Stephanie Bennett, CPDT-KSA - Owner

Stephanie Bennett, CPDT-KSA, is considered one of Houston’s top dog trainers and behavioral experts, as well as one of the city’s most innovative dog education and enrichment entrepreneurs, helping to create balance between mind, body, and spirit. 

Stephanie is recognized as Houston’s original puppy expert and is the founder of the city’s first all-encompassing, puppy-focused training programs. Her unique and effective puppy programs were developed under the guidance of her mentor, Dr. Ian Dunbar, who revolutionized dog training when he designed the world’s very first off-leash puppy class. Stephanie has made it her mission to educate new puppy owners and local veterinarians on the importance of early puppy training and socialization.

Stephanie is passionate about her education and has had the pleasure and distinction of working and studying with some of the world’s best dog trainers, including the great Dr. Ian Dunbar, who continues to be her valuable mentor today. Stephanie remains appreciative for opportunities to pay it forward and frequently mentors new trainers. Not only has she has taught her positive puppy training methods and fun & games group class curriculums to dozens of trainers, but she has also guided them towards their certification through the Council of Certified Pet Trainers.

Throughout her career, Stephanie served as the Director of Training at LA Dogworks in Los Angeles, started her own in-home private training company, Get Along Little Doggie, and co-founded Peace Love and Dogs in Houston.   

In 2017, she had a vision of a new Canine and Training Enrichment Center. She decided to build and develop something fresh and innovative —what she considers to be the next stage in the evolution of dog education and enrichment—Believe in Dog Training. 

As a result of her comprehensive education and hands-on experience, Stephanie has expertise not only in dog & puppy training, but also a wide variety of solutions to dog behavior problems, especially fear and leash reactivity. Because each dog is unique, Stephanie works with her clients to create a custom training program addressing the individual dog’s needs while meeting the goals of their human companions.

With over 15 years of experience, Stephanie has helped thousands of dog owners create beautiful relationships with their pets. Her goal is to help her clients become the center of their dog’s universe!

Stephanie regularly contributes her expertise to media outlets and television segments, including Houston Life, where she became the resident “Puppy Whisperer” after training KPRC’s station dog, Tex. She frequently writes for Houston Pet Talk Magazine and has had terrific opportunities to work with and train dogs for The Alley Theater, The Astros, The Houston Ballet, and Texas Children’s Hospital.

Megan Gerfen – Trainer

Megan always had a love for animals growing up. She would come home with toads, and turtles that she would find around her home in rural Illinois. Her love for animals grew with the cats and dogs that her family had throughout her childhood. She thought about pursuing a veterinary degree, but chose music instead.

Megan attended Illinois State University and double majored in music education and saxophone performance. She loved the creativity and expression that music gave her, but she wanted to help people, so she went into teaching. At her first teaching job in 2015, Megan adopted a German Shepherd named Loki from a shelter. He had a horrible start to life, and as a result, he did not trust people. Megan began reading books, watching videos, listening to podcasts, and attending in-person classes to try and help Loki. In 2018, Loki passed his Canine Good Citizen test! Loki then began training to be a service dog for Megan to help her with her mobility issues from a degenerative joint disease.

Like many of the staff, Megan took a class at Believe in Dog Training and became a Believer. She wants to help dogs and their humans deepen their relationship and understanding of one another through training.

Joanna Covington – Operations Manager 

Joanna was one of Believe in Dog Training’s first clients when the company was still a concept in Stephanie Bennett’s head.  She feels incredibly lucky to have joined the Believe in Dog client family so early with her reactive dog, River.  The advice that Stephanie gave for handling a reactive dog changed her life.  Plus her other dog, Pixel adores coming to any training class. 

Joanna has always loved working with animals.  She volunteered at animal shelters from a young age, cared for pet dogs and bunnies, and even worked as a pet sitter to care for the beloved household pets of Heights residents when they went away on vacation.  Now, working every day at Believe in Dog Training feels like a dream come true.  

Every day is a great day with puppies!

Alyssa Renteria – Puppy Day School Manager

Since a young age, Alyssa has always had a passion for both animals and teaching. Growing up she spent most of her time caring for her family pets which included an array of animals such as your average household pets, to farm animals, and exotics. This early exposure lead to ambitions of one day pursuing a career with animals. However, shortly after graduating, Alyssa found herself pursuing a degree in elementary and special education. She was given a lovely opportunity to teach preschool age children for which she thoroughly enjoyed doing for several years. In addition to her teaching position, Alyssa and her mother created a Trap Neuter Release (TNR) program in their community. Taking in numerous strays, abandoned, and injured cats to eventually rehabilitate them and adopt out. Successfully the mother-daughter duo managed to TNR around 40 plus cats in the Montgomery county area and place over 20 kittens and cats into loving homes. Even with the success of the private rescue, Alyssa was still on the search for something that would allow her to work with animals full-time like she always dreamed. The chance came in 2018 when she got back into horseback riding and showing horses. A year into it, the stable owner offered Alyssa the job as assistant trainer and instructor. This gave her much fulfillment as she got to continue her role as teacher, but also care for the animals she was so fond of.

Alyssa’s Journey with Believe in Dog began in the fall of 2021 when she signed up for a puppy class with Fletcher, her American Pitbull Terrier. During their group classes, Alyssa was able to learn how to build solid foundations with her pup and strengthen their bond. She found herself pursuing new goals with Fletcher and even reshaping her existing relationship with her other dog Corbin. Alyssa proceeded to educate herself with books, podcasts, and classes. This sparked a new passion which was to educate people how they too could enhance their relationship with their pups and help them create a life that all dogs deserve. Now a part of the Believe in Dog team, Alyssa’s goals here are to train with the same philosophies and principles that BIDT uplifts. She and her boys, Corbin and Fletcher, are excited to emBARK (pun intended) on this wonderful career path of dog training!

“dogs lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” —Agnes Turnbull

Ashley Jozwiak, CPDT-KA – Trainer

Like other employees, Ashley was a client before coming to work with the Believe in Dog team. After a private training session and a group class, she was a believer. She is forever grateful for the way the Believe in Dog team helped Monte, her rescue, come out of his shell and build his confidence. As a foster and volunteer with K-9 Angels Rescue, she has experience working with dogs from a variety of backgrounds. Through fostering, her passion for training and rehabilitating dogs, both physically and mentally, grew. The more she learned the more she was able to help her foster dogs become more adoptable and find loving homes. A teacher at heart, she loves to share her passion and knowledge with others. Ashley wants to empower humans to learn and train with their dogs to ensure they both have the best experience. Ashley strives to help our clients become the center of their dog’s universe. You can find her working the front desk, teaching group classes, or subbing in for puppy day school when she has the time. She truly believes that both humans and dogs are built for connection that can be fostered through a positive relationship and teamwork.

“No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship. “ – Dr. James Comer

Kate van Rensburg, CPDT-KA – Trainer / Puppy Day School Teacher

Kate van Rensburg hails from Houston, TX and has had a deep love of animals her whole life. From a very young age, she was the one who trained all the family pets in everything from basic obedience and potty training to swimming pool safety! Kate spent years riding American Saddlebreds competitively and later working in the horse business as everything from a groom to an assistant trainer and riding instructor. She has two World Grand Championships under her belt, and is one of the lucky few who gets to pursue both her loves by teaching riding lessons and teaching group classes and Puppy Day School at Believe in Dog Training!

Kate has a BA in History from the University of St. Thomas and a JD from the University of Houston Law Center. After passing the Texas Bar in 2014, Kate soon realized that while she found law intellectually stimulating, it wasn’t fulfilling for her. When she started bringing her pup to puppy classes, she realized that she had found a career she was excited about and where she knew she could help people and their pups lead better lives together. Kate started assisting Stephanie with classes, puppy training, and anything else she could get her hands on in 2015. She obtained her CPDT-KA certification in May, 2016, and hopes to continue her education by learning something every day she works with dogs and ultimately taking the CPDT-KSA in the future. Kate lives with her husband, Henry, who tries daily to undo all the hard work and training she’s put into their three dogs, Toots and Sasha the American Pit Bull Terriers, and Badger the English Bulldog.

Wendy Pedraza – Social Media Specialist

Wendy is a devoted dog mom who loves creating and capturing memories as she road-trips all over the United States with her husband and dogs. She believes that it's up to you to show your pups the world and expose them to different environments as long as they're comfortable, healthy, and happy. She stumbled upon Believe in Dog Training after extensive research, trying to find training that aligned with her belief in positive practices while strengthening the bond with her pups.

Wendy has always wanted to be a part of something truly rewarding. She dreamed of one day joining a place where she could freely express her creativity and, if lucky enough, work with puppies. Therefore, when the chance to become a part of the Believe in Dog Training team arose, she didn't hesitate to apply. You can now find Wendy helping all the first-day pups shine through the Believe in Dog Training social media platform.

Valerie Morales, CPDT-KA – Puppy Day School Teacher/Trainer

Valerie’s appreciation for dog training started her freshman year of high school when she started volunteering with Guide Dogs for the Blind. She raised and took care of puppies from the time they were 8 weeks old until they were around 15 months, providing them with socialization experiences and teaching them good manners while at home and in public. These puppies went with her everywhere from school to cross-country flights. She started working in the dog industry at 17 years old and gained experience with many different ages, breeds, personalities, and sizes of dogs. She has also spent time training and socializing shelter dogs from the Houston Humane Society in hopes to find them the families they deserve.

Valerie’s current dog is a 3 year old yellow lab named, Champagne. Champagne is a career changed dog that Valerie raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Together they have done several presentations for kids attending Camp Pawsome at the Houston Humane Society. Champagne has helped several shelter and rescue dogs come out of their shell, she is also a doggie coach for the puppies here at BIDT. 

Jessica Valadez – Puppy Day School Teacher/Receptionist

Jessica grew up with pets and volunteered at shelters in high school for fun. She always knew she wanted to work with animals in some way. When she got her first dog on her own, Juliet, an adorable pug, she watched positive reinforcement training videos online to teach basic obedience.

After holding several jobs that she was not passionate about, Jessica entered the pet industry. She worked at a pet resort for 2 years with cats and dogs of all sizes, breeds, and temperments. She loved working with and getting to know the pets and their pet parents. Although she loved her job, she knew there was something else out there that would make a bigger difference in dogs and their pet parents lives. She got the chance to do so with Believe in Dog Training as a Puppy Day School Teacher and was ecstatic at the opportunity to learn a new skill set and help fellow pet parents with training and socializing their puppies.

Katelyn Bleiweiss - Trainer

Katelyn is a native Houstonian and lifelong dog-lover. Though she works in mental health full time, her passion is dog training (there’s a lot of overlap in mental health and dog training philosophies)! In 2020 while on a long hike in the Sam Houston National Forest, a young dog popped out of the woods and followed her 7 miles back to her car; that’s how LS became a part of Katelyn’s family. LS was an overexcited dog with a lot of warming up needed to become a family pet so Katelyn sought out the help of a CDBC, CPDT-KA trainer and learned a lot about rehabilitating reactive dogs. She realized that patience, baby steps, never forcing your dog to do something, and learning to work with your dog at their pace makes a world of difference. You can find her at a Puppy 1 or Basic Manners class. She wants anyone reading this to say one thing they love about their dog and one thing they’re proud about doing for their dog. Believe and breathe!

Kate Gordon, CPDT-KA - Receptionist/Trainer

Kate was an early client of Believe In Dog after rescuing an anxious puppy off the street. Already the owner of a leash reactive standard poodle, Peaches, her interest and drive to learn about canine behavior and training is strong! The positive reinforcement and relationship-focused methods utilized at Believe In Dog are in direct alignment with her personal values for interacting with all sentient beings in the world, so it’s a great fit!

Pandemic pressures made her re-evaluate her career as an oil & gas IT Business Analyst; but her skills in understanding and evaluating systems (dogs), then ensuring users (pet parents) are equipped with the information and skills needed to result in a positive and fruitful experience for their specific situation (lifestyle) are immediately transferrable! She sees it all as a natural extension of her BA in Psychology from UT Austin, and is continuing to expand her ‘systems knowledge’ after earning her CPDT (Certified Professional Dog Trainer) certification in the spring of 2023.

Claudia Singleton - Retail Specialist

Claudia is a Houston native and a first-time dog mom to a 1 year old social & expressive poodle named Bruno. She is a former public school educator & mental health professional (for humans) who became a passionate dog wellness advocate after fostering a dog for the 1st time from Harris County Pets--a cuddly yet fearful + leash reactive & heartworm positive adult German Shepherd named Jazzy. She adopted Bruno a few months later as a young puppy when she found out he needed a new home ASAP. As a complete newbie to the pet industry with 2 high needs dogs suddenly in her care, Claudia immediately dove headfirst into all of the certified training videos, books, videos, and events she could find for herself and these 2 bundles of fun & fluff. Along the way, she was introduced to Believe in Dog Training by Bruno's friend and BIDT Fit Paws graduate, Bailey. The BIDT Instagram's DIY dog enrichment recommendations, helpful website with free training materials, and adorable videos of students in Puppy Day School became her daily source of knowledge and joy along the challenging puppy training journey. To this day, she is researching & learning how implement these lessons with Bruno as often as she can as he inches toward adulthood. Claudia eventually discovered the opportunity to change her career path & join the BIDT team from an Instagram post that they made! She loves that she can now use her creativity, attention to detail, & social media management skills + her empathy & natural ability to connect with humans from all walks of life, to support the rapidly-expanding Believe in DOG Boutique as well as the Training Center's staff, pups, and clients in any way she can daily. Bruno is now a BIDT student and Claudia can't wait to grow their bond and fine-tune their training experience through completing classes together. In her free time, she loves to practice her first love--photography, as well as make blankets by hand, host themed celebrations for her loved ones, & explore city, state & national parks as often as she can with Bruno. 

Favorite quotes:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

— Maya Angelou

“Love life. Engage in it. Give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.”

— Maya Angelou