About Us
Meet the Trainers
Dieuwke van der Velde
Dieuwke (Dee-you-kuh) van der Velde, certified positive reinforcement trainer through Animal Behavior College, interned at Humane Society of Silicon Valley. With a background as a research technician at Stanford, I believe in continuous learning to learn evolving techniques and tools staying abreast to successfully train dogs. I fully subscribe to positive reinforcement training and adopt this mode of behavioral training for puppies to adolescent and adult dogs. I have more then 12 years experience training dogs of all breeds and sizes , which included a three year search & rescue training through CARDA.
I have been fostering through rescue groups since 2009 and have helped puppies and adolescent dogs with varied behavioral issues - from socialization, building confidence, reactivity and have helped the dogs through positive experiences in controlled environments, so they have a structured process to be successfully integrated into their family and community.
Vicki Huebner
A Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), Vicki Huebner, has been working with dogs since the early 1990s. She teaches obedience and sports classes. In addition to the CPDT-KA certification, she is a professional member of the APDT, and an AKC CGC Certified Examiner. She currently competes with her current dog, Jewel in the odor detection sports including nose work, trailing and locating, antler shed and lost item recovery. She employs only the most modern, dog-friendly (and people-friendly) training methods, adhering to the CCPDT Code of Ethics.
I have been fostering through rescue groups since 2009 and have helped puppies and adolescent dogs with varied behavioral issues - from socialization, building confidence, reactivity and have helped the dogs through positive experiences in controlled environments, so they have a structured process to be successfully integrated into their family and community.
Leena Koivuniemi
I am an experienced dog trainer who graduated from Animal Behavior College. I completed my internship at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where I participated in intermediate dog training classes. I have been doing volunteer work at Humane Society since 2022. Prior to joining the Humane Society I was an agility class teacher at Fetch Sam! having taught 3 different agility classes at the center.
I am a positive reinforcement (R+) dog trainer and believe in lifelong learning as a dog-owner team.
I have been a dog-lover all my life. I started my dog training career 15 years ago with our Jack Russell Terrier, Masi, when we were still living in Finland. We started with puppy training, continued to basic and advanced obedience and beginner agility.
After moving to California, I found a new agility training center for us. We trained agility for several years, mostly for fun and to foster their already great connection with each other. When Masi got older, he retired from agility and it was time to start trick dog training. During his trick dog years Masi earned novice, intermediate, advanced and expert trick dog titles. Later on we also participated in rat hunting classes that provided an instinctual outlet for the old terrier to use his nose and brains to search for the rat.
Today I’m a proud owner of three-year-old Aussie mix, Topi. We are currently participating in agility classes and nose work class and Topi already has a CGC, beginner, intermediate and advanced trick dog titles. Our goal is to compete in agility and lost item recovery trials.
I was born in Finland and moved to California in 2009. I have a master’s degree of education and I taught at the Silicon Valley Finnish School for teacher for 13 years. I live in the Bay Area with my husband, middle school age son and Topi the dog.
Sangeetha Lakshminarayanan
Foster & Volunteer – The Perfect Dog Rescue (theperfectdog.org)
Community Volunteer – Sustain Our Shelters (susourshelters.wordpress.com) with a mission to support local shelters
Sangeetha has been a foster for over two decades and with the perfect dog rescue for the last nine years byfostering, training and supporting the rescue in many ways. She loves the time spent in rehabilitating dogs, of all sizes and breeds, with behavioral or medical issues and setting them up for success with a furever family.
Sangeetha started, just over a year ago, a community group, “Sustain our Shelters” with the mission to to create a better life for animals by actively aiding Silicon Valley animal shelters to provide programs, care, and adoption services, and raising awareness of issues that affect our pet and community animals. As part of this effort, she has worked very closely with the San Jose Animal Care Services in conducting awareness campaigns, low cost microchip and vaccination clinics in support of the shelter animals and volunteers.
She regularly organizes fundraisers in support of rescues and includes educational programs in collaboration with Orion Dog Training. Outside of her day job and being a foster mom, Sangeetha enjoys watching the “Warriors” and different cuisine dining experiences.
