We believe that every animal has their own unique needs and that in addition to their physical needs, their emotional and mental needs are equally important. At Midtown Mutts, we put a strong emphasis on learning and education, from hiring and training our staff to continuing our training education. We stay up to date on the latest science on behavior and learning. It is our mission to be industry leaders in providing safe, stress free, professional and compassionate pet care. We are dedicated to providing humane, force-free and science-based, positive reinforcement dog training.
At Midtown Mutts, we help dogs and their humans build stronger, happier relationships through compassionate, science-based training. We are committed to positive reinforcement training methods rooted in modern behavioral science.
This means we use reward-based techniques—such as treats, praise, toys, and play—to reinforce desirable behaviors.
Cassi is the owner and founder of Midtown Mutts. Cassi is a certified Karen Pryor Training Partner and was in the very first Victoria Stilwell Certified Dog Training graduating class and a co-author of the book Your Puppy and You, a step by step guide to raising a Freak’n Awesome Dog. Her focus in animal training is with dogs who have big feelings, fear, anxiety and reactivity. Her interests in animals started at a young age, growing up with her childhood dog, Kono, a Norwegian Elk Hound, and riding and caring for horses. While finishing her BA in Psychology she worked as an ABA tutor with children before starting her career working with animals. As an avid traveler, camper, hiker, paddler and foodie, who enjoys adventuring with her own dog, Sardine, Cassi has a real passion in helping others incorporate their own dogs into their lifestyle and adventures. Cassi is a strong believer in the power of positive reinforcement and utilizes applied behavior analysis and behavior science to inform her training plans for the dogs and people she works with.
Cassi's Continuing education: LLA (Susan Friedman’s Living and Learning with Animals), Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course, KPA Husbandry at Home with Laura Monaco Torelli, Clicker Expo year 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024, 2025
Casey is our chief creative at Midtown Mutts. He joined Cassi running Midtown Mutts shortly after its conception, walking dogs while running his art business. Casey has a degree in Fine Art from The University of Art in San Francisco.
You can see his art throughout our boutique and training facility. He is also the artisan behind our handmade Hound Culture line of Biothane leashes and products. He is the illustrator in the book Your Puppy and You, a step by step guide to raising a Freak’n Awesome Dog.
Lindsay is a graduate of the University of Washington Applied Animal Behavior certification program and a Certified Dog Trainer through the Certified Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Before transitioning to Midtown Mutts in 2022, she worked in the Behavior Department at the Sacramento SPCA helping struggling dogs find their forever home. At the shelter she worked with dogs experiencing a wide range of behavioral challenges, but especially loved working with young and rambunctious dogs as well as shy dogs who needed help coming out of their shell.
Lindsay is passionate about teaching pet owners why their dogs do the things they do and how to use reward-based training methods to both achieve their training goals and deepen the bond with their dog.
Kelsey has loved being around dogs her whole life. In 2017, she turned that passion into a career when she started walking dogs for Midtown Mutts and discovered a connection with shy and fearful dogs. She found joy in helping them come out of their shell and build confidence.
Kelsey is a graduate of the Victoria Stilwell Academy. She has a soft spot for German Shepherds and loves helping owners build their relationships with their dogs based on trust and understanding.
Joanne has always had a love for dogs and animals, but it was starting to volunteer at her local shelter while in high school that really sparked her passion to help improve the lives of dogs and their humans. She found she was especially fond of the shy dogs that needed a bit more help learning to trust others and the world.
After working in the shelter environment off and on for many years and gaining skills in how to help enrich the lives of those staying in the shelter, she decided to turn her passion into her career when given the opportunity to become a dog trainer.
Joanne is a graduate of the Victoria Stillwell Academy. Since becoming a dog trainer, she has found true joy in teaching dogs and their human guardians how to learn and grow with each other.
Theresa’s Nose Work journey began shortly after the PeeWee and Dottie came to their lives as puppies. She has become a nose work nerd over the years, acquiring as much knowledge as possible. She loves webinars and seminars that not only help her become a better instructor, but also a better team mate to her dogs.
She was certified by NACSW as a Certified Nose Work Instructor in January, 2024. She is also a Certified Trick Dog Instructor through Do More With Your Dog!
Her favorite thing about being an instructor is watching teams (both handlers and dogs) learn and grow together! It is truly a journey for everyone.
Elizabeth has over a decade of experience in animal care including in-home pet care, veterinary nursing, medical and behavioral fostering, shelter work, and training. She has worked with a variety of animals including dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, goats, and exotic animals such as reptiles and birds.
Her goals as a trainer are to help people better understand their dogs and through this build stronger dog-human relationships.
Elizabeth is Fear-Free certified and volunteers at Napa Humane and Project RIDE to support her own continued learning about behavior and training in a variety of contexts.
With a background in environmental conservation and community fire resiliency, Elizabeth believes that most things are better when we work together to achieve our goals and looks forward to being a part of your dog’s “village”!
I love this place! It was really important to me to find a trainer with a focus on positive reinforcement. My big dog is a nervous guy but he’s slowly coming out of his shell in group classes.
They’re a good chance for him to practice his commands in the proximity as another dog and it’s good for him to know he won’t have to interact with them. They’re great about giving different coaching tips based on what drives your dog.
- Aimee
We started working with Midtown Mutts after adopting a new dog from Bradshaw in spring. I can't recommend them enough. We started with an in house training and evaluation and have been attending the group class with great results. Our dog loves all the trainers there, but a special shoutout to Joanne, who our dog absolutely adores.
- Heather
Midtown Mutts is hands down the best training facility we’ve ever experienced!
We’ve been bringing our big dogs (Newfoundlands!) here for over a year now, and the results have been amazing. From the very first classes, we noticed real progress — something we hadn’t seen with other training programs.
- Jeff
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