About

Mandy Zatorski

After working animal related fields for nearly two decades, Mandy is well known in the community for her expertise in animal behavior and rehabilitation, fighting animal cruelty and breed discrimination, educating and advocating for responsible pet ownership and her work rescuing dogs in need. Her professional experience over 20 years includes dog training, vet technician, kennel management, animal shelter population management, animal control and cruelty investigation, animal advocacy and rescue. Mandy has earned several certifications, including level 1 and level 2 Law Enforcement Training Institute for Animal Cruelty Investigations, MACA certification in 2013, Specialized Trainer Certificate from the Academy of Pet Careers, CCPDT Certification and is a registered Canine Good Citizen Evaluator with the AKC. Mandy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and a minor in Forensic Science from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Mandy’s recent tenure at St. Louis County Animal Care and Control as Animal Population Manger gave the shelter “no kill” status from her first day forward with her expertise in behavior evaluation, training, enrichment and shelter management. Mandy is Co-Founder and President of Missouri K9 Friends.

“Let me just say, this was hands down the most awesome experience we have had training our dog “George” with Mandy! She is so knowledgeable in her craft and it was amazing to watch what she could do with our dog. Our dog is a young American Bull Dog/Pit Mix who was rescued from neglect and during the ten weeks that we have worked with Mandy, he has progressed beyond our expectations. Mandy spent a session with us going over every detail and methods used before training was started.”

Kim B Google Review

“Best experience!!! Mandy is amazing ! I strongly encourage/recommend Mandy’s training for your pup! If you truly want your puppy to learn, she is 100% focused and does not waste any class time! Classes are small with the right amount of dog interaction while Mandy is teaching. Again, highly recommend Mandy K9 LLC!“

Angie Facebook Review

Mandy was a blessing. I had rescued a 1 year old pit mix that had only known the shelter life. He was extremely high anxiety and it was causing him to be overly energized and sometimes aggressive towards me. With her training, patience and understanding of shelter/rescue dogs and pit bulls I was able to make so much progress with him. She was very understanding and address any concerns I had and explained why certain ways of training worked where others wouldn’t. She never made me feel like my concerns or questions were dumb. I would send anyone with a dog needing training to her.

Amanda C Google Review

“Mandy taught us how to positively train our puppy with specific and consistent commands. She answered every question we had and was incredibly patient with our crazy pup. Her training methods helped us to establish a sense of trust and safety with our puppy. We will be continuing with more advanced training with her for both of our dogs in the coming months. Thank you, Mandy!!“

Kris Facebook Review

“Super thankful for the help I received from Mandy with my fear aggressive dog. I had a hard time finding someone to work with a dog with his severity of issues and Mandy agreed to give it a go. The help I received and the difference in him went beyond my expectations. Mandy is knowledgeable, patient, objective and skilled with dealing with even very difficult dogs! Thank you so much!“

Elisha E Google Review

“I cannot recommend Mandy enough! Our pit mix is moody and timid and Mandy gave both of us a confidence boost! She focused on goals that were important to us and our daily lives. She gave us tools for not only managing unwanted behavior but identifying signs of stress or fear so that we could refocus before unwanted behavior ever occured. Her approach is direct but kind and realistic. We plan to be lifelong Mandy K9 students!“

Michelle B Google Review