Pat Melerski has always had a passion and respect for animals. Her strong conviction that the relationship with a dog is based on mutual love and respect, has always been central in her life. Her passion to be a professional dog trainer started when she was 10 years old, but had to wait until the time was right. Pat started building the foundation as a professional dog trainer in 2009 with her sheltie “Erin”, while still working in the corporate world. The team sport of agility is where she chose to start. Erin educated Pat about the “dog’s perspective” on training, which changed her forever. “Having fun” now became the central theme to her training philosophy in all venues, and the passion for team dog sports was born! Pat has had the opportunity to learn from many instructors through her agility experience, but says she has always learned the most from her own dogs and other dogs that have crossed her path during her lifetime.

Pat finally retired from the corporate world in 2012, and training for hunt tests with her Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever “Nia”, was added to her training repertoire. Her business attire changed from heels and suits, to camouflage and boots. Pat trained and titled Nia in agility, field, canine good citizen, and tricks. Nia is also a registered therapy dog with TDI. Pat credits Nia, with teaching her patience, sensitivity, and how to “speak dog” due to her exceptionally soft personality. Nia enjoys her “duckies”, doing tricks, and bringing a smile to the faces of residents at health care facilities. Pat added another Toller puppy to the family in July 2018, named Tallie. Tallie’s energy and eagerness to learn, resulted in her earning her AKC Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced trick titles by March 2019. She get her CGC title at 8 months of age, and again at 19 months. Tallie is now enjoying agility and training for hunt tests.

Pat so enjoyed watching her own dogs learn and connect in a special way with her, that she decided to pursue her certification as a professional dog trainer in 2018 so that she could help dog parents have the same experience with their own dogs. She got her CPDT-KA in October 2019. She went on to teach AKC Puppy STAR, Companion Dog Basic Obedience, and CGC classes, and became certified as an AKC CGC and Temperament Test Evaluator. She is currently working on her TDI Evaluator certification and is a member of APDT. Pat is committed to doing what is best for the dog, and you will hear her frequently say, “It’s all about the dog”.

Pat has a BS in Biology and spent 30 years working for multiple medical device companies in research and development, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs before pursuing her real passion of “training dogs”.