Staff- Fargo, ND Location
Elevate Canine Academy
Learn More About Our Fargo, ND Location Staff
Our Fargo, ND location is home to a dedicated team of professionals passionate about helping dogs and their owners. With a range of expertise in dog training, behavior, and care, our staff is committed to providing personalized solutions for every pet. Whether you're dealing with reactivity, aggression, or general training, our team works together to create a supportive, positive environment for both dogs and their families. For more details, contact Elevate Canine Academy today.
Sydney
Sydney grew up on a hobby farm and was always surrounded by animals. Her mom rehabilitated foster dogs that were having a hard time getting adopted due to various behavioral issues, and Sydney learned a great deal about dog behavior and training from a very young age because of this. Later, they started boarding dogs for the local community and surrounding areas, which provided even more opportunities to work with a variety of dog breeds and temperaments. Because of this upbringing, working with animals and training them became a passion. She trained everything from pigeons to dogs and the occasional duck. She especially grew to love large and giant breeds and finds working with aggressive and reactive dogs to be the most rewarding, as these dogs tend to benefit the most from her work.
Sydney graduated from MSUM with a degree in animation and a minor in music, and it became her goal to find a balance between her love of the media arts and her passion for animals. During her time in college, she adopted two dogs—one, a wolfhound mix with a variety of reactivity and aggression issues, and the other, an Akbash with a stubborn streak and destructive tendencies. Both of these dogs further cemented her desire to make dog training a significant part of her life. After graduating, she worked at a dog daycare for a little over a year but eventually decided to return to her roots and focus on dog training. When she came across the opportunity to work at Elevate Canine Academy, she jumped at the chance. She is looking forward to working with aggressive and reactive dogs at Elevate Canine Academy, as well as contributing to video editing and filming for the team.
Ez
Ez has wanted to work with animals for as long as she can remember. It started with her family’s reactive dog, then expanded to socializing puppies, pet sitting, and a job at a boarding facility caring for and training hunting dogs. Even after all these years in the industry, there is nothing else she can imagine doing with her life. With her springer spaniel, Teagan, as her training assistant, Ez is always looking to expand her knowledge of the dog world.
With a soft spot for reactive dogs and a passion for educating owners, Elevate Canine Academy was the perfect next step in her career. “Every struggle people have with their pet stems from not knowing how to speak dog. Though every dog is an individual, the problems that come through the door all come from the same place. This job lets you make a real difference. And that’s what gets me out of bed every morning.”
Clay
Clay has been in the dog care/service industry since autumn of 2022, but has always had dogs in his life since childhood. His passion for animals came from his experience as a Professional Dog Handler; as a dog handler he had plenty of opportunities to work with and care for many different breeds and mixes of dogs. During his time as a dog handler, Clay had learned to observe the many different personalities, behaviors, and temperaments of each dog he interacted with. This in turn sparked the curiosity in him to pursue the possibility of working and practicing with dogs in a controlled environment where he was able to see the working mind of a dog in real time.
Towards the middle of summer in 2024, Clay was given the opportunity to pursue a different career as a Professional Dog Trainer at Elevate Canine Academy. Since then, Clay has been exploring his passion fervently and looks forward to each day and what that may bring. Clay loves that each dog that walks through our doors is always different and that each is a challenge to learn from.
Dave
Dave is a 21 year law enforcement veteran, 18 years with the Fargo Police Department and the last several years with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Dave has held many roles over the last 20 years. Nearlyhalf of those years have spent in the role as a K9 handler.
Dave started his K9 path as decoy with the Fargo Police Department. In 2009, Dave was selected to be a K9 handler and attend the St. Paul Canine Academy in St. Paul, MN. Dave was paired with his first K9, Kimber. K9 Kimber was eventually washed and Dave was paired with his new K9, Falco. Dave and Falco finished their training together through Can Am K9. Dave has also help start and train dogs with Can Am K9.
Dave and Falco had an exciting career winning many medals and citations through the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) and the National Police Canine Association (NPCA). One of their career highlights was appearing on the national television show Top Dog and as a guest host on Live PD. Although very exciting, Dave says nothing was better than helping his coworkers find suspects that were actively evading law enforcement and or hiding their contraband.
Dave has always had a love for dogs and is excited to be a part of Elevate Canine Academy.
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