Meet the Trainers

Abby, CPDT-KA, has experience training dogs, both for clients as well as in shelters. She has worked in day cares and boarding facilities before coming to OHS.

 She is a native Oregonian and shares her home with a poodle mix dog and a calico cat. She loves to garden and do various crafts.

Jenn Fiendish, CVT, VTS (Behavior), CPDT-KA, CTDI, FFCP-E, FFCT has been in the animal care profession for 30 years, with the past 12 focusing on animal behavior and training.  She is the owner of Happy Power Behavior and Training in Portland, OR. In addition to her work here at OHS, she also helps with patient care and management at Synergy Veterinary Behavior.

In her free time, Jenn enjoys equestrian sports, reading, and is an avid crocheter. She shares her home with hairless dogs, geese, a snake, and one very patient husband.

Kei Haan, CPDT-KA, started dog training at a young age with personal dogs, building a passion for watching dogs learn and understand new skills. He later became a professional dog trainer in 2016. Alongside dog training, he built up experience working in pet retail and dog daycare settings, and he mentored many new dog trainers. He’s currently a professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and Pet Professional Guild, as well as a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.

Though Kei enjoys working with dogs of all kinds, they especially enjoy working with anxious or reactive dogs, as their own previous dog—a poodle mix named Lukas—was one of them. They also have a personal interest in service dog training, so they have a lot of fun helping dogs refine their skills for use in all kinds of settings. They are training their dog Haru, a standard poodle, for future service dog work.

In addition to his dog, Kei enjoys the company of two very sweet cats at home. In his free time, his interests include drawing, writing, music, and video games.

Krista, CPDT-KA, worked at several animal rescues and shelters in the Los Angeles area before coming to OHS. Striking out on her own and founding her own business— which provided contact training services to pet stores, doggy daycares, and shelters—she honed her expertise in various aspects of dog training including agility. Krista’s instructional repertoire includes both cats and dogs, with a particular affinity for shy, reactive, and dogs with breed specific needs.

Krista’s passion for training extends beyond the basics, emphasizing the well-being and confidence of every student and helping build a long-lasting pet and owner relationship.

In her free time, Krista enjoys hiking with her dogs, reading, crafting, photography, and exploring the Portland area.

Lea-Ann Yakabe, CPDT-KA, came to dog training relatively late in life. Her life changed after adopting her very first dog from OHS in 2003. She was taken completely by surprise by the depth of her love for this dog and her fascination with learning how to better communicate with her. This started her on the path of dog training.

The part of dog training that Lea-Ann enjoys most is working with the dog-human team and helping them discover how fun and rewarding training together can be. She finds it so fulfilling to see how it enhances and strengthens their bond with each other.

Lea-Ann firmly believes that having dogs in her life makes her a much better human being than she would be without them.

Marissa, CCDT,  has been in the animal care profession for over 15 years with the previous 7 years focused on Dog Training. Marissa’s training journey started after her own experience with her rescued pit bull, Zeus. Marissa has worked in multiple daycare boarding facilities, vet clinics, and Petco as well as volunteered for the local Humane Society since she was 13 years old. When not training dogs or furthering her education, Marissa enjoys Mexican food, watching a movie, or gaming. She shares her home with 2 rescue pit bulls, Zeus & Athena, a cat, and a rescued horse. 

Nick Tahran teaches classes with his wife, Paulina. They’ve been involved with OHS for several years as dog walkers, foster parents, Dog Trainer Prep students, and now instructors themselves! They enjoy sharing what they’ve learned with their enthusiastic students. Nick believes dog training is largely physical, like learning to play a sport or musical instrument, so they teach dynamic classes with plenty of time for students to practice and learn by doing.

Paulina Tahran, CPDT-KA, started as a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society. After a few years of volunteering at the shelter, fostering dogs with special behavioral needs, working at daycares and as an on-call trainer, she became a staff trainer working with staff, volunteers and members of the public through group classes and private consultations.

Right now, Paulina and her husband, Nick, share their house with two rescue Akitas: klutzy Ronin and his best friend, even klutzier, Billy.

As a dog trainer, she views every dog as an opportunity to broaden her dog training skills and she particularly likes working with adolescent and overstimulated dogs.

Paulina is inspired by those trainers and scientists who approach dog behavior and training with insight, patience and also humor, such as Jean Donaldson, Chiraq Patel, Sindhoor Pangal and Simone Mueller . She is a force free trainer who follows LIMA (Least Intrusive Minimally Aversive) methodology.  

Sarah Barham, KPA-CTP, FFCP, has been a certified dog trainer since 2020. Before that she worked with dogs in a variety of settings including as a trainer at Petco and in dog daycares and animal shelters. She has experience working with a range of behaviors in dogs and puppies through private and group training. She is passionate about using positive reinforcement to teach a range of skills that will help people and their dogs thrive together, and she especially loves helping fearful and reactive dogs feel more confident. She centers science and empathy in her training and emphasizes setting dogs up for success in this human-centric world. She is a Portland native and currently lives in north Portland with her three spirited and beloved rescue dogs.