Happy Dogs Training

Humans Behind Happy Dogs:

Meet Benah! 🐾

Today we’re celebrating one of the most important people behind the scenes at Happy Dogs, the wonderful Benah! (Bee-Nuh)

If you’ve ever emailed us, called us, booked a lesson, signed up for a class, or had a question about training, there’s a very good chance you’ve already met Benah. She is the person who helps keep everything running smoothly, and quite honestly, we couldn’t do it without her.

Benah serves as our Program Manager and Virtual Trainer, balancing client support, scheduling, operations, and training with an incredible amount of care and kindness. She is often the first point of contact for new clients and has a remarkable ability to make everyone feel welcomed, supported, and heard.

Benah’s journey into dog training began through agility in 2012. What started as a love for the sport quickly grew into a passion for canine behavior, communication, and relationship-based training. Through years of study with trainers from around the world, she developed a deep understanding of how dogs learn and how humans can better communicate with them.

In addition to keeping Happy Dogs organized behind the scenes, Benah offers virtual training lessons and coaching for clients looking for support from anywhere in the country.

What we appreciate most about Benah is her unwavering kindness, patience, and willingness to help. Whether she’s answering questions, solving scheduling puzzles, supporting clients through challenges, or cheering on their successes, she consistently goes above and beyond for both our team and our clients.

Happy Dogs simply would not be the same without her.

Thank you, Benah, for everything you do for our clients, our dogs, and our team. ❤️

Humans Behind Happy Dogs:

Meet Nicole! 🐾

If you’ve trained with us in Charlotte, there’s a good chance you’ve met Nicole, and if you haven’t yet, we’re excited to introduce her!

Nicole is a certified dog trainer through Animal Behavior College and has continued her education through programs and workshops with industry leaders including Ian Dunbar and Karen Pryor. Since joining the Happy Dogs team in 2022, she has expanded her expertise through mentorship and hands-on experience working alongside our behavior team, helping dogs with everything from basic manners to complex behavior challenges.

What we love most about Nicole is her compassion, patience, and dedication to helping both ends of the leash. She has a special passion for behavior work and is committed to using positive, science-based training methods to create lasting change.

Nicole currently teaches our Reactive to Relaxed classes and is available throughout the Charlotte area for:

🐶 Private Training Lessons
🐶 Behavior Consultations
🐶 Pet Sitting & Dog Walking Services
🐶 Ongoing Training Support

We’re incredibly lucky to have Nicole as part of the Happy Dogs family. ❤️

Drop a 👋 in the comments and help us show Nicole some love!

Meet The Humans Behind Happy Dogs! 🐶

Shari Spiewak - Trainer & Group Class Instructor

Shari is the calm in the chaos. She has a way of making training feel approachable, doable, and way less intimidating—no matter where you’re starting from. She’s all about meeting dogs (and their humans) where they’re at and building confidence from there. Clients love her for her patience, organization, her clarity, and how supported they feel every step of the way.

You can work with Shari in Charlotte, NC at your home or at our location on-site 🐕‍🦺

The Humans Behind Happy Dogs 🐕

Meet Halina Jones – Agility Trainer

Fast-paced, detail-focused, and seriously passionate about agility. Halina helps teams build confidence, communication, and technical skills on course—all while keeping things fun and motivating. Whether you’re brand new or looking to level up, she knows how to push teams in the right way and bring out their full potential.

You can play Agility with Halina at our North Carolina Agility field located just outside of Charlotte, NC ✌🏼

The humans behind the dogs 🐶👇

It’s been awhile since we officially introduced the Happy Dogs crew, making the magic happen every day.

Each week for the next month we will be re-introducing our team, starting off with the reason it all exists…

Piper built this business from the ground up with a simple belief: training should feel good—for dogs and their people. She’s obsessed with behavior, lives for the challenge of a tricky training case and is probably either teaching agility classes, working a behavior case, or out adventuring with dogs somewhere in the mountains. She loves high drive, working dogs, and weird corky behavior making Border Collies her personal breed of choice.

Piper takes in person training cases in Crested Butte, Colorado, and works online with clients all over the world.

build an even better relationship with your dog ☀️🐾

Join us at Happy Dogs NC for group classes that are actually fun and effective—because learning should feel good for both ends of the leash.

We’re offering:
✨ Basic Manners
✨ Distractions & Focus
✨ AKC STAR Puppy
✨ Puppy Play Classes
✨ Reactive Dog Classes
✨ Agility

Whether you’re starting fresh with a new puppy, working through behavior challenges, or just want a fun outlet like agility—we’ve got something for you.

Come train with us this summer 💛
Build skills, build confidence, and most importantly… have fun doing it.