Dina Melendez fell into agility with her Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers in 2006 and was captivated with training her dogs in dog sports. Besides agility, her dogs have competed in barn hunt, scent work, tricks, rally and FAST CAT.  Her first dogs, Boone and Raphael appeared in the Emmy award-winning movie "The Normal Heart" staring Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo which was where her love for teaching “tricks” expanded. 

​Dina's agility partners included MACH3 PACH "Boone", a 6-time AKC Invitational qualifier, multiple AKC Nationals qualifier and number #1 ranked SCWT 2015 & 2016, "Raphael", OA, OAJ, RATI, RATN and MACH PACH2 “Vida” who is Dina’s most titled and versatile SCWT. At 2 years of age, Vida placed 4th overall in her first NW1, placing 3rd in Exteriors and was invited to her first of several AKC Agility Invitationals finishing as the Top SCWT at Invitationals in 2022 as the #1 Preferred SCWT. Also a multiple AKC National Qualifier, Vida was the first SCWT to attend, qualify and place, in her class, at the Westminster National Championship. Vida also has multiple titles in Barn Hunt and AKC Scent Work, as well as Tricks Titles and is currently enjoying retirement competing in Rally. Dina’s newest partner is a Lakeland Terrier, Andele! and shows promise to be a multifaceted sport dog, who is currently titled in agility, barn hunt, scent work, tricks and FAST CAT.
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Dina’s classes focus on solid foundations on all pieces of agility equipment, adding in handling, plus concepts and behaviors in incremental steps. Dina strives to instill confidence in her students as they learn the tools needed to perform the necessary fundamentals. Along the way, they also develop appropriate habits. Dina's many years of teaching these behaviors helps the handler understand the aspects of positive reinforcement and behavior generalization, all while having fun!