About K9 Interpreter

A home-based trainer in Brooklyn Park

K9 Interpreter is a small home-based training business in Brooklyn Park run by Joan Lisi-McCoy, who calls herself "the K9 Interpreter" and uses the motto "World Peace Through Dog Training." She describes learning to train with Wendy VanKerkhove of Fresh Air Training in Minneapolis, spending five and a half years as Senior Pet Training Instructor at Pet Smart, and continuing to work with Fresh Air Training. Classes are offered in American Sign Language as well as English.

Classes and training

The class list runs from Puppy Pre-Planning, taken before a puppy comes home, to Puppy Class for pups 8 weeks to 5 months. Basic Training Techniques covers attention, sit, down, wait, loose leash walking, leave it, take it and give, and a second level builds recall, stay, heel and bed. There is a Canine Good Citizen class, Advanced Training aimed at off-leash reliability, Clicker Trick Training, and a "Waddaya Need" refresher class. Private and family training is available at the client's house, and groups of friends can train together. Its menu also points to boarding and daycare.

What owners say

One client wrote that "training with you is fun" and that she and her dog Mavis are "a better team," and another said her two Shih Tzus "were in no hurry to leave" after a boarding stay.