Susy is the owner of Dogs-in-the-Hood Training in Manhattan. She offers private in-home training, teaches all the Good Dog classes in Manhattan, and coordinates Good Dog’s visitation program in Manhattan. In her practice, Susy uses positive, gentle techniques that are fun for dogs and their people. She is one of a limited number of Certified Pet Dog Trainers (CPDT), and one of the first trainers to be registered as a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.
Susy has worked with The Good Dog Foundation since its very first class and is now the director of training and program. Susy trains Good Dog teams in Manhattan and accompanies volunteer teams into health care, social service, and educational facilities to coach them through their first visits. As the senior member of Good Dog’s training and coordination team, she provides guidance to the other Good Dog trainers and coordinators.
Susy lives in Manhattan with her dog-photographer husband and three much photographed dogs.
Annie is a native New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn. She comes to The Good Dog Foundation with a variety of life experiences. She was a dancer, a dance instructor, and an administrative assistant. She spent eight years at New York University, beginning as an administrative assistant and concluding as an academic activity coordinator.
While at NYU, Annie earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology. The research papers she wrote during her coursework piqued her curiosity about animal-assisted therapy and dog training.
Annie left NYU in 2004 to enter the dog world full time and is now the owner of Training Angels in Brooklyn. She offers private training sessions and teaches Good Dog Foundation classes in Brooklyn and Queens. She believes in training dogs and their people in positive methods that deepen the bond between them by using emotions and a few treats. She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and is working toward her accreditation with the United Kingdom Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors in Dog Training and Canine Behavior.
Annie loves attending canine related seminars and workshops to constantly increase her knowledge of training and the human-animal bond.
Annie and one of her dogs, a mixed black lab named Lucy have been a certified Good Dog therapy team since 2003. In 2004 they attended the first Good Dog Foundation disaster relief training program.
Annie still lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two dogs, and several cats.
Peg is the owner of Manhattan-based Step In Time Training, LLC, building happy teams through gentle coaching. In addition to doing private lessons and behavioral consultations, Peg also teaches group classes at Port Chester Obedience Training Club. She is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and an APDT rally judge. Peg and her Good Dog, a yellow Labrador named “Jumpin’ Jazz,” visit homebound seniors and older friends who live at the Atria Senior Living Residence in Riverdale. In addition to competing in both APDT and American Kennel Club Rally, Peg and Jazz also participate in local educational outreach events promoting therapy dog work and the benefits and fun of training companion dogs.
Peg has been actively working her dogs as professional models/actors for print and television since 1992. Jumpin’ Jazz can be seen with Ashley Judd in the campaign for American Beauty Cosmetics and Kohl’s, on the national packaging for OraVet dental products, at GAP Kids, and in Lands’ End catalogues. Both have been featured on “The Today Show” and other national television programs.
Peg trains with renowned trainers Sassie Joiris and Suzanne Clothier, and she has also interned with Sue Sternberg and Jane Kopelman at Rondout Valley Animals for Adoption. Splitting her time between New York City and New Lebanon, New York, Peg is an avid birding enthusiast and gardener, and since the 1990s she has been rehabilitating a portion of Riverside Park on Manhattan’s West Side.
Susan Fireman is an award-winning dog obedience trainer, teacher, and writer. She is based in Columbia County, New York, where she teaches all levels of dog obedience from puppy classes through American Kennel Club (AKC) Utility competition.
Susan has worked with law enforcement, search and rescue, and assistance dogs. She has recently traveled with Diane Bauman, author of Beyond Basic Dog Training, in the United States and Canada offering dog obedience seminars. Susan has put 13 AKC obedience titles on her dogs, has many first placements and High in Trials, and has finished two breed champions.
Her German Shepherd dog, American/Canadian champion Nunzio, just completed his AKC Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) title, and her American/Canadian champion, Sergey, is being shown for his UDX. Nunzio has been nationally ranked seventh in his AKC class.
Susan currently writes a column for a Connecticut newspaper, the Lakeville Journal, on the benefits of animal training for humans and their companion animals. Her dog Solanina, who recently died, was the hospice dog at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York.
Before Susan’s transition to full-time dog trainer she was senior vice president, director of broadcast at Benton & Bowles, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies. She has trained dogs for many years and became interested in dog training as a full-time career while producing television commercials for Gravy Train dog food.
