Staff

My name is Katie Tatro and I am an owner and operator of Katie’s Canine Klubhouse. My husband Todd and I have a beautifully blended family with four children. Max, Eric, and the twins Grace and Grant. Currently, we have four dogs, Stuka, Razzle, Xara, and Penguin. We also have one cat, Quest. We are a family that loves to be outdoors and on the water whether it’s for boating or snowmobiling. Our travels have taken us to thirty four of the fifty United States and we recently became certified in scuba diving as a family so we can experience water in a whole new fashion. My love story with dogs began when my parents took me at three years old to pick out my first dog. Her name was Daisy, she changed my life forever. I wanted nothing more than to understand what she was thinking and feeling. Growing up in the small town in Wisconsin gave the me opportunity to be connected with the farming community. This was how I was introduced to 4-H and the dog project. I began training and showing dogs at the county fair when I was 10 years old. When I graduated from high school, I attended UW-Parkside where I was excepted into the pre-veterinary program. I began working for a veterinary hospital and after about three years I found myself gravitating further away from veterinary medicine and focusing more on dog behavior and communication. I was surrounded at the veterinary facility by some amazing trainers and mentors. In 2005, I was given the opportunity to leave the veterinary hospital with them to begin the first dog daycare and training facility in Racine. It was there that I was an apprentice groomer while learning the ropes of owning a doggie daycare and continuing to expand my training knowledge. In 2009, Ginny and I decided to begin Katie’s Canine Klubhouse in Caledonia. In 2010, Melissa and Allie became our first staff members and still play a pivotal role in the growth of the business. I have been teaching group classes, private lessons, and boarding dogs for specialized training since 2003. Although my dogs and I have participated in and I have assisted other trainers in Agility, Rally Obedience, Fly Ball, and Schutzhund classes, I enjoy taking and teaching trick classes the most. I have attended more than a dozen workshops and training seminars, completed a course through Duke University, earned a certificate in Dog Emotion and Cognition, and attended Animal Behavior College earning my ABCDT title. I am also a certified evaluator through AKC for the Canine Good Citizen and S.T.A.R. Puppy Program. I adopted my first shelter/rescue dog within a month of turning 18 and seven others since then. None of them have been what most people would consider an easy dog to live with. It is very important to me to help as many people as possible to understand why dogs act and react the way that they do. Rehabilitating and finding homes for rescues that have been labeled aggressive is something that we are very proud to be a part of at KCK. We foster and rehabilitate dogs that have been returned to some of our local rescues. They are offered a unique environment where they can be reminded daily by dog trainers and other dogs, in terms of what is expected from them to live in harmony with others. Rescues are not the only dogs that benefit from doggie daycare and training. A well exercised and socialized is a happy dog that is much easier to train and bond with. Running any business process challenges, and at time working with dogs can be emotionally and physically exhausting. Thankfully the KCK staff is like an extension of my family, and we are able to put all of our strengths together to make an amazing team. I am surrounded by people everyday that share my passion to help keep dogs in their homes, and find homeless dogs their people. Best of all, I get to work with dogs every day, but also the most amazing and loyal creatures on the planet.