About The Dog Wizard Las Vegas

Marissa has 10 plus years of teaching experience. She has been working with dogs for over 5 years. She is a Dog Wizard Graduate herself! In her free time she competes with her personal dogs in AKC Obedience, Trick Dog, DockDogs, and K9 Frisbee Toss & Fetch. She is an AKC CGC approved evaluator. Marissa is constantly continuing to learn and improve so she can better help our clients and their relationships with their furry family members!

USMC Veteran Dual Purpose Explosive Detection Dog Handler American Working Dog Certifying Official Certified K-9 Trainer BMAP Community Liason Top Dog Trainer for Dog Wizard UNLV Graduate Fluent in Conversational Spanish International Casino and Resort Working Dog Association (ICRWDA) Instructor

Heather (Nicky) Kaufmann is currently our head trainer for the Dog Wizard Las Vegas. Thus far, she has provided training for roughly 150 dogs in the Las Vegas area. Heather also completed her Top Dog Trainer certifications with Dog Wizard in which she is capable of certifying dog trainers for the location. Heather also assisted in jumpstarting a Dog Wizard location in Riverview, Florida by marketing, developing public relations, clientele building and trainer certifications.

Heather served in the United States Marine Corps for seven years where she first started in the administration field for four years, then later transferred into Marine Security Embassy Guard duty. This experience included protecting classified materials, high profile government personnel and government property while overseas. She ensured the morale, welfare, and relations between embassy personnel and marines were maintained to high professional standards. Heather also conducted and maintained training within her detachments to include embassy scenario-based training, firearms maintenance, physical fitness, and education training. Upon her honorable discharge from the Corps, Heather began to pursue a career in K9. Heather has been working with K9s for 10 years with single and dual-purpose explosive detection within the private sector. She has provided perimeter security to effectively detect, deter, and mitigate potential threats, risks and hazards for thousands of guests and private sector employees to include sweeps for the safety of companies’ assets, guests, high profile personnel and high-profile events at the Wynn/Encore Hotel and Casino. Heather was the first female K9 Specialist hired for the Venetian/Palazzo Hotel and Casino.

Throughout her experience, Heather has assisted with training and building of multiple K9 teams for law enforcement and private sector security. During her work in the private sector, she obtained a Control F.O.R.C.E level 1: Instructor certificate which she utilized to train and certify security officers in Mechanical Advantage Subject Control. Heather has been a judge for the K9 Olympics in 2019 hosted by Vohn Liche Kennels and has her credentials as an American Working Dog certifier. She is also a community liaison for the Bomb Making Awareness Program provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

On her off-time, Heather excels herself and K9 capabilities not only by progressing her education and training, but by educating, training, and interacting with other handlers as an instructor for a non-profit organization known as the International Casino Resort Working Dog Association. She also privately sub-contracts to provide security K-9 assistance for a variety of events. Heather graduated from the University of Las Vegas Nevada with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and was accepted into the National Society of Leadership and Success in 2021. Thus far, she has completed 80 hours of continuing law enforcement education K-9 through seminars, 11 Office of Bombing Prevention courses, 2 dual purpose handler courses and 3 trainers’ courses.

Tracie Bouchard-Lorge, is a dog trainer who just recently joined The Dog Wizard Las Vegas. With an insatiable passion for animals and a remarkable ability to connect with them, Tracie has left an indelible mark in the world of animal training. Throughout her extraordinary journey, Tracie has accumulated 30 years of self taught training experience as she has worked with a diverse range of animals, from chinchillas and ferrets to dogs, parrots, and even a monkey! Born in Chicago and raised in a small suburban town, Tracie developed an unwavering love for animals from an early age. Fascinated by their behavior and eager to understand their needs, she embarked on a quest to explore the world of animal training. Tracie sought to push boundaries and explore the possibilities of training other unique animals. Through innovative methods and a deep understanding of their needs, she achieved remarkable success, captivating the attention of animal enthusiasts and professionals alike.

After honing her skills working with smaller animals, Tracie directed her attention towards dogs, realizing her deep connection with these loyal and intelligent companions. She dedicated herself to understanding canine behavior, studying various training methods and techniques. With patience, compassion, and unwavering determination, she gained a reputation for successfully assisting in rehabilitating and training a variety of dogs.

One of the most intriguing chapters in Tracie’s career began when she was presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – training a monkey. She embraced the challenge wholeheartedly. The monkey, known for its intelligence and mischievous nature, posed a unique set of challenges. The goal wasn’t to eradicate the primate’s natural instincts or disposition, but to establish a way for them to communicate and utilize this communication to teach him manners and basic obedience so that he was able to make good choices and co-habitate harmoniously with his family. With patience, adaptability, and an unbreakable bond forged through trust, Tracie successfully trained the monkey, earning accolades for her exceptional work.

Tracie has now graduated the Dog Wizard Academy and is ready to continue her career path in dog training!

Michelle comes from upstate New York where she was active in the equestrian competition world. From farm animals to rescue dogs, she has always been an advocate for animals’ well-being. Michelle has been a part of the greater Las Vegas community for 30 years; most of this time spent in regulatory compliance, which requires strong communication and problem-solving skills. She utilizes these skills to educate people and their dogs to have rewarding relationships. Michelle is a Dog Wizard graduate herself! Her home pack includes 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 guinea pigs, a water turtle (she’ll help them all!), oh and yes, a wife and teen daughter. Michelle is active, embraces challenges, and looks forward to continuing to impact people and champion animal safety through community outreach.

Maliki grew up with many dogs in his family but it wasn’t until he rescued his American Pitbull Terrier Remy when he took interest in dog training. Her lack of structure, poor leash etiquette, and dog aggression lead him to study dog behaviors and obedience training.

It was through the process of training Remy, his trial and error, when he found his connection, understanding, and true passion for dogs.

Maliki took it upon himself to start working and volunteering with local training and rescue organizations here in Las Vegas to gain more knowledge, experience, and exposure to other dog breeds and behaviors. Through building relationships with other trainers he was able to master advanced obedience, service dog, and behavior modification techniques, and enter the world of protection training as a certified Decoy.

Furthermore, Maliki is still seeking knowledge and intends on getting deeper into advanced obedience, protection, and detection training while still finding joy in training your pup to be a great family pet!