Kate Cusimano
Dog Trainer & Behaviorist, specializing in Board and Train & Private Training
Kate operates our Vallejo CA Facility.
Kate offers accelerated obedience board and train programs and in-home boarding at her home in Vallejo, California. She has developed a diverse skill set since first beginning to work with dogs as a professional groomer and dedicated rescue volunteer when she was a teenager. She has worked as a groomer across the country and became known as a skilled professional who could work equally as effectively with wiggly puppies for their first grooming experience and dogs with severe behavioral issues such as human aggression. Kate also holds a Masters Degree in Special Education and worked for 12 years in schools around the world, dynamically applying learning theory to address challenging behaviors, teach diverse learners, and work with families experiencing stress- which are skills that she applies to dog training as well.
Several years ago, Kate originally came to Refined K-9 as a client, working with Theo to address her adopted Ecuadorian street dogs’ reactivity while living in San Francisco. This experience was truly enlightening and so she decided to pursue her passion for teaching, learning, and working with both dogs and people to become a professional dog trainer. In the years since, Kate’s education in the dog training field has developed methodically through a combination of formal study programs such as the renowned Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers and application of training concepts with a wide variety of dogs under direct mentorship with experienced trainers. She believes that establishing trusting relationships and maintaining an open mind is at the core of all succesful learning experiences; you’ll often hear her say that ‘every day is a school day!’
In addition to working with board and train and in-home boarding clients, Kate is actively involved in dog sports: she is currently training for French Ring with her Belgian Malinois (the team got their Brevet title as of September 2023), agility/nose work/barn hunt/dock diving with her Dutch Shepherd mix, and ‘neighborhood bikejoring’ with her athletic tripod street dog. Dante the Chihuahua is mostly Kate’s fun-sized travel buddy, but he is also a great helper around training dogs given his confident dog neutrality! She also occasionally fosters dogs for local shelters as well as a Malinois specific rescue, and still grooms dogs upon request utilizing her in-home grooming salon. Kate is very excited to be on the Refined K-9 team!
Kates pack includes:
Rogue - Belgian Malinois - paradoxical super cuddler and spicy sport dog
Uma - Dutch Shepherd type supermutt - multi-sport athlete with ball drive for days
Pocho - Kelpie type supermutt - only has three legs but can outrun the Belgian Malinois
Dante - Chihuahua blend - living the good life as a adventure lap dog