Meet our Sacramento
Dog Trainers
We don't just train your dog. We change how you and your dog experience each other at home, on walks, in real life.
Meet the Team
🐾
Learn to Speak Dog
💬
Meet the Team 🐾 Learn to Speak Dog 💬
Owner & Lead Canine Relationship CoachTerra Ruiz
(she/her)
Terra is a "problem solver for hard dogs." With over 13 years of experience, she specializes in in-home behavior work . Drawing from her own experience navigating PTSD and neurodivergence, she brings a deeply personal understanding of high-alert nervous systems. This allows her to meet anxious, reactive, and fearful dogs with empathy, patience, and insight—exactly where they are.
Specialty: Complex behavior cases, reactivity, and anxiety-informed training.
Education & Credentials:
Licensed Family Dog Mediator (LFDM) – L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology
Graduate of Michael Ellis School of Dog Obedience Training
Separation Anxiety Specialist Training (Malena DeMartini)
Training Between The Ears (TBTE) Affiliate
Pet Food Nutrition Certification (Dogs Naturally University)
IACP Dog Trainer Foundation Certified
AKC CGC Certified Evaluator
Do More With Your Dog Certified Evaluator
The Personal Side: A proud and loud LGBTQIA+ ally and mother. When she isn’t training, she’s sewing custom leashes or tending to her two "Golden Retriever-like" chickens.
Her Philosophy: A "Wholistic" view of the dog—analyzing genetics, environment, and learning history to build a real relationship rather than just demanding obedience.
Canine Relationship CoachAlex Soliz
(she/her)
With 16 years of hands-on experience, Alex focuses on the "why" behind dog behavior. She moves past flashy tricks to focus on resilience and functional communication, helping dogs make confident decisions in the real world.
Specialty: High-level behavior modification, aggression, reactivity, and impulse control.
Experience:
16 years of hands-on behavioral experience.
Active competitor in IGP (Schutzhund) with her dog, Jekyll.
Specialist in intricate behavioral cases where anxiety and impulse control are factors.
The Personal Side: Alex is a results-driven trainer who lives and breathes dogs, spending her personal time training for high-level sport competition. She values real progress over built on genuine engagement and a strong working relationship with each dog..
Her Philosophy: Building functional lifestyles by teaching dogs how to recover from stress and navigate environmental sensitivities.
Scent Work & Positive Reinforcement SpecialistJade Spicher
(she/her)
Jade’s transition from a Master’s degree in Political Science to dog training was sparked by her own dog, Vienna. She is a dedicated student of canine cognition, focusing on how reward-based training can transform a dog’s outlook on the world.
Specialty: Scent work for anxious and reactive dogs—giving them a sense of control and "space to breathe."
Education & Credentials:
M.A. in Political Science (Virginia Tech).
AKC CGC CGCU & all others.
146+ hours of continuing education in canine behavior.
Specialist in Hound behavior
Scent Work AKC Trainer
The Personal Side: Jade maintains a meticulous "growth mindset," keeping notebooks on every client dog to constantly refine her methods. She is particularly passionate about helping owners who want to dive deep into the "why" of dog behavior.
Her Philosophy: Rooted in positive reinforcement & boundaries. She believes in rewarding what works rather than punishing what doesn’t, ensuring no dog works out of fear.
Foundations & Socialization SpecialistMitch Brooks
(they/them)
Mitch’s journey is rooted in a lifelong bond with dogs and a deep commitment to family safety. Having worked in the animal world since 2017, they specialize in setting the right foundation through clear communication and positive reinforcement in low stress environments.
Specialty: Foundational obedience, puppy rearing, and structured socialization.
Education & Experience:
10+ years of animal handling
3 years as a Veterinary Aid
3+ years in teaching children with disabilities
5+ Years as a Dog Trainer
Training Between The Ears Affiliate
L. E. G. S. applied Ethology Coursework
The Personal Side: A proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, artist, and D&D player. Mitch focuses on creating a safe, inclusive space for all families to learn and grow with their dogs.
Their Philosophy: Success starts with the basics. Mitch focuses on helping families build a strong foundation, ensuring they understand not just how to train, but the why behind the behavior.
Questions About Our Team
Who you'll work with, how we decide, and what each of us brings.
Who will actually train my dog?
Whoever you talk to on that first call. Requests come in to Terra, and she makes the first read on who's the best fit — herself, Jade, Alex, or Mitch. We set up your free conversation with that trainer, and the person you talk to and consult with is the person who trains your dog. If it turns out not to be the right match once you've spoken, come straight back to Terra and we'll sort it out. No hard feelings and no runaround.
Can I choose my trainer?
Absolutely. Ask for Terra, Jade, Alex, or Mitch by name and we'll make it happen if that trainer has availability for the kind of case you're bringing us. Sometimes the honest answer is that someone else on the team is a better fit for what your dog needs — we'll tell you if we think so, but the choice is yours.
What are your trainers' backgrounds?
Alex is a regional level 3 competitor in obedience and IGP with shepherds. She's structured and logical: consistent schedules, clear expectations, and updates you can set your watch by.
Jade works in positive reinforcement and nose work, holds titles on her own dogs, and runs her own business, Mother of Dachshund Training, alongside her work with us. She's who we point you to for puppy foundations, or for turning your dog's love of sniffing things out into a real game.
Mitch (they/them) works out of Davis and has a clientele of their own. Mitch has been in the animal world since 2017 and specializes in setting the right foundation through clear communication and positive reinforcement in low-stress environments — foundational obedience, puppy rearing, and structured socialization. They have a real feel for the family dynamic side of training: how the dog fits into the whole household.
Terra is our owner, a Licensed Family Dog Mediator® and Certified Trick Dog Instructor, training since 2012. Her focus is the program itself: figuring out how to create harmony in the house. She teaches obedience, but shapes it around how a family actually lives rather than running a sit-down-stay curriculum.
Are your trainers certified?
We each took a different route, and we think that's a strength rather than something to paper over. Terra holds licensing and certification credentials — Licensed Family Dog Mediator® and Certified Trick Dog Instructor. Alex and Jade hold titles on their dogs, which in their corners of this profession is the real credential: you prove what your dog can do in front of a judge. Dog training is unregulated in the United States, so no certification here is a government license. We'd rather show you what dogs can actually do. More on what dog trainer certifications actually prove.
Do you have male trainers?
Our team is women and nonbinary trainers — this industry skews heavily that way, and it draws people who are drawn to caretaking work. When someone asks us this, it's almost always because their dog struggles with men, so let's talk about that instead: dogs who react to men are usually responding to presence — how someone occupies a room, how much space and authority they take up walking in. If that's your dog, we can bring a man into a session specifically to work on it. That's a plan, not a limitation.
How long have you been in business?
Wholistic Canine has been operating since 2021, and Terra has been training dogs professionally since 2012.
A friend to your furry family,