Meet Our Instructors

Our instructors are an integral part of our organization, keeping our classes fun and friendly, staying true to the values that make Kruisin’ Kanines so special. The majority of our highly skilled instructors have been Kruisin’ members for many years. We are also fortunate to have a number of guest instructors join our team. With incredible skill, technical precision, and a light-hearted atmosphere, our team of Kruisin' instructors bring national and international competitive experience and world-class training to our club located in the heart of New Hope, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
JEFF ABEL -- Over the course of 20+ years as an agility instructor, Jeff has worked with a wide range of dog and handler teams from beginners though accomplished international competitors. He recognizes that each team learns at their own unique pace regardless of the class level. Jeff's cornerstone for teaching is detail and consistency, resulting in teams with better confidence and understanding. He often pushes students beyond their comfort zone to help expand their limits and redefine their own personal goals. Jeff is able to improve team communication while reinforcing speed - all while centering their experience on fun and laughter. From teams just entering their first agility competition, to teams in the Excellent or Masters classes, or those focusing on improving their international handling abilities, Jeff skillfully uses a myriad of tools learned from top national and international instructors to help his students achieve their personal best.

Jeff has owned dogs that include the historic 5-time AKC Invitational MACH 2 and USDAA Master Agility Dog Tipo (Spanish Water Dog); MACH and USDAA ADCH Snafu (Border Collie), a semi-finalist at the 2015 USDAA Cynosport World Games. Both dogs have had many impressive rankings and wins and are multiple AKC Nationals qualifiers.

His competitive partner AKC MX, MXJ and USDAA MAD Fray has competed at the AWC International Tryouts and the AKC European Open Tryouts with impressive showings. In 2019, Fray was a UKI National Championship Finalist. Jeff is also competing with his young Border Collie Hookah.
JEANIE BURTON -- Jeanie began her agility journey at Kruisin' Kanines over 20 years ago with a Rhodesian Ridgeback and a rescued Pit Bull mix. Since then Jeanie has gone on to be an instructor for a variety of agility classes and is the Kruisin' Kanines Training Director. She shares a wealth of knowledge learned over the years from national and international instructors. One of her interests is the early shaping of subtle behaviors so they mature into fast dependable habits. She is also interested in fast and reliable obstacle performances and international handling. And while her calm demeanor might belie her competitive spirit, she is a master at creating drive while maintaining focus. A self-described "student of the game," her own students welcome her creativity and dedication to excellence that helps them succeed in the sport. 
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Jeanie has a soft spot for rescues. She has worked with and through a variety of rescue behaviors. She works to modify and reshape them in an effort to achieve confidence, enthusiasm, and ultimately build successful teams. 

Jeanie's MACH4 ADCH River, a rescued Border Collie, qualified for AKC Nationals annually since the age of two. River and Jeanie made the finals at AKC Nationals in 2014 and placed an impressive 5th in the 24" class. River and Jeanie were the AKC National preferred winners in 2022. Her young Border Collie WiFi had a tremendous agility career earning his MACH, among other impressive achievements. Jeanie currently competes with her Border Collies Switch and Edison. In 2023, Switch and Jeanie were AKC National finalists and represented Team USA at the World Agility Open Championships. In 2024, Jeanie and Edison were named to the first Senior Open Agility World Championship team, representing Team USA.
ZANYA GISSLER -- An animal lover from an early age, a young Zanya asked Santa for a dog and a pony for Christmas every year. Zanya eventually got a dog and a horse, and spent her youth trail-riding in Massachusetts and showing her horse in 4H Shows. Her love of riding took a backseat during college and her early career days when she moved to New York City, becoming a freelance hair and make-up stylist for magazines, TV, and fashion shows. She began riding again and her time in the saddle in the New Jersey countryside soon became her preferred place to be.
 
Being a horse person, Zanya was always around Jack Russell Terriers in the barn, and she fell in love with the breed. Her first Jack Russell Terrier, Gus, changed her life forever and she says he is responsible for turning her into the “crazy agility dog lady” she is today. Gus was very bright and energetic, and after taking him to obedience classes the instructor urged her to try agility. Gus was a natural – and their agility journey began. Zanya’s next Jack Russell Terrier, Cleo, a “miss perfect who never put a paw out of place” and Zanya’s first Border Collie, Kira, both taught her so much about agility and expanded her love of the sport. Zanya’s current dogs include Border Collie Whin, her "perfect girl" with whom she has many titles. Whin loves playing frisbee and competing in UpDog, and is currently working on her AKC MACH and RATCh in Barn Hunt. Whin’s “mini-me” son, Hero, is Zanya's newest puppy - also a great frisbee dog and hiking buddy, he has been introduced to Barn Hunt and agility training with a bright future ahead. Zanya's 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Bing, has been on many regional event podiums, qualified for finals at Nationals, and has achieved top-ten rankings in agility, jumping, and snooker, with bronze and silver medals in jumping, snooker, and tournament classes. Zanya and Bing overcame many challenges including his sensitivity to noise, but they persevered and are proud to have achieved much success when others told her to give up on him. Although Bing’s competitive agility career was cut short due to glaucoma, he loves agility and excels in Barn Hunt, earning many titles in the sport.
  
With her history of training and competing agility with little and big dogs for over 23 years, she has trained with some of the top competitors in the sport. Zanya has a thirst for knowledge, continuing to take lessons and seminars, and she recently joined Kruisin’ Kanines, as a member, student, and instructor of our Foundations classes.
LINDA GOLDMAN -- With more than 38 years as a Health & Physical Education teacher (primarily high school), Linda has an established history of success in teaching individual and group sports while developing a wide range of casual and goal-minded athletes. Linda is one of the founding members of Kruisin' Kanines Agility & Dog Sports Club. When the agility bug bit her, she found a way to marry her enthusiasm for sports with her love for dogs.  Linda's background in teaching combined with her understanding, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness (not to mention success!) in agility, makes for students who progress with confidence, heart, and humor.

​Linda's two Border Collies, Wynne and Troo, are not only well-known for their speed and love of the game, but for their versatility - they work on Linda and husband Bob's farm and are proficient in nosework and herding. Linda and her Border Collie Sugar Ray recently achieved their MACH and had a great showing at the 2024 AKC Nationals. She is also competing with her dog Kool as well as training her two young agility dogs, the brother/sister duo, Flynn and Faye.
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ALEXA KARAOULIS -- Alexa is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA, CCUI, CGC Evaluator) and has been working with dogs and in dog sports and training for more than 15 years. She has participated in agility, flyball, freestyle, and nosework/scentwork.

One of her most notable talents is working with dogs that have difficulty coping in stressful environments. Often when a dog becomes stressed, the ability to cope diminishes and this results in a dog that barks uncontrollably, cannot sit still, pay attention, or behaves wildly. Alexa had the opportunity to work and train with Leslie McDevitt, the author of “Control Unleashed: Creating a Focused and Confident Dog,” a book that addresses this stress-related behavior.

​Alexa’s teaching methods are positive and patient, and her gift of working with dogs also extends to the people who own and love these dogs.
TERESA KOZIATEK -- Teresa’s passionate, patient, and thoughtful approach to dog training has been established over the years of training and competing in multiple dog sports. As an instructor, she hones in on key foundational behaviors that will help her students harness their excitement and energy in a focused way to achieve successful repeatable behaviors. Teresa is currently instructing the Kruisin’ Kanines Foundations level classes, leveraging her decades of experience in the Corporate world including training and mentoring high-performing teams.
 
Teresa’s dog sports journey began over 10 years ago with her chocolate Labrador Retriever, Evvie. She and Evvie competed at the Masters level of AKC agility and the Championship level of UKI Agility. Evvie's real love was Nosework, where he earned his NACSW NW2. Evvie is now retired from competitive sports for health reasons.
 
Teresa’s 6-year-old black Labrador Retriever, Joseph, has earned an AKC MACH and competed at several AKC National Agility Championships and Westminster Agility trials. Joseph also earned 3 UKI IAC titles and 1 UKI IWAC title, and Teresa and Joseph had impressive showings while competing at the UKI US Open. Joseph loves Nosework as well, where he has achieved an NACSW NW2. He also excels at Dock Diving and holds an NADD Dock Elite Advanced title with a personal best distance of 26'8".  

Teresa’s young Lab, Yikes, is now beginning his performance career. He has earned an NACSW ORT, NW1, NW2, and is also competing in UKI and AKC agility with a bright future. 
ROSEMARY MCQUATE -- Bringing a great deal of knowledge from her 20+ years in agility, Rosemary's interests include the deconstruction of handling challenges into smaller components designed for success. This approach as an instructor not only provides students with the best possible avenue for trouble shooting, it helps students develop their own problem solving skills - an attribute students covet as they embark on their own agility journey. With a focus on positional cues, proper start lines, and efficient handling techniques, students find passionate support and guidance.

Rosemary has a keen eye for details. She pays particular attention to problem solving and strengthening foundational skills necessary to avoid future issues, as well as efficient obstacle performance. She works to develop and maintain strong relationships between the dog and human handler, in an effort to optimize enthusiastic performances from the team.

​Rosemary's agility dogs include MACH4 Dai, a top Welsh Springer Spaniel that qualified for the AKC Invitationals for 5 straight years; Australian Shepherd MACH Belle; rescued Border Collie MACH Jakie; and youngster Joey, an Australian Shepherd already competing in the AKC Masters classes. She is also training her two young dogs Lucy and Chance. Rosemary and her dogs are also actively competing in PSD and AKC nosework.​
DINA MELENDEZ -- Dina fell into agility with her Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers in 2006 and was captivated with training her dogs in dog sports. Besides agility, her dogs have competed in barn hunt, scentwork, tricks, rally, and FAST CAT. Her first dogs, Boone and Raphael, appeared in the Emmy award-winning movie "The Normal Heart" starring Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo, which was where her love for teaching “tricks” expanded. 

​Dina's agility partners have included: MACH3 PACH "Boone," a 5-time AKC Invitational qualifier, multiple AKC Nationals qualifier, and #1 top-ranked Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier in 2015 & 2016; "Raphael", OA, OAJ, RATI, RATN; and currently, MACH PACH2 “Vida” who is Dina’s most titled and versatile Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier. At 2 years of age, Vida placed 4th overall in her first NACSW NW1, placing 3rd in Exteriors; and was invited to her first of several AKC Agility Invitationals, finishing as the top Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier at Invitationals in 2022 as the #1 Preferred Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier. Also, a multiple AKC National Qualifier, Vida was the first Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier to attend, qualify, and place in her class at the Westminster National Championship. In addition, Vida has multiple titles in Barn Hunt, AKC Scent Work, and Tricks, and is currently enjoying retirement by competing in Rally. Dina’s newest partner is a Lakeland Terrier, Andele!, who shows promise to be a multifaceted sport dog. Andele! is currently titled in agility, barn hunt, scentwork, tricks, and FAST CAT.
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Dina’s classes focus on solid foundations on all pieces of agility equipment, adding in handling, concepts, and behaviors in incremental steps. Dina strives to instill confidence in her students as they learn the tools needed to perform the necessary fundamentals. Along the way, they also develop appropriate habits. Dina's many years of teaching these behaviors helps the handler understand the aspects of positive reinforcement and behavior generalization, all while having fun!
DENISE RUE -- Denise has been in the company of dogs since the age of 2 – from dogs that she knew as just pets to dogs that she trained to obedience, tracking, certified therapy dog, and agility titles. During her more than 40-year career as a research biologist working in the pharmaceutical industry, Denise explored her true interest in her spare time – animal behavior and training her 2 horses, 6 cats, and, to date, 12 dogs. 

​When her son Mike could no longer keep his 3-year-old, 65-lb. rescue mixed breed dog Obi-Wan Kenobi, Denise welcomed Obi to her home and began taking some obedience classes with him “just to get him out of the house.” Well, Obi is now a Certified Therapy Dog, visiting his elementary school classes at Gayman Elementary School and sharing his love at the Bucks County Courthouse in the Children and Youth program. 

Now living in Buckingham with her 3 dogs, Obi, Pinky, and Cajun, Denise retired from her job in the Pharma world in 2020 and was able to devote herself full-time to a lifetime goal that she had always wanted to fulfill - training her dog Pinky, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, in the sport of agility. Denise discovered Kruisin’ Kanines by starting lessons with Jeanie Burton, our club’s Training Director, and her love of the sport led her to take group classes and become a member. 

When Pinky suffered a shoulder injury and needed a break from the agility training, Denise got Obi going in the agility sport too. Obi has now earned his Novice and Open titles in agility, and is currently working on his Excellent title. Pinky continued her Novice work in agility, once she recovered, but she prefers to do nosework and scentwork, and to date, Pinky has completed her introductory trialing in nosework and is pursuing her titles in this fun sniffing sport.

Denise is currently training her young dog Cajun, a very active Australian Shepherd, in both agility and nosework, and enjoying learning all that she can about these fun sports. Denise teamed up with her friend and fellow Kruisin’ Kanines member, Pam Morgan, to teach the Beginner Agility classes at Kruisin’ in 2022. Denise says it has been a joy working with the new teams in Beginner Agility to introduce them to the elements of the dog agility sport, and has helped to continue Denise’s experience in the sport. 
SARAH WESTCOTT -- A Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KSA), Sarah launched Doggie Academy, Inc. in New York City in 2007 and founded the Brooklyn Dog Training Center in 2011. Sarah recently relocated to Pennsylvania and though she still sees her NYC clients, she is excited to bring her expertise to Bucks County.

Sarah has worked as a Therapy Dog Trainer for The Good Dog Foundation, a Behavior Counselor at a multi-location Manhattan dog care facility, a Behavior Foster for rescue groups like the ASPCA, and she has been an agility instructor at Camp Gone to the Dogs since 2012. In 2019, Sarah & Kate Naito published their book "Play Your Way to Good Manners: Getting the Best Behavior from Your Dog through Sports, Games, and Tricks" - it was named the 2019 Best Book in Training or Sports by the Dog Writers Association of America. Sarah also works as an on-set animal handler for film, television, and photo shoots. Her dogs have been seen on Law & Order, The Hunt with John Walsh, Blacklist: Redemption, a commercial on Animal Planet that aired during the 2018 Puppy Bowl, and several episodes of Seven Seconds on Netflix.

As a full-service dog trainer and behavior counselor, Sarah draws from her extensive toolbox to craft a unique lesson plan for each student based on their needs and goals. She believes that training should be fun for both dog and human so the journey is just as rewarding as the results.

She enjoys training & competing with her dogs in a variety of dog sports. Sarah and her late Labrador Retriever/Redbone Coonhound cross, Hank, were honored to be among the competitors at the first Master’s Agility Championship at Westminster and were thrilled to win the 24″ Excellent Standard class. In 2017 Hank was ranked third in the country in WCRL Rally Obedience for Rally Level 3. Sarah is now competing with her Border Collie Fever MX AXJ OF DN CGC TKA MAD BID SSB (Speedoggie Going To Need More Cowbell) and training her puppy Riddle TKN (Speedoggie What The Dormouse Said) in agility foundation skills. Riddle is Fever’s niece, but she is a very different dog. Sarah is having to change up her training routines for this little spitfire! Riddle is also littermates to Jeff Abel’s Hookah.

Caroline Lebel

Pamela Morgan

Alan Stifelman
Contact our Kruisin' Kanines Training Director for more information on group classes and private instruction.