Instructors
Starmark Academy Training Directors and Instructors have been successful in many aspects of dog training: companion obedience, competitive obedience, agility, retriever training, search and rescue, and assistance dogs. Academy Instructors have instructed others at many levels of dog training and competition. Academy Directors and Instructors are active trainers and competitors and can be seen training young prospects and seasoned champions daily.
Catherine Lund
Catherine started her professional canine career in the United States Air Force as a military working dog handler to narcotics and explosive detection patrol canines. As a military working dog handler, she trained the MWDs on all aspects of odor detection, controlled aggression, building searching and obedience. After honorably separating, she worked as a narcotics handler for a contracting company, where she conducted canine sweeps of over one hundred educational facilities to reduce the presence of drugs, alcoholic beverages, medications, and weapons. When she wasn’t working, she started helping pet owners have clear communication with their furry family members and taking in behavior modification cases. After several years of working with pets, Catherine went back into training dual purpose dogs for police departments, contractors, and protection dogs for clients. She trained green working dogs on bitework, tracking, and odor detection for explosive, narcotics, accelerant, and weapons. She instructed handler’s courses, dog trainer courses, and decoy courses for LEO and clients. After finding a passion for training canine trainers, she officially left the working dog world and joined Starmark as the Lead Instructor to teach future dog trainers on how to become the best trainer that they can be.
Bella Barna
Bella entered the world of dog training at the age of 12 when she was first introduced to dog agility. With the help of a mentor, she and her dog, Ace began competing in agility and disc dog competitions. This created a passion that inspired Bella to continue participating in agility, helping people and their dogs learn the obstacles and handling skills required for the sport. Bella attended Starmark Academy and earned her certification as a Canine Training and Behavior Specialist. Bella also completed a 3-month internship at Starmark Academy for additional experience with behavioral modification cases and dogs with disabilities. After the internship, Bella was hired as a staff trainer at Starmark Animal Behavior Center, where she taught private lessons, board and trains, and group classes. Bella worked as a trainer before moving to Starmark Academy to be an instructor. In her free time, Bella competes and trains in many different dog sports including disc, dock diving, flyball, nose work, and bite work with all 5 of her dogs. As an instructor, Bella hopes to inspire students to learn and grow as dog trainers.
Keith Benson
Keith is a certified professional dog trainer and animal behavior specialist with over 20 years of experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with continuing education in Animal Behavior. He is the CEO of Starmark Animal Behavior Center, Inc, which is one of the largest, most comprehensive training and behavior centers for dogs in the world. As CEO and Academy Director for Starmark’s school for Professional Dog Trainers, Keith oversees the school’s international curriculum and growth. The school attracts students from around the world seeking to learn the art and science behind a career as a professional dog trainer. Using client and behavioral research from these two corporations Keith helped found Starmark Pet Products, Inc., which designs award-winning training and behavior tools that are distributed in over 45 countries around the world. In addition to his executive role in these companies, Keith frequently provides media commentary and consulting for companies throughout the pet industry.