After 17 years of homeschooling her three children (her eldest is now at Harvard Law School), Melissa turned her attention to dogs. Apprenticing closely with master trainer Sarah Wilson for over three years before she opened Puppy Homeschool in Wappingers Falls, NY, and still working closely with Sarah Wilson, Melissa now does private sessions, board and trains, and runs very popular classes.

Melissa has trained one of her Australian Shepherds, Rowan, as her Service Dog; he alerts her to blood sugar drops. Her professional passions are helping shy dogs, training Service Dogs, and helping families be successful.

Melissa is a passionate advocate of positively focused training using all tools and techniques to create success for her clients.  When she is not moderating at the mysmartpuppy.com message boards, or out tracking her fabulous rescue Beagle, Milo, she can be reached at melissa@puppyhomeschool.com.