Cora Wittekind
Cora is a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA, FDM) with over 23 years of experience working with dogs and their owners. Before starting Prestigious Pooch, she spent more than eight years working in dog boarding and daycare facilities in both Washington and Southern California, where she developed training programs tailored to dogs in structured care environments while also providing private in-home training for clients.
Her background includes over a decade of volunteer work with Alliance of Therapy Dogs, where she served as a handler, tester, and observer with her beloved chow mix, Alice. She is also a member of the Pet Professional Guild and has completed certification as a Family Dog Mediator through Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S. framework.
Cora’s lifelong connection to animals began in rural Washington State, where her family was actively involved in wildlife rehabilitation and frequently cared for rescued and rehomed animals. With a mother who worked as a veterinary technician, she grew up fostering dogs and other animals in need, helping prepare them for new homes. These early experiences shaped her passion for rescue, behavior, and education.
Today, Cora lives in the Los Padres National Forest with her husband, Sim, their two dogs, Sadie and Rodney, and a few pet snakes. Her approach is rooted in understanding each dog as an individual and helping owners build lasting relationships based on trust, clarity, and mutual respect.
Her favorite part of being a dog trainer is sharing her knowledge with owners and helping them better understand their dogs as individuals so they can build a stronger, more fulfilling relationship together.
Her guiding question in training is simple: why is this behavior happening, rather than how do we stop it. She believes that behavior is communication and that lasting change begins with understanding the root cause.
Sim Williams
Sim Williams is a certified Family Dog Mediator (FDM) with a background in animal behavior and welfare spanning over a decade. Before joining Prestigious Pooch in 2017, he worked extensively with exotic animals in his hometown of Portsmouth, UK, where he developed a strong foundation in animal care, behavior, and welfare across species.
His transition into dog training began in 2016, and since then he has worked with a wide range of breeds and behavioral challenges in both private client settings and board and train programs. His focus is on creating safe, structured, and supportive training experiences that help both dogs and owners feel confident and understood.
Sim has extensive hands-on experience working with behavioral concerns such as reactivity, anxiety, fear-based responses, and other complex behavioral patterns. He understands that trust is the foundation of meaningful change, and he prioritizes building that trust early in every training relationship.
He continues to expand his education through ongoing seminars and professional development in dog training and behavior. He officially became a Family Dog Mediator in 2023 through Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S. framework.
Sim is known for his calm, patient approach and his ability to create clear communication between dogs and their owners, making training feel structured, approachable, and supportive.