Alison Smith, CTC Director of Training and Behavior and Co- Owner of Metro Dog. Graduated with Honors from SFSPCA Dog Training Academy with a Certificate in Training & Counseling (2000). For many years Alison working with people and their dogs through her business Canine Culture, and now she has brought her expertise to found the Metro Dog Academy. She has worked with the Alameda Shelter to develop assessment and socialization programs for their dogs, served on the board of Smiley Dog Rescue, and frequently provided training advice and support to other local rescues.
Through the development of the Metro Dog Academy, she has been able to create a diverse and comprehensive program to mentor and develop new trainers. She is dedicated to healthy relationships between people and the dogs who share their lives.
Elissa Cline
Elissa Cline, CTC has worked professionally with dogs since 2000. She is trainer at both the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society and Metro Dog Academy. She is a temperament evaluator for Ohlone Humane Society’s ‘ Hug A Pet ‘ program and is also an evaluator for the AKC CGC (Good Canine Citizen ).
She graduated from SFSPCA Dog Training Academy with a Certificate in Training & Counseling (2004), Special Topics in Advanced Counseling for Stranger Aggression & Social Fear (2005), and Dog/Dog Aggression (2006) taught by Jean Donaldson & Janice Bradley. She completed the Marin Humane Society’s Consultant/Instructor Training Academy I & II with Trish King (2003 / 2004), and attended Bob Bailey – Chicken Camps ( Discrimination, Criteria & Cueing, and Chaining ). She was also a volunteer at the Oakland Animal Shelter working with dogs and cats.
Joanna Czaja
Joanna Czaja began her trainer career as a classroom assistant at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society in 2007. Helping dogs and owners learn together sparked a new found passion that led her to enroll in the Canine Behavior Academy at the Marin Humane Society in 2008. She continued gaining hands-on experience by assisting multiple local trainers in classes and working with hundreds of dogs at BEBHS and Metro Dog. She is now pleased as punch to be teaching Rally Obedience classes and various workshops at Metro Dog, as well as doing one-on-one consults with owners to help solve their doggy woes. She is committed to using positive training and behavior modification methods when working with all animals, including humans. Her pet family consists of Jasper Fforde, the clicker-trained cat, and Cinnamon Snapdragon, the future agility star papillon.
Our Instructors
Alison Smith
Alison Smith, CTC Director of Training and Behavior and Co- Owner of Metro Dog. Graduated with Honors from SFSPCA Dog Training Academy with a Certificate in Training & Counseling (2000). For many years Alison working with people and their dogs through her business Canine Culture, and now she has brought her expertise to found the Metro Dog Academy. She has worked with the Alameda Shelter to develop assessment and socialization programs for their dogs, served on the board of Smiley Dog Rescue, and frequently provided training advice and support to other local rescues.
Through the development of the Metro Dog Academy, she has been able to create a diverse and comprehensive program to mentor and develop new trainers. She is dedicated to healthy relationships between people and the dogs who share their lives.
Elissa Cline
Elissa Cline, CTC has worked professionally with dogs since 2000. She is trainer at both the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society and Metro Dog Academy. She is a temperament evaluator for Ohlone Humane Society’s ‘ Hug A Pet ‘ program and is also an evaluator for the AKC CGC (Good Canine Citizen ).
She graduated from SFSPCA Dog Training Academy with a Certificate in Training & Counseling (2004), Special Topics in Advanced Counseling for Stranger Aggression & Social Fear (2005), and Dog/Dog Aggression (2006) taught by Jean Donaldson & Janice Bradley. She completed the Marin Humane Society’s Consultant/Instructor Training Academy I & II with Trish King (2003 / 2004), and attended Bob Bailey – Chicken Camps ( Discrimination, Criteria & Cueing, and Chaining ). She was also a volunteer at the Oakland Animal Shelter working with dogs and cats.
Joanna Czaja
Joanna Czaja began her trainer career as a classroom assistant at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society in 2007. Helping dogs and owners learn together sparked a new found passion that led her to enroll in the Canine Behavior Academy at the Marin Humane Society in 2008. She continued gaining hands-on experience by assisting multiple local trainers in classes and working with hundreds of dogs at BEBHS and Metro Dog. She is now pleased as punch to be teaching Rally Obedience classes and various workshops at Metro Dog, as well as doing one-on-one consults with owners to help solve their doggy woes. She is committed to using positive training and behavior modification methods when working with all animals, including humans. Her pet family consists of Jasper Fforde, the clicker-trained cat, and Cinnamon Snapdragon, the future agility star papillon.