Paw & Order Dog Training

Pittsburgh Pack

Serving the Greater Pittsburgh Area

The Pittsburgh Paw & Order team has helped over 3,000 dogs in the Pittsburgh area since 2013. We were awarded Pittsburgh Magazine’s “Best of the Burgh” readers’ poll in services and the Observer Reporter’s “Best of the Best Community Choice Award.”

Services offered include Board & Train, In-Home, Group Classes, Adventures, and CGC.

Our Pittsburgh dog trainers will travel to the following Pittsburgh area communities and more: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Bridgeville, Canonsburg, Carnegie, Castle Shannon, Crafton, Cranberry, Fox Chapel, Ingram, Imperial, Jefferson Hills, McDonald, McKees Rocks, Monroeville, Moon, Mt. Lebanon, Oakdale, Peters Twp, Robinson, Sewickley, South Park, Upper St. Clair, Washington, and Wexford.

If your town is not listed, please contact us to check if we are able to travel to you.

Services offered include Board & Train, In-Home, Group Classes, Adventures, and CGC.

If your town is not listed, please contact us to check if we are able to travel to you.

Pittsburgh Team Members

All trainers are put through our rigorous Train the Trainer protocol led by owner Elissa Weimer-Sentner. This program consists of one-on-one coaching and shadowing with Elissa directly, as well as our other trainers. The length of time it takes to go through the program varies depending on the students availability. If the student has time to work with us 5 days a week, they could be ready to train in 1 to 2 months. But some programs can last 6 months or even a year if the student’s time is limited. We carefully evaluate every trainer before unleashing them into the world!

Elissa Weimer-Sentner

Owner & Head Trainer

Elissa Weimer-Sentner is the founder and owner of Paw & Order Dog Training. She is a certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator and a member of the IACP and the APDT. She has earned a number of certifications and has been recognized many times for her work. Elissa has even been recognized as VIP Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women.

Elissa served as a Combat Military Police Officer from 2007 to 2014. After graduating at the top of her class from California University of Pennsylvania, Elissa completed a highly selective Professional Dog Training Program as an outstanding graduate in 2012. She has also attended many seminars and training classes including:

Walk Into Excellence Seminar with Ted Efthymiadis, Sarah Dixon, and Wayne Dorman (Nova Scotia, Canada)
Ted Efthymiadis’ Aggression Mastermind Course (Nova Scotia, Canada)
Sarah Dixon’s Barks & Recreations Seminar (Nova Scotia, Canada)
Jeff Gellman's Solid K9 Training Seminar, Philadelphia, PA
Randy Hare's Scent Detection Course, Sparta, TN
Lori Drouin's 'Let the Games Begin' Agility Seminar, Dormont, PA
Gary Wilkes' 'Broad Band' Seminar, Phoenix, AZ

Elissa primarily takes on Board & Train clients, but will occasionally take on In-Home clients when needed. Elissa’s goal is to bridge the gap between dogs and their people. With years of experience and a number of expert mentors, Elissa brings a training experience unrivaled by any other to the table. She believes the best method for training is not to rely on a single method, but to tailor a custom method to each dog. This has proven to provide the best results and the happiest, healthiest relationships for a family and their dog(s).

Where do I even begin!!! Elissa is absolutely amazing!! I highly recommend their training programs and I truly couldn’t have asked for a better training experience.

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Elissa is a miracle worker! She, quite literally, saved my dog’s life. Elissa is great at what she does, and I’d fully entrust any dog to her. 100% recommend Paw & Order.

Randy C.

Google Review

Liberty Costanzo

Office Manager

Liberty is a former client who hired us to help with her Border Collie Pitt-Mix, Dexter, back in 2013. She always wanted to work with dogs, so she went through our Train the Trainer program in 2014 and joined the team. She was one of our first trainers, working with clients from 2014-2016.

In 2017, Liberty transitioned to our full-time Office Manager. She is the person you’ll likely talk to when you call the office.

Having spent two years training dogs and people makes her so valuable, because she can clearly communicate how our training programs work, and why they are so successful to prospective clients. She helps coordinate our hectic schedules and keeps us all in line!

Liberty, Elissa and all of the Paw & Order trainers are amazing! Liberty came to our house for a consultation & by the time she left, he was already a different dog!

Beth B..

Google Review

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Tia Ybarra

Professional Dog Trainer

Tia has been working as a freelance dog trainer since 2016 before discovering Paw & Order through her friend, and one of our other trainers, Ash. She worked with dogs for years in Cranberry Township and was focused on training service animals, but she wanted to expand her footing into the obedience and behavioral realm of dog training.

Tia entered into our Train the Trainer Program in May 2018. She’s shadowed our other trainers and assisted Elissa with some of our Board & Train dogs for months. Her previous experience with training was a big plus because not only did she learn from us, but she taught us a few things as well! In 2019, she attended the “Aggression in Dogs: Safety, Defensive Handling & Training” seminar in Cincinnati, which was led by Michael Shikashio and Trish McMillan. She also completed Ted Efthymiadis’ Aggression Mastermind Course, as well as his Client Communication course.

Tia made our lives so much better. The training methods are very clear and easy to follow. They are always there for you if you need anything!

Doug W.

Facebook Review

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Annie Pettinaroli

Professional Dog Trainer

Annie grew her love of animals by volunteering in shelters for a few years, and eventually quit her job in Advertising to make working with animals her permanent career. After starting off as a dog walker and pet sitter, she eventually found training and instantly fell in love with helping people build relationships with their dogs.

She comes with experience working for private trainers, training facilities, as well as workshops in Florida and an apprenticeship in Texas. She joined the Train the Trainer program in Fall 2019. In her spare time she enjoys the outdoors with her husband, 3 pups, and son!

After an intensive training session with Annie, our older dog, Roger, has become much easier to handle on the leash, off the leash, and in the home.

Catherine
Google Review

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Samy Ismael

Professional Dog Trainer

Samy has always been a dog lover, but he didn’t have the time for one of his own until after completing graduate school. As a hunter, he wanted a dog who could help him out, and as a first-time dog owner, he wanted something small. He did as much research as he could before taking the leap. Reading books and articles, watching videos, and listening to dog training podcasts. And in April 2016, a beagle started it all. Two years later, Nike joined the pack.

Taitor and Nike are ambassadors of their breeds and launched his passion for dog training and photography. They travel with Samy across the country to hunt and work with other hunting dogs.

He joined the Train the Trainer program in the Fall 2019 after being approached by two friends and trainers who saw his talent for working with dogs and people and knew he would be a great fit. Samy saw this opportunity to become even more involved with dogs and is now doing what he loves.

We’re excited to have him on the team, and it doesn’t hurt to have a professional photographer available! When he is not training his client’s dogs, he spends his time photographing dogs for Elite Exposures (Instagram, Facebook)

Samy’s unique experience working with hunting dogs brings a special skill set to the table, we’re lucky to have him!”

Elissa Weimer

Owner & Head Trainer

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Rachel Revitch

Professional Dog Trainer

Rachel has loved dogs since the time she first laid eyes on one. She took her love of dogs to the University of Pittsburgh, where she decided to major in psychology and blend her interest in animal behavior and adoration of dogs. While at Pitt, Rachel worked at a doggy daycare/kennel for two summers so she could be around dogs as much as possible while learning about their behavior.

After graduating from Pitt, Rachel received her training certification from Animal Behavior College, completed her externship with the head trainer at the Dog Stop in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, and volunteered at a local shelter. During the externship, she brought her dog, a miniature Australian Shepherd named Koda, to many of the group classes. She also assisted in teaching some group classes to gain hands-on training experience. After the externship, she continued her work at the Dog Stop to help train boarding dogs.

Rachel joined the Train the Trainer program in the Fall of 2019 after discovering Paw & Order. She spent months working with Elissa and shadowing many of the trainers to gain valuable knowledge before becoming a full-time trainer herself.

Rachel has worked so hard and has committed so much time coming out to learn. We’re excited for her to start her dog training career with us!

Elissa Weimer

Owner & Head Trainer

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Hilary Liwosz

Professional Dog Trainer

Growing up Hilary always had an invested interest in helping to train the family dogs, which were mostly Newfoundlands. She eventually got her own dog, a Sheepadoodle named Ariat. Hilary worked with Ariat every day to train her to become a therapy dog. By the time Ariat was one year old, Hilary and Ariat had become a certified therapy dog team. They enjoy visiting the VA hospital in Oakland, nursing homes, universities, corporate offices, and elementary schools.

Hilary enjoyed training her family dogs and her dog so much that it turned into a passion for her. She realized there’s something special about the relationship humans have with their dogs, and this relationship can only be enhanced and made more special through training and having a well behaved dog to spend your time with. Hilary plans on becoming a service dog trainer for veterans, but also wanted to help other people grow this bond with their pets!

Hilary joined our Train the Trainer Program in Spring of 2020 and has spent months shadowing a number of our trainers and learning a lot from every one of them.

Hilary is a natural dog trainer! We are so thrilled she decided to go through our Train the Trainer program and join the team!

Elissa Weimer

Owner & Head Trainer

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Jenn Osinski

Group Class Trainer

Jenn’s love for animals started at a young age and it’s never gone away. She especially loves dogs of all kinds, especially her two sidekicks, Odin and Icy. After learning about the balanced school of dog training that Paw & Order stands behind, she knew she wanted to be a part of the team!

Jenn started the Train the Trainer program in early 2018, and she loves every moment of helping our clients build life long bonds with their dogs. Jenn runs our group classes at Pets Supplies Plus where she specializes in small groups of 2-4 pups.

I was hesitant about signing my dog up for obedience class but Jenn was amazing to work with and my dog came away learning many commands and rules I didn’t anticipate but only hoped for!!!

Emily S.

Facebook Review

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Ashley Brooks

Professional Dog Trainer

Ash, another former client, has been working with dogs her entire professional career and cannot imagine doing anything else. She works with all of our Board & Train dogs. Ash has worked in shelters, boarding kennels, veterinary clinics, and as a dog walker and pet sitter out of her own home.

During her time as a kennel attendant and veterinary technician, she handled dogs of various breeds, sizes, and personalities, including dog and human aggressive dogs and police K9’s. She also has a soft spot for puppies and loves getting owners and their pups off to a great start.

Ash from Paw & Order is truly amazing! Ash is great to work with, she is very knowledgeable and very caring.

Sandy M

BBB Review

Taylor S.

BBB Review

Pittsburgh Pack

Serving the Greater Pittsburgh Area

Pittsburgh Team Members

Elissa Weimer-Sentner

Liberty Costanzo

Tia Ybarra​

Annie Pettinaroli

Samy Ismael

Rachel Revitch

Hilary Liwosz

Jenn Osinski​

Ashley Brooks​

Tia Ybarra

Jenn Osinski

Ashley Brooks