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Meet Our Team!
From left to right:
Back Row: Mandi, Maggie & Shana
Front Row: Ally and Kailey
Staff Bios
Photo by Jeanie Keating
Maggie Hansen, CTC, CBCC-KA
Maggie is a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine (Knowledge Assessed) with a Certificate in Training and Counseling. She started Practical Obedience LLC in 2013 when she saw a need in the area for a personalized, in-home approach to dog training. Maggie’s goal has always been to offer a customized approach to help clients with the training most important to them, to help their dogs fit into their lives. Although we've moved away from in-home services into our training facility, we strive to keep a home-like feel and apply our years of experience to helping clients transfer skills back into their homes.​ Maggie grew up with a love for animals and started riding horses at a young age. In general, the more difficult horses that needed some work seemed to "choose" her which started her passion for training. The family's lab mix, Baron, willingly accepted her early dog training efforts and attempts to build backyard agility courses for him. A career in some facet of the animal world seemed natural so Maggie attended the University of Wisconsin - River Falls and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. A few years later while training her first dog Wally, Maggie was inspired to pursue a career as a dog trainer. Like most first-time dog owners, she made mistakes early on but ended up with a very well-behaved dog who fit her lifestyle. Around that same time Maggie began volunteering at local rescues and pursuing a dog trainer certification to start this career. Maggie started her formal education when she received certification with honors as a Dog Obedience Instructor through Animal Behavior College in 2013 and completed extra courses in training shelter dogs and individual dog training sessions. In 2015 she received certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) which is an internationally recognized certification. Maggie completed coursework in 2017 to become a Fear Free Certified Professional to better support the veterinarian professionals in the community and help clients reduce fear, stress and anxiety during veterinary visits. In 2019 Maggie Graduated with Honors from the Academy for Dog Trainers to earn her Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC). The Academy’s 2 year program is known to be one of the most comprehensive, elite programs in science-based training currently available. Continuing to pursue education for herself and her staff is a top priority through hands-on experience & mentoring, books, videos and attendance at several large conferences and seminars each year to learn from the top professionals in the industry. With Maggie’s education and experience she focuses her time and attention on more serious behavior problems and special training needs and oversees cases where her training staff needs support. To reflect this focus, she has earned and maintained her certification as a Certified Behavior Consultant since 2021. Maggie believes that true dog training happens within a trusting relationship between a dog and their family. A trusting relationship with a dog cannot occur with the use of force, pain or fear any more than it can within a human relationship. All training methods and philosophy center around positive reinforcement of desired behaviors and improving the communication and understanding between owners and dogs. In her mission to educate herself and others regarding force-free training methods Maggie maintains membership with the Pet Professional Guild and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. ​
Certified Behavior Consultant & Owner
Shana Kleckner, CPDT-KA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer
Shana joined the Practical Obedience LLC team as a dog trainer in 2017. Shana has years of prior experience with dogs including working at a doggie daycare, dog walking, pet sitting and teaching group training classes. She previously taught puppy classes, basic manners & assisted with reactive dog training classes. She has worked as a receptionist & assistant at a veterinarian clinic and helped care for the boarding clients there. She’s been to many seminars over the years and has been fully committed to force-free training methods her entire training career. In addition to the paid work she’s done with dogs, Shana has a passion for rescue work and has volunteered for several different rescues over the years. She has fostered and found forever homes for over 30 dogs… not all of which were as lucky as Hawkeye (pictured) who she couldn’t part with after bringing him into her home as a foster. Shana became re-certified as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer in 2018. She currently takes on puppy and basic training clients along with assisting with current client needs for drop-in services.​
Photo by Jeanie Keating
Kailey Garvey, CTC, CBCC-KA
Puppy DaySchool Coordinator &
Certified Behavior Consultant
Kailey joined the Practical Obedience LLC team as a dog training assistant & administrative support in 2022. She studied at UW-River Falls and earned a Bachelor of Biology with a focus on animal behavior. She has previous experience working at a pet food boutique and dog training company and has a great passion for training and learning everything she can. She is a graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers and earned her Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC) in 2024. By logging required hours working cases based in fear and aggression and passing an extensive exam, she added the designation of Certified Behavior Consultant - Canine in 2025. Kailey has a passion for shy and fearful dogs and focuses on behavior training cases. Kailey also helps manage our Puppy DaySchool and Teenage DaySchool Programs and assists with our social media efforts, among other helpful tasks. She's the proud pet mom of a pug named Chug (pictured), a chinchilla named Nimbus & a puffer fish named Toad.
Ally Piontek, CTC
Certified Professional Dog Trainer
Administrative Support & Behavior Training Assistant
Ally joined Practical Obedience in 2022 as a dog training assistant & administrative support. She graduated from UW-Green Bay with a Bachelor of Biology followed by a Masters in Animal Behavior & Science in 2022. She has years of experience pet sitting and working at a local kennel before joining our team to assist with Puppy DaySchool. Ally also helps on the administrative side, helping answer new client questions and assisting with our newsletter. Ally is also a graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers (2025) and is working towards becoming a behavior consultant to help behaviorally challenged dogs. She is the definition of a team-player as she jumps in to help with everything from puppy training, basic obedience to behavior training. Ally has a pug named Murphy (pictured) and adopted Captain in 2026 who regularly makes appearances at the training center as a helper dog.
Amy Schwarz
Dog Trainer, AKC Canine Good Citizen Approved Evaluator
Amy brought her extensive experience as a professional dog trainer to Practical Obedience in 2026, with over 16 years of experience helping dogs and their owners succeed across the Green Bay area. Amy is a graduate of Animal Behavior College and spent 7 years with PetSmart in Ashwaubenon (2011-2018), where she not only trained dogs and their owners, but also trained and mentored new dog trainers across four states before they returned to lead programs in their home stores. Over the years, Amy has developed a deep, practical understanding of dog behavior through hands-on work with countless dogs and owners, ongoing education and learning from the industry's highly respected and well-known leaders. After launching her own training business (2018-2026), Amy has continued to offer both group classes and private lessons, working with dogs of all ages, breeds and behavior challenges. Amy has been an AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Evaluator for over 10 years and designs her classes to help dogs and handlers successfully pass the CGC test while building real-world skills and confidence. Many of the dogs Amy has trained have gone on to work alongside their owners in hospitals, schools, nursing homes and library programs - including Pulaski Police Department's school resource officer therapy dog who supports students daily within Pulaski Community School District. Like the rest of our team, Amy is committed to using positive, reward-based training methods to teach practical manners both at home and in public, with a focus on helping dogs become well-integrated, trusted members of the family and community.
Mandi Monfils
DaySchool Assistant
Mandi joined our team in 2026 after years collaborating with us through her behavior role at Lucky 7 Dog Rescue. A life-long dog lover, she adopted her first very own dog, Klaus (pictured, left) in 2019. A year later she was introduced to the rescue world through fostering, resulting in quickly adopting her first foster Rodney (pictured, right). Since adopting her two pups, she has continued to foster over 20 dogs including one long-term foster with special behavioral needs, Jack. Since beginning her rescue work, Mandi took a special interest in behavior and focused on helping the dogs who needed a little help preparing for their forever homes. She was integral to building the partnership between Lucky 7 and Practical Obedience, which has flourished to help many challenging dogs prepare, find and transition into their forever homes. In 2021 she joined the rescue leadership team and in addition to her behavioral work, helps with adoptions and the operations team. Mandi's "day job" is in healthcare but she's very excited to split her time to include her passion with dogs and continue to learn to further support her role in rescue. Mandi works part-time as an assistant in our DaySchool Programs to ensure all dogs have safe, positive experiences within play groups and socialization time.
