in the Elite NADAC classes and had completed his Open Versatility Title and earned Superior or Outstanding Titles in many different classes. In 2006 he was the #2 Tunnelers Flat Coated Retriever and the #3 Chances Flat Coated Retriever in NADAC rankings. In 2002, Katrin rescued a black Flat-Coat puppy, James, who she then trained to be her guide and service dog. Having James by her side every day helps in more ways than any one can imagine. After training James, others with disabilities asked her to train their dogs and so Maplewood Assistance Partners, Inc came into being in 2003. James and Katrin compete in agility and rally competitions on occasion. James has completed his Novice Versatility title, Novice Rally title, and a few Open level agility titles as well. He needs more “Cheerleading” around the agility course than Katrin enjoys, so he’s usually only entered in 2 trial classes per day, which is what he seems to enjoy. He also enjoys being the ‘demo dog’ for classes and lessons when needed. The next year, in 2004, Katrin got her youngest liver Flat-Coat, Niche, who is Regal’s nephew. With Niche, she expanded her horizons from conformation, obedience and agility to include rally, tracking and hunt test. She has been having great fun teaching him hunting skills entirely through positive reinforcement training. Niche loves to perform and before the age of 4 had earned numerous agility titles including his Novice Versatility, many Novice Superior and Outstanding Level titles, a number of Open level titles, his obedience CDX, rally RE, and hunting WC. In June of 2007 Monty, a 2.5yr old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, joined the pack. He was a breeder return for food aggression, which then came home with Katrin. Katrin was up to the challenge (trust me he isn't that bad folks) and now does herding and agility with him. He absolutely loves to work and fit right into the family within days. Since living with Katrin, he has also passed his Therapy Dogs International Certification and loves to volunteer with children! He has the best time putting a smile on their faces in true Cardi fashion. In any aspect of dog training, including agility, Katrin enjoys encouraging people to meet their dog half way, it is a team sport after all, and challenge their current knowledge and skill level. In her group classes, she encourages her students to ‘push the envelope’ and try new things, while still keeping it fun for the dog. She tends to do more distance handling than many in the New England area and encourages people to train for “independent obstacle performance” earlier rather than later. And for someone that hates being in fast cars, she sure does have that ‘need for speed’ on the agility field! Katrin teaches weekly obedience and agility classes and private lessons to students, in the South Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island area. She enjoys watching dogs of all breeds and ages learn how to have a positive working relationship with their owners. Puppies are especially fun because of their ability to just soak up the learning. She also works with dogs having behavior issues in Behavior Management Private Lessons. She has extensive experience with many types of issues and finds positive ways to deal with problems that arise. All of Katrin’s classes and lessons are taught solely with positive reinforcement techniques. She believes that learning should be a fun and enjoyable experience for all parties involved, both human and canine. She has been feeding her dogs a well balanced raw diet for over 7 years, uses a modified vaccination schedule with homeopathic support and takes her dogs for regular chiropractic and acupuncture treatments. Prevention is the best medicine!
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