All About Multi-Sport K9

Miranda Matuszewski, Head Trainer and Owner

Miranda has always had a passion for animals, primarily dogs, from a young age. Her passion led her to explore careers in the dog industry, where she discovered training was her niche. Miranda studied Professional and Master Dog Training courses with honors in 2017 receiving both certifications. Miranda is Multi-Sport K9's founder, head trainer, and manager. Training over hundreds of dogs from basics to advanced obedience, service dogs for both children and adults with different tasking needs, and facility therapy dogs for many schools including United Services for children with disabilities. Her main focus in training is to help create a bond with handler/owner and their dog that will make life more enjoyable for everyone changing their lives and those around them.

Miranda's Current Personal Dogs:

(Now passed) Gunner was a 15 year-old Siberian Husky, retired Rally & Therapy dog.

Ryker is Miranda's 9-year old Dutch Shepherd who has competed and done well in weight pulling, obedience trials, and is certified in all Canine Good Citizens testing. He is trained in advanced off leash obedience, foundation protection work, and scent detection.

Rambo is her 9-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever is trained in special retrieves, IPO tracking, IPO 3 obedience, Trick Dog, scent work, Agility, therapy dog, Disc, Dock Diving, Canine Good Citizens, Rally, & has many titles in AKC including Urban Canine Good Citizen, Rally Advanced, Advanced Trick Dog, Open, & competed in Rally Nationals at 1 year-old finishing 11th out of hundreds competing with a score of 199/200. This past year received yet another title VT-BH. Rambo is currently working towards his Rally Excellence.

Kruella is a feisty 5 year-old Malinois lives up to her name. She's full of energy and takes on new challenges with ease. Kruella is titled through PSA (Protection Sport Association) with certifications such as PDC (Protection Dog Certification) & PSA1. She also finished 2nd place overall in PSA Level 1 for high in obedience. She will continue her training to gain her title for PSA2 in 2026.

Abbie is a 10-year-old female Dutch Shepherd who is co-owned by Miranda. Abbie competed for her PSA PDC (Protection Dog Certification) with Miranda and earned her certification. Abbie is now retired & lives in Kirksville, MO. Abbie has babies that will be competing in PSA in 2026.

Drax is a big strong 2 year-old Dutch Shepherd. Currently training for his PDC (Protection Dog Certification).

Mystic is a bright, bubbly 2 year-old yellow Labrador Retriever. Currently training all obedience with hopes to compete in AKC Obedience & Rally in 2026.

Envy is a 1 year old Dutch Shepherd. Currently training basic obedience. Future PSA (Protection Dog Association) Protection Dog.

Sybil is a 6 month old Belgian Malinois, daughter of Kruella. She is currently learning all the puppy basics in hopes to compete one day in many sports including PSA (Protection Dog Association).

Kendall Tune, Trainer

Kendall is a certified dog trainer across multiple disciplines, with a strong specialization in service dog training. Her expertise focuses on developing reliable, task-trained dogs that support independence, confidence, and real-world functionality for their handlers.

Kendall has always had a love and passion for all animals, but especially dogs. She grew up with her family breeding Labradors and that is where her love began. If there was a litter of pups that’s where you would find her! Kendall graduated high school with her associate in science from Southwestern Illinois College in 2023.

Kendall graduated from Kennelwood Dog Training Academy as a Certified Dog Trainer in December 2023

Kendall has a 5 year-old yellow Labrador Retriever named Oakley, daughter of Rambo, who is fully trained as her personal service dog.

Ace is a 2 year-old Black Labrador with is trained in Hunt and is training to compete.

Iris is her 2 year-old Red Labrador trained in scent detection, tracking and hunt retrieves.

Ellie Stone, Trainer

With over 15 years of hands-on experience, Ellie has dedicated both her life and career to helping dogs and their owners find understanding, balance, and confidence together. Her journey began at home, working with her family’s rescue dogs and volunteering with local shelters. As a teen, she welcomed her first medical alert service dog, an experience that opened the door to a lifelong passion for training. From competitive sports like fly ball, agility, and dock diving to specialized behavior work, Ellie’s foundation in diverse training environments continues to shape her adaptable and effective approach today.

Over the years, she has helped hundreds of dogs live healthy, fulfilled lives and guided their owners to build stronger connections through clear communication and mutual respect. Her experience also extends to service dog training, where she’s supported many handlers in developing capable, reliable partners who enhance independence and quality of life.

(Now Passed) Callie was Ellie's first Service Dog who inspire passion for working with service dogs.

Caprice is her 6 year-old Belgian Malinois who has competed in IGP, PSA and many other dog sports. She has earned many titles and awards over the years but best of all she is Ellie's side kick in helping other dogs learn as her "demo" dog.

Lavinia is her spicy 6 month of Belgian Malinois, daughter of Miranda's Kruella. Lovie is being trained for Bite Sports PSA and will be apart of many other sports in the future.

Our Training Philosophy

The way your dog behaves is a direct reflection of how you interact with them. We don’t blame dogs for behavior issues. Instead, we focus on teaching owners how to clearly communicate and guide their dogs using three core training principles: Timing, Consistency, and Motivation. These principles are the foundation of effective behavior modification, whether you’re training a family companion or developing advanced service dog skills. When these elements are understood and applied correctly, communication between you and your dog becomes clear, fair, and effective.

Dogs learn through cause and effect. For a dog to correctly connect a behavior with a reward or consequence, it must happen within 1.3 seconds of the behavior. When feedback comes too late, dogs associate it with something entirely different. Proper timing ensures your dog understands exactly which behavior is being reinforced or corrected.

Consistency is clarity. It means responding the same way, every time, to meaningful behaviors. Rewards or corrections must always happen within that same 1.3-second window. Inconsistent responses confuse dogs and weaken your influence over their decision-making. Clear, predictable feedback builds understanding and trust.

Motivation is how you influence your dog’s choices. It requires action from the handler, not just verbal cues. Positive behaviors must be rewarded immediately with something meaningful, such as food or physical praise. Negative behaviors require timely, appropriate correction using training aids or leash guidance. Talking alone is not enough. Dogs learn best when motivation is clear, fair and timely.

Together, Timing, Consistency, and Motivation create the structure dogs need to succeed and are the key to long-term, reliable, real-world results.