Board of Directors

Michael Shikashio

Michael Shikashio, CDBC, is the president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC), and provides private consultations working only with dog aggression cases through his business Complete Canines LLC. Michael is fully certified through the IAABC, is a full member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), and is a mentor trainer for Animal Behavior College. Michael also offers mentoring and training to other professionals.

Michael is sought after for his expert opinion by numerous media outlets, including the New York Times, New York Post, Baltimore Sun, WebMD, Women’s Health Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, The Chronicle of the Dog, and Steve Dale’s Pet World.

He is a featured speaker on the topic of canine aggression at conferences and seminars around the world, and he currently teaches “Aggression Cases: A to Z” through The Dog Trainers Connection and the “Aggression in Dogs Mentorship” through the IAABC.

Danielle Basciano

Danielle is a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant, working with dogs and cats through her business — CNY Pet Training & Behavior in Upstate New York. An active volunteer in her community, she consults regularly with local shelters, animal rescues and governmental and animal welfare agencies.

Danielle has served on the board of the IAABC since 2012. She has also served on a variety of committees, task forces and non-profit boards, including her local SPCA and PAWS of CNY, a therapy dog organization with approximately 180 teams where she was president and lead evaluator for 12 years. Since her retirement from the board in 2015, Danielle continues to volunteer with PAWS of CNY as a therapy dog class instructor.

Danielle is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and an Associate Certified Cat Behavior Consultant (ACCBC) with the IAABC as well as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and a Certified Behavior Consultant Canine (CBCC-KA) through CCPDT. Additionally, Danielle is a Professional Member of APDT, an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, a mentor trainer for CATCH Canine Academy, a mentor for the IAABC Animal Behavior Consulting Principles & Practice Course and a member of the IAABC Application Review Committee.

She currently resides in Upstate New York and along with the humans in her life, shares her home with a dog and four cats.

Sarah Fulcher Dixon, CDBC, KPA-CTP

Sarah Dixon is a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant who works for Instinct Dog Behavior & Training LLC in New York City.

Volunteering as a foster home for rescue organizations for many years provided Sarah more valuable experience. She lived with and trained many different canine personalities, and has experience and success with many traditionally difficult to train breeds. Sarah has also trained several species of animals including dogs, cats, chickens, parrots, and horses.

Dedicated to continuing education, she has background in animal behaviour at university, a Certificate in Canine Behaviour Science and Technology through the Companion Animal Sciences Institute, graduated with distinction from the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Professional Program, completed the Living & Learning with Animals course through BehavioR+ Works and most recently the IAABC Principles and Practice course. She also is a member in good standing with APDT.

With her dogs (Siberian huskies (past), Belgian shepherd, and Australian Shepherd), Sarah has trained, competed, or titled in many dog sports including obedience, rally obedience, skijorring, dog sledding, agility, musical freestyle, herding, tricks, and nose work.

Sarah specializes in behaviour problems such as fear, aggression, anxiety, and reactivity. Most of all, she loves helping people build strong relationships with their pets.

Renee Hall

Renee Hall is a professional dog trainer and certified Dog Behavior Consultant through her business Let's Speak Dog Training & Sports Studio in Nazareth, PA. Renee is an active member of her community, offering pet, sports and behavior modification at the Studio as well as consulting services for local veterinarians, rescue and shelters. An active mentor, Renee enjoys working with instructors new to the field and introducing a scientific approach to animal training to new students. Teamwork and team development has been paramount to her business plan and offering the best educational environment for learners the theme for continued growth of the business. Renee has been involved with animals most of her life, switched gears from Property/Business Management to open Let's Speak Dog ten years ago.

An active member in dog sports, Renee currently lives with 5 golden retrievers, 2 cats and is usually out playing with the dogs on her day off. A long time sports enthusiast, Renee is currently an active obedience and rally judge, working with NATE developing a competitive venue for Treibball, as well as mentoring for a number of organizations.

Professional Credentials/Affiliations: CPDT-KA, CDBC, APDT Professional Membership, IAABC certified member, IAABC BOD, NATE BOD, NATE CC Chair, P&P Mentor, CWRI, PPG member, AABP, Dogs & Storks, AKC CGC evaluator, CDSP judge, WCRL judge

Sara Russell, KPA CTP

Sara Russell, KPA CTP is a professional dog training and behavior consultant at When Hounds Fly in Toronto.

Sara previously worked at the Toronto Humane Society for over 10 years managing the Feline Behaviour Department where she incorporated positive reinforcement in the shelter's feline enrichment program, designing and implementing protocols and behaviour modification plans for both animals in the shelter and when assisting pet parents experiencing behaviour concerns at home.

Sara is always dedicated to continuing education whether it's attending yearly conferences, online seminars or reading books to sharpen her training skills and behavior knowledge. Just in 2016, she completed Terry Ryan's Chicken Camp Workshop, and most recently became certified through the Fear Free Initiative to assist veterinarians, pets and pet owners in making veterinary visits a fear free experience for everybody involved through prevention, management, modification and force free handling.

She is also a trainer for the 2017 Jackson Galaxy Foundation's Cat Pawsitive Initiative which aims at teaching shelter staff and volunteers clicker training skills to modify behavior in shelter cats and assist in making them more adoptable.

Marjie Alonso

Marjie Alonso, CDBC, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP is the Executive Director of the IAABC.

She was a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant and owner of City Dog Training in Somerville, MA. for decades, during which time she also served as Training Director, and then behavioral consultant for the New England Dog Training Club, the oldest AKC club in the US, and as a member of the America Humane Association's Advisory Board for Companion Animal Behavior and Training.

Marjie is the co-founder of the Somerville Foundation for Animals, which hosts the Somerville Dog Festival each year. Marjie is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants; a Certified Training Partner of Karen Pryor Academy; a Certified Pet Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers; an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, and a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT)