Meet the Team

Our Dog Trainers & Specialists

Eric Smith

Founder & CEO, Head Trainer

I founded K-Nine Solutions with one goal:

To provide dog owners with the help, answers, and results they desperately need, along with the care, compassion, and understanding they deserve.

As someone who started many years ago with a dog that had serious aggression issues, I know firsthand what it’s like to feel frustrated and hopeless. I can empathize with your experience and can offer you common sense solutions that are based on sound psychological principles and are very simple to implement into your life.

I have found that there is nothing secretive or magical about training dogs.
Good dog training and behavior management is all about common sense combined with a functional understanding of a few sound psychological principles, having experience with dogs and a clear understanding of the way dogs think and interact with each other and the world they live in.

When does your personal experience with dog training begin?
Your personal experience with dog training does not necessarily have to begin when you get an 8 week old puppy (although it should) or when your adult dog bites a child. In reality it begins on the day you make up your mind to learn how dogs think and how they relate to the world they live in. It begins when you decide to relate to your dog in a manner that both you and your dog respect and understand. It begins when you make up your mind to develop a meaningful relationship based on mutual trust, respect and clear communication. This is what we at K-Nine Solutions have taught and demonstrated every day with literally thousands of clients and their dogs.

Studying Canine behavior and training has been a journey that began when I was in the Army, almost 30 years ago and continues to this day.
I get as excited today as I did then, whenever I learn something new about training and relating to my dogs. For me this journey began as a job, then became a mission and has now evolved into a life’s passion and work. I will do it until the day I die, but I hope the effects of my work will carry on in the many lives we have touched along the way.

Adam Wisniowski

Trainer & Certified Animal Behavioral Specialist

Adam’s personal philosophy is, “All dogs are good – they just need a little help to become great.”

Adam has been training dogs and their people for nearly 20 years and is a certified Animal Behavioral Specialist. His background includes working with hunting dogs, aggressive dogs and service dogs. Adam is a member of IWAWC, The Irish Wolfhound Association of The West Coast, an organization committed to the welfare, protection, and guardianship of Irish wolfhounds, and to the preservation of the breed as defined by the American Kennel Club standard.

Before Adam found his true passion In dog training, he served as a Sergeant in the USMC during the early days of operation enduring freedom. While serving in the infantry he had the opportunity to learn and work with military service dogs. In 2015 Adam suffered a cerebral hemorrhage from injuries he received during his military service. He trained his Irish wolfhound to become his service animal; the dog’s job was to be a mobility aid and provide seizure alert.

Before coming to work with K-nine Solutions, Adam owned and operated his own training business on the East Coast. The focus of his business was the rehabilitation of aggression in dogs who were reactive to both humans and other dogs.

Diana Burt

Assistant Trainer

Having always been inspired by the strong bond between a dog and its owner, her mission as a trainer is to facilitate that bond to achieve the goal of a calm, stable and engaged dog.

Diana Burt is a Santa Barbara native and has lived in Santa Ynez for over 25 years. Having been raised on a ranch, Diana has always had a profound respect for all types of animals. She has raised two children and imparted on them these same values. We have been fortunate to have Diana as part of our team for several years, starting out with us when we had our K9 Ranch up in Santa Ynez. When we closed the ranch, Diana transferred her talents to our Santa Barbara location.

Diana’s experience with dogs is vast, with years of experience as a trainer in shelter/rescue environments and now with us at K-Nine. Having always been inspired by the strong bond between a dog and its owner, her mission as a trainer is to facilitate that bond to achieve the goal of a calm, stable and engaged dog. 8 years ago, Diana rescued Polly, a Pitt bull, from the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter. As a volunteer for the past 5 years at Old Yeller Ranch, a local shelter and rescue organization that specializes in difficult to place dogs, Diana learned what was required to help Polly overcome her multiple issues. Polly now helps Diana mentor other dogs struggling with similar issues, and is an honorary trainer at K-Nine!

Madison Garcia

Lead Trainer/Training Manager

Madison is well versed in all methods of positive reinforcement training, balanced training, and behavior modification.

Madison has been with K-Nine Solutions since 2019, working as training manager and a lead trainer with the company. She started training dogs right out of high school and has been training for over 5 years now. She is well versed in all methods of positive reinforcement training, balanced training, and behavior modification with goals of training PPD’s and other working, higher level obedience dogs. She is presently finishing up her bachelors degree in Integrative Biology and Zoology at OSU. Although primarily working with dogs, she also has a background in reptile handling, wildlife rehabilitation, and veterinary assistance. Currently, she has two dogs, Koda, a German Shepherd lab mix, and Eleanor, the cutest rescue mutt on the planet! Apart from working and school, Madison enjoys doing any activity that involves animals and traveling with her pack.

Valerie (Val) Wheeler

Assistant Trainer / PAL Program Manager

Valerie has been rescuing and rehabbing animals since she was 8 years old.

Valerie is a California native. She has been rescuing and rehabbing animals since she was 8 years old. Val has had goats, horses, pigs, dogs, cats, exotic birds and more over the years. She began working exclusively with dogs 11 years ago when she was hired to socialize puppies for a small ranch that bred and trained dogs for protection. Fortunately for us, this experience made her realize she wanted to make a career out of working with dogs! After working at boarding and training facilities on the central coast, she joined K-Nine Solutions in 2019, and hasn’t looked back. At this time, Valerie has two cats and two dogs. She especially loves hiking with her partner, Mike, their German Shepherd, John, living at the beach, and reading about all things science.

Zia Tenderich

Assistant Trainer

Zia began her career working with dogs as a volunteer at Pets In Need and WonderDog, two incredible animal shelters located in San Francisco.

Zia was born and raised in the Bay Area, where she developed an affinity for the great outdoors, swimming, painting, drawing, and all things animals. For as long as she can remember, Zia has adored dogs and wanted one of her own. Throughout middle and high school Zia volunteered at Pets In Need and WonderDog, two incredible animal shelters located in San Francisco. Even though Zia basically already knew what she wanted out of life, it was during this time that she realized she definitely wanted to pursue a career working with dogs.

After graduating from high school, Zia’s family moved to Santa Barbara, which had been a second home since her childhood. After Zia’s mom and sister serendipitously met our Lead Trainer, Madison, at a coffee shop, Zia first became a client, and then an employee, and she’s a fantastic addition to our team!

“Spending time working with the team at K-Nine was such an incredible experience. I immediately inquired about how I could get involved, so I became an intern. After my internship, I was hired and have loved every minute since!” – Zia

Read about our Adult Dog Training.
Read about our Puppy Training.

Because Santa Barbara County experiences a high rate of canine cough (also known as “Kennel Cough”), we strongly recommend bordetella vaccination boosters every six months, but we will defer to individual veterinarians who use a once yearly protocol. Immunization should be completed at least one week before your pet’s arrival at our training facility.

Because Santa Barbara County experiences a high rate of canine cough (also known as “Kennel Cough”), we strongly recommend bordetella vaccination boosters every six months, but we will defer to individual veterinarians who use a once yearly protocol. Immunization should be completed at least one week before your pet’s arrival at our training facility.

Memberships and Awards

K-Nine Solutions

733 Carpinteria St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Phone: (805) 451-2458
Email:

Office Hours:

Mon-Fri 9 am – 6 pm

Sat-Sun Closed

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