Alex Reinhart, CBCC-KA
Director of Training | She/Her
- Certified Behavior Consultant Canine – Knowledge Assessed (CBCC-KA)
- Professional Canine Trainer – Accredited (PCT – A)
- AKC Canine Good Citizen and STAR Puppy Evaluator
- Certified Service Dog Coach (SDC)
- CATCH Canine Trainers Academy Mentor Trainer
- Certified Pet Care Technician
A graduate of the University of South Florida, Alex holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Psychology and Anthropology and remains an active member of The National Honor Society of Psychology as well as The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Alex is proud to be a Professional Canine Trainer accredited through The Pet Professional Guild as well as a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine – Knowledge Assessed through The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She currently operates as the Director of Training at Courteous Canine Inc. one of the largest positive reinforcement-based dog training schools in the Tampa Bay area.
Alex got her start in the animal training field as an exotic animal trainer and handler while working at Busch Gardens as well as Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park as an Animal Ambassador Trainer. It was here that she was first exposed to the power of positive reinforcement training and how to apply these methods with a variety of species both domestic and exotic before choosing to focus on helping pet parents and their furry family members.
She is a regular columnist for the animal training-based publication BARKS from the Guild and has written pieces detailing her work with both domestic and exotic animals.
Alex believes that as a professional trainer we never really stop learning and education and access to information are some of the most important tools that we have to grow as professionals in the dog training field. A guest lecturer at Eckerd College in Florida during their Enrichment and Animal Welfare course. Alex believes in spreading information about humane training methods for all species. Regularly attending educational conferences and workshops Alex has completed Precision Behavior’s Advanced Animal Training Workshop sponsored by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium among others and is currently pursuing additional training accreditations.
In addition to her professional credentials Alex also has a passion for animal rehabilitation and rescue, working closely with organizations like Animalluvr’s Dream Rescue where she adopted two of her three dogs and still frequently provides her services in rescue dog evaluations and training prior to adoption. She has also completed internships through companies like Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc. where she spent three months working with the staff within the Genetics and Reproduction Department and participated in guide dog behavioral evaluations, early puppy education programs and the cryopreservation and breeding of the next generation of guide dogs.
Alex looks forward to continuing to grow with the help of her dogs Leo, Dante and Trace as well as the wonderful staff and clients at Courteous Canine Inc.
Christopher Tiller
Professional Dog Trainer | He/Him
- Pet First Aid Certified, DogNostics Career Center
- Canine Communication grad, DogNostics Career Center
- AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
Christopher Tiller’s journey into dog training starts as many have started. He fell in love with a dog. Stanley was abandoned in a shelter and as Chris soon learned had experiences with humans that shaped his distrust of all of them. Slowly Chris was able to earn Stanley’s trust and he began to seek the counsel of professional trainers. Quickly, Chris learned that there were two fundamentally opposite ways of training dogs, one, forceful using choke, prong, and shock collars; and the other, based on science, fun, and play. To Chris using force with a scared dog that distrusted humans made no sense and so Chris committed to force-free training.
An avid reader, Chris started reading science-based dog training books as fast as he could. Next, he started enrolling in online webinars. None of this was enough to feed his passion for learning about dog training so he began volunteering at a shelter. While he found the work tremendously rewarding, ultimately Chris felt he could make even more of a difference being part of a dog school and so he joined the team of Courteous Canine, Inc.
Chris has completed online training in canine communication and is certified in pet first aid. Chris is completing requirements for his CCPDT certification as a professional dog trainer. He has a special interest in trick training, shy dogs, fearful dogs, and an intense passion for the science of behavior and learning.
Chris teaches Puppy Kindergarten, Basic Manners and is available for Private Training and would love the opportunity to work with you!
Valentino Lipscomb
Professional Dog Trainer | He/Him
Beth Napolitano, CPDT-KA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer | She/Her
- Advanced Pet Care Technician Level 2
- Dog Behavior Technician Intern
Beth was a staff hospital nurse for 40 years and enjoyed working in Hospice’s Home Care Division for a brief time. She took 8 years off from nursing to own and operate a successful bakery business with her husband. Beth and her husband share their home with a cat and 2 Beagles, Murphy and Sadie. Murphy and Sadie have been in puppy kindergarten, fun scent games, and agility classes at Courteous Canine, Inc. over the last 2 1/2 years. Murphy earned his Canine Good Citizen certification as well. Beth and Sadie have done private behavior counseling with Angelica due to anxiety issues. She learned skills to successfully manage Sadie’s anxiety using the positive methods. Beth studied at DogNostics Career College and is now a CPCT, level 2 and pet first aid certified. She also teaches classes at Courteous Canine and says that she loves the fun atmosphere and positive, force-free training methods used by all their instructors. Beth is a member of the Pet Professional Guild and has even had a couple of her articles published in their “BARKs” magazine!
Cara Spivack
Assistant Daycare Manager | She/Her
- Graduated from Pet Emergency Education Pet First Aid and CPR training
- Member of the Pet Professional Guild
Cara is originally from the north, Alexandria, Virginia. She has also lived in Utah and visited the Dominican Republic. She parents two Yorkshire Terriers and two cats! As a child Cara was not allowed to have pets which only deepened her desire to parent and work with animals. She is an extremely detailed oriented and devoted pet professional with a special interest in pet safety and dog body language. Her past work experience include working at large dog daycare facilities and being a dog groomer apprentice.
She is most passionate about finding a way to connect with every dog she encounters and learning about animal behavior. She loves Terriers in particular, but all dog breeds fascinate her. In her free time she enjoys cooking, crocheting and going to the movies! In school Cara enjoyed science, history and of course psychology. Cara has completed Pet Emergency Education Pet First Aid Training. She is working on completing a DogNostics Canine Communication course.
Cara is also a member of the Pet Professional Guild.
Scott Poteri
Dog Dock Jumping Instructor, NADD Dock Diving Judge | He/Him
- Advanced Pet Care Technician Level 2
- Certified Dock Diving Judge – North American Diving Dogs
Scott Poteri is our Dock Diving instructor here at Courteous Canine. He has always had an animal of some kind as a pet in his life. He has worked in animal rescue has volunteered, fostered, and placed dogs with United Yorkie Rescue. One of his Golden Retrievers, Wish, has earned her AKC Canine Good Citizen certification and is a registered pet therapy team with Project Pup, and do weekly pet therapy sessions with the patients at Suncoast Hospice.
He is also a Senior Judge with North American Diving Dogs which requires intensive training and the completion of judging thousands jumps, as a result he is also a field rep for the southeast area of the US and member of the Rules Committee for NADD. Besides teaching at Courteous Canine, he also judges at most of the mobile dock events and 3 other Diving Dog facilities in Florida and Georgia. Scott has an intense passion for all dog sports, but his main passion is competitive Dock Diving, with his Golden Retrievers, Wish and Doobie.
Alicia Conover
Professional Dog and Cat Trainer | She/Her
- Bachelor of Science in Psychology, minoring in Zoology, University of Florida
Alicia graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, minoring in Zoology. She focused her education on animal behavior and participated in conducting ongoing research on canine cognition. She has spent 8 years working in animal shelters/rescues helping cats, dogs and small mammals find and stay in their forever homes as well as counsel people about their pet’s behavior issues to help keep them in their home and out of the shelter. She has a passion for animal behavior for all animals (including humans!) but particularly loves working with cats. She has expertise in working with all sorts of cat behavior topics including litter box issues, cat introductions, cat-human aggression and clicker training cats – yes, you CAN train cats! In addition to training dogs and cats, Alicia teaches high school Marine Science and Anatomy & Physiology.
Erin Simmons, CPDT-KA
Professional Dog Trainer | She/Her
- CPDT-KA
- Pet First Aid Certified
- Professional Animal Trainer
Erin has an amazing animal training background! She has worked with a wide array of species but her favorite has been primates specifically chimps and orangutan. She parents two dogs a Pom x Chi and a Border Collie mix. Erin grew up with cats and dogs. Other than animal behavior, Erin is deeply interested in animal cognition. She is also very passionate about dog body language and the concepts of consent and preference testing.
She has completed extensive training in dog training including a Victoria Stillwell Behavior Conference. And has a degree in Musical Theater Performance.
In her personal life she enjoys history, crafts and singing! Erin also loves math.
She is has her CPDT-KA and is also Pet First Aid Certified via Pet Emergency Education. She has a special interest in service dog training, scent work and cooperative care. While she loves dogs of all sizes, elderly dogs have a special place in her heart.
Donald Shelton
Daycare Assistant Manager | He/Him
- Animal Psychology at Smithsonian’s National Zoo
-
Pet First Aid Certified, DogNostics Career CenterPet Sitter
Donald was born and raised in California. In June 2018, he and his wife moved to Tampa from Switzerland after living there for almost 40 years. He worked as a Biologist. He also took an extracurricular class, Animal Psychology at Smithsonian’s National Zoo. He had 2 dogs, Bonbon and Brooklyn, that both could understand sign language. Often, he brought Bonbon to some classes at university. Donald, also had a deaf cat “Flocon” who made his own few signs or gestures to help Donald understand what he wants or needs. During his life, he has had 5 dogs, 3 cats and many small animals.
Lindsay Fowler
Professional Dog Trainer | She/Her
- B.S. in Zoo Science
Joe Souza
Conditioning Specialist, NADD Judge, CGC Evaluator | He/Him
- Certified Canine Conditioning Specialist
- Certified Dock Diving Judge – North America Diving Dogs
- TC3 trained (Tactical Canine Casualty Care) – Veterinary Tactical Group
- AKC Star Puppy and Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
Joe is a professional applications engineer by trade, but he’s the happy dog-father of three great Labrador Retrievers affectionately named “Team Ripped K9”. With many years of dog training experience under his belt, he decided to embark on a study of canine conditioning and he now works exclusively in that realm. Joe found that there are many exceptional obedience trainers, a plethora of sport-specific trainers, and a vast number of quality working dog trainers… but there are few trainers that specialize in physical conditioning, and studies show that a dog in top physical condition is less likely to suffer injuries than a weekend warrior. No matter if your dog is a working dog, excels in dog sports, or a couch potato, your dog can benefit from a custom designed training program.
On the fun side, Joe is a swimming, dock diving, and lure coursing instructor here at Courteous Canine, and he’s a certified judge with the North America Diving Dogs (NADD) organization. He’s also an instructor holding a 5th Degree “Master” rank in the martial art of Tang Soo Do, a private pilot, and an avid hiker and scuba diver… oh, and let’s not forget the father of two great human kids!
Kristina Przystawik
Professional Animal Trainer | She/Her
- Professional Animal Trainer
Kristina has a Bachelors in Psychology with a focus in Applied Behavior Analysis and is obtaining her Masters in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law. She has worked in the zoo industry for 10+ years specializing in positive reinforcement training and behavior with a wide array of animals including tigers, elephants, dolphins, koalas, African painted dogs, and emu! She enjoys learning about all aspects of behavior and cognition and has been fortunate enough to do behavioral research with dolphins and elephants in her career.
Will Grabert
Professional Dog Trainer | He/Him
- Currently completing IAABC Dog Behavior Consultant certification.
Josh Berube
Dog Trainer | He/Him
- Completed training with Animal Behavior College, graduating with distinction
Josh is originally from Massachusetts but moved to Florida right after high school. He is lucky to have married his high school sweetheart; together they have one amazing child.
He has been around animals his entire life. Currently he has 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 birds and a snake! Josh has always found spending time with animals to be very rewarding. He is particularly interested in learning more about what helps to strengthen the bond between us and our dogs. Josh gravitated to a positive reinforcement and rewards based method even before his formal education.
Josh completed a training program with Animal Behavior College, graduating with distinction. Josh had a special interest in ethics and of course bond increasing training methods. He is currently teaching puppy and basic manners and is available for both on campus and in home private training. He plans on continuing his education with a special focus on behavior.
In his free time, Josh is a football fan and enjoys watching and playing sports. He spends his free time hanging out with my family and playing with the animals. Sometimes you may even find him playing some pool.
Naomi Marsh, CPDT-KA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer | She/Her
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge-Assessed (CPDT-KA)
- American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Program Evaluator (CGC) and Star Puppy
- Field Representative Trainer for Paws with a Cause
- Graduated from Pet Emergency Education Pet First Aid and CPR training.
Naomi Marsh has maintained a lifelong passion for animal training, particularly for dogs. Naomi was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her Bachelor of Science in Zoology at Ohio University and received her doctorate degree before moving to Florida.
Naomi has taught dog training classes in Clearwater, Florida and is an avid student of positive and motivational education techniques.
She enjoys working with private and group training dogs and their clients, and derives much gratification from training and assisting the each dog and parent team.
Loving Musical Freestyle because of its unlimited training possibilities, Naomi founded the Doggone Dancers and performed movement to music with several dogs and handlers and brings this to the Courteous Canine, Inc. team. Naomi’s favorite time is spent with her two retrievers, Murphy and Wren.
Naomi is a valued member of the Courteous Canine team and is always seeking to enhance her teaching and learning.
Angelica Steinker
President and Founder | She/Her
- She is a former Advisory Board member and faculty at the Companion Animal Sciences Institute
- CASI dog behavior program graduate
- Accredited as a Canine Behavior Consultant through the Pet Professional Accreditation Board
- Certified through Applied Animal Behavior Professionals and International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
- Angelica is a sought-after public speaker who has presented at conferences Internationally including in Great Britain, Portugal, and Brazil.
- Presented at the famous Camp Gone to the Dogs in Vermont, the U.S. Pet Professional Guild’s Summit, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Annual Conference, BARK Agility Camp, and Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expo.
- former AKC agility judge
- North American Diving Dogs judge.
- Master’s degree in Education, which has served as the foundation for her continued certifications in dog behavior and her extensive understanding of emotional learning, operant and classical conditioning, and the science of how animals and people learn.
For more than 20 years full time, Angelica Steinker, Owner of Courteous Canine, Inc., has specialized in dog training methods that create Results the Fun Way.
Using Consent Testing and Empowerment Training Angelica and her team of professional dog trainers have successfully trained thousands of puppies and adult dogs in basic manners/obedience, trick training, behavior consutling, agility, dock jumping and other skills, all while increasing the bond of trust between dogs and their human companions.
Allie Egan
Dog Trainer | She/Her
- Currently working toward her certification as a dog trainer
- Graduated from Pet Emergency Education Pet First Aid and CPR training.
Allie loves learning about dogs, science, Italy, a country she has visited. She has a special interest in Pet Therapy, Trick Training, Agility, and dock jumping. Allie is working toward her certification as a dog trainer. In college Allie focused on psychology which she continues to have an interest in. In terms of breeds Allie is most interested in working with very active dogs because of her two active herding breed mixes.
In her former life Allie worked as a pet sitter and she currently works part time for a human grade quality dog food company. Allie is known for her contagious smile, positive attitude and endless passion for learning about dogs and their behavior.
Kimberly Archer, CPDT - KA
Professional Dog Trainer | She/Her
- Pet Behavior Specialist,
- CPDT-KA,
- CTDI,
- Certified Scent Instructor,
- AKC CGC & STAR Evaluator
- Graduated from Pet Emergency Education Pet First Aid and CPR training.
Kimberly has loved animals for her whole life so she got her B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Florida and has been training animals ever since. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed through CCPDT, a Certified Trick Dog Instructor through Do More With Your Dog, and a Certified Canine Scent Instructor through the UK College of Scent Dogs.