Our Team

Karen Lanoue-Lambrecht is the head instructor and owner of PAWSitively Obedient. Karen is a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers along with holding numerous certifications. They are: Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers,an Associate Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, an AKC Canine Good Citizen and AKC Tricks evaluator,Family Paws Parent Educator and Dog Gone Safe Member.

Karen is committed to continuing education, and stays current by attending numerous educational seminars throughout the year. As she is a Certified instructor she must have 36 hours of continuing education credits every 3 years to keep her certifications current.

Karen graduated from Becker Junior College in 1976, where she received an Associate of Science degree in the Veterinary Assistant Program. She was a veterinary technician at Angell Memorial Hospital for nearly seven years. While there she became interested in dog training as she had acquired an untrained 9 month old American Eskimo pup who had numerous behavior problems. Karen took him to a companion class given by Dr. Amy Marder, an animal behaviorist-veterinarian at Angell Memorial Hospital.

Soon after completing the course Karen asked to monitor the classes to learn more. She became seriously interested in behavior and training and was offered a job as a training assistant for Dr. Marder’s classes. She fueled her interest by attending classes and seminars and reading books by other trainers. Karen’s philosophy was guided by the positive reinforcement techniques taught by Dr. Ian Dunbar, a noted behaviorist and veterinarian. He started an Association of Professional Dog Trainers in 1993 of which Karen is a current member. Their mission is to build better trainers through education. Karen embraces that mission and believes that through her instruction she can build more knowledgeable dog owners.

Karen moved to Marshfield and found there was not much of a choice in training classes for owners and their puppies. She started her own business in 1995 and offered indoor and outdoor classes at varying locations on the South Shore. She has 4 certified instructors that work with her along with several assistants mentoring who are on the path to becoming certified instructors.

PAWSitively Obedient practices positive dog training with instruction classes that are recommended by our satisfied clients, many local veterinarians, breeders and the Yankee Golden Retriever Club.

My love for training began in 1993 when I first watched the movie “Free Willy.”  I was in awe at not only the behaviors that Willy could do with his trainer, but also the relationship that developed between the two of them. After that movie, I knew what I wanted to do with my life – become an animal trainer. In 2008, I graduated from USF in Tampa with a degree in Psychology focusing on animal behavior. I had several internships at various aquariums from 2009 – 2014 including Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, and Coral World Ocean Park. During those years my love for positive reinforcement training flourished!

After making the decision to stay in MA in 2014, I stumbled upon Karen and PAWS-itively Obedient. I immediately fell in love with the way she was using positive reinforcement training to help people and their dogs! In 2018 I became a certified professional dog trainer.

Now, I am an advocate for appropriate puppy socialization AND positive reinforcement training. I strive to help owners enjoy training as much as I do! It really should be FUN for you and your dog to learn together while creating a bond that will last forever. I believe in a fear free, no force, cooperative approach. You truly are able to accomplish great things with consistency, dedication, and of course, MOTIVATION!

I have over 20 years of experience working with dogs in both a veterinary setting and in the behavior world. As a certified veterinary technician and canine rehab practitioner, I started learning about behavior as a training assistant to Karen in 2001, all while cultivating my career in the veterinary setting. It started as a way to get my “puppy fix” and slowly turned into an amazing opportunity to help people understand their dog’s behavior and how to deal with it.

Today, I continue to teach group basic/advanced obedience and occasional private sessions with PAWS-itively Obedient, and am a full time veterinary technician with VCA South Shore Animal Hospital, specializing in canine physical rehabilitation. You will often find me in our training center with my own “assistant” (and all-around man’s best friend), Memphis!

Growing up Victoria was about everything and anything dog. She enjoyed and looked forward to caring for her family dogs. Vic’s dog training journey began when she adopted a Staffordshire terrier mix named Angus. Angus has taught Vic how to be kind, compassionate, understanding, and patient. Working through Angus’ behavioral concerns, using clicker training and positive reinforcement based training, allowed Vic to watch his confidence grow. That experience made her fall in love with dog training. Vic loved it so much that she wanted to make it my job; and that’s exactly what she did; Vic started with PAWSitively Obedient in 2018 as a training assistant and, after receiving her certified professional dog training certification in 2021, became a full time dog trainer.

Victoria has close to 10 years experience working with dogs as a doggie daycare attendant, dog trainer and veterinary assistant. Her favorite part of being a dog training instructor is watching dogs build relationships with their owners. Vic truly believes solid relationships with our dogs helps boost their confidence and ability to navigate the world. When not training, she is likely spending time with her own 2 dogs; Angus, a Staffordshire terrier mix and Ahri, a Siberian husky and her fiancé Jonathan, rewatching The Office.

Maureen Dwyer is a Karen Pryor Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP) and a Certified K9 Nose Work® Instructor (CNWI). Maureen believes training should be fun for both dog and owner. She earned her KPA-CTP with her training partner Abby, who was a 12-year-old Jack Russell terrier. Abby proved you can teach an old dog new tricks and the training enriched her life in her senior years.

As an avid advocate and participant in K9 Nose Work®, Maureen also loves introducing new students to the activity and training them on the foundational skills for fun and competition. Maureen and her Australian Shepherd, Bo earned the Nose Work Level 3 (NW3) title. Maureen’s Golden Retriever mix, Arrow has earned his NW3, AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and AKC Community Canine (CGCA).

Always curious, Maureen continues to expand her knowledge of dog training and behavior by attending seminars, workshops, and conferences. She also is a member of ADPT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers). Maureen gets great pleasure out of teaching dog owners how to train their dogs using positive reinforcement and she loves watching the canine-human bond grow and deepen through training and dog sports.

I have been around animals my whole life. I have a diverse background working with animals including in animal focused retail, working as a veterinary technician, and have a well rounded animal sheltering background.

While I have always had a dog since childhood, it was when I adopted my dog Kira when my focus on dog behavior and training really started. She was a shy, reactive pup from Puerto Rico who thrived under reward based learning. I started reading and learning all I could about how I could help this sweet pup gain confidence and improve her life. In December of 2022, I graduated from the Victoria Stillwell Academy of Dog Training.

I have had the pleasure of working with PAWS-itively Obedient since February of 2022. It brings me so much joy when a dog “gets it” when learning a new behavior. Helping families bond with their canine family members while solving unwanted behaviors through positive training is such a wonderful experience for me.

When I’m not training pups, I’m hanging with my own human kids and husband and our wonderful “zoo” including our two Puerto Rico pups Kira and Tendi, our four house rabbits, and other small pets.