Dan Brinkman is Einstein Dog Training’s owner/ trainer with many years of business management and dog training experience.  His background prior to dogs was mainly in the financial service industry working at companies like Paychex and Northwest Mutual.  

Dan decided to move to Vegas for a career change in 2011.  Dan and Rachael operated all 3 of their dog training companies until Dan took over all of the training responsibilities while Rachael was on maternity leave.  Dan also spent one year working for a dog training school where he taught other dog trainers while living on the west coast, training up and coming trainers all over the country.

He has experience working with dogs of all behaviors including aggression, fear, submission, hyperactive, and just plain ol’ puppy!

Dan and Rachael moved back to Michigan and started Einstein Dog Training in December 2013, and opened Einstein Dog Training Oakland in December 2014.

He has trained and competed in several sports including flyball, rally, barn hunt, and dock diving. Their dogs have several accomplishments including many world championship podium placements, and 13 world records.

Dan and Rachael Can help you achieve your dog training goals, whether you need to gain basic control of your dog, fix unwanted behaviors, or need advanced behavior modification.

Rachael and Dan are both Therapy Dog certifiers, and certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluators.  They host AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy classes, CGC training and testing, and Community Canine (Advanced CGCA) testing.

Rachael Brinkman is Einstein Dog Training’s owner/trainer with many years of experience training dogs for many different training disciplines.  Rachael has trained her dogs for various competitive sports including obedience, rally, flyball, frisbee, and dock diving.  She has been training for nearly 40 years, stemming from parents that were active in dog training and competition. 

Rachael has several dogs that actively compete dog sports; she enjoys training for sport, as well as for basic and advanced obedience. But her favorite training is advanced levels of behavior modification, working with dogs that other trainers have lost hope on.  

Before becoming a full time trainer, she was a Veterinary Emergency Technician for 10 years and worked in the Emergency and Critical Care department at a large Referral and Emergency Clinic in Bloomfield Hills, MI and  Las Vegas, NV.  Rachael moved to Las Vegas in early 2009, and in 2010, she and Dan started their first dog training business.  In 2011, they expanded with a 2nd dog training location in Vegas, and in early 2012, expanded into Orange County, CA with their 3rd location.  After the birth of their first daughter in late 2012, Dan and Rachael decided to sell their locations and move back to Michigan to be closer to family.  Soon after was the start of Einstein Dog Training!

Rachael also did one month of animal search and rescue in New Orleans, LA after Hurricane Katrina.  She has volunteered her time on multiple occasions for dog rescue, including helping host events, adoptions, spay/neuter clinics, etc.  She and Dan have also donated their services for rescue groups such as French Bulldog Village, Last Chance Rescue, and Incred-A-Bull.  Rachael also competes at World Championship levels in several different sports with her dogs. Her dogs have set 13 world records, one which landed them into Guiness World Records in 2019! 

Maria LaCombe is Einstein Dog Training’s customer care specialist with many years of experience in the dog world.  Maria's passion started with dogs, as long ago as she can remember. As a young adult, her summers were spent in Greece bringing food and water to street dogs, which led to her passion of animal rescue.  For years now, Maria has been consumed with dog rescue.  She works primarily for a rescue group in Mid-Michigan called Safari Animal Rescue, where she has fostered and helped animals for many years.  Whether a homeless dog, or owner surrender, she knows the most important thing for that dog is training.  The most effective way for an animal and human to coexist, is to learn how to communicate with each other.  Once she realized this, it led her into the world of dog training.  She began working with multiple trainers in the Metro-Detroit area, using troubled dogs from the rescue group that were given up for bad behavior. After seeing the transformation she was able to make with these dogs, she knew she wanted to be a trainer. 

Maria also has an extensive background in customer service.  She is a trained life-coach, and has many years experience working with humans to solve problems.  With her history of experience with people, and her new found training experience after undergoing our dog trainer apprentice program in mid-2015, Maria was brought on to handle a significant amount of our customer relations.  She responds to owner inquiries (email and phone), follows up with consults and lessons to ensure satisfaction, performs client consultations, and teaches group classes.  Maria is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to advice about training and keeping your pet in your home.  Feel free to ask her questions!

Maria is an integral member of Safari Animal Rescue.