Meet Anna Diaz, our Founder

Two Decades+ as Award-Winning Leader in American Kennel Club Dog Shows & Family Dog Companions

Anna showing "Ella" to win an Award of Merit at the National Newfoundland Club of America 2024 in Duluth, Minnesota

As a former Silicon Valley tech professional herself, Anna also has been involved with show dogs, family dogs and their people through the American Kennel Club for over 20+ years since her childhood. After Anna's time in venture capital with billionaire Tim Draper and tech unicorn/startup rocketship, Verkada, Anna combines the best of both worlds as the go-to professional dog trainer and owner of Best in Class Dogs Walking for the dogs of Silicon Valley families and professionals. 

Anna (center in pink) with billionaire Tim Draper, global investors of Draper Venture Network, and former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera in Santiago, Chile

In 2002, Anna's parents bought their first family dog, "Shamu". Shamu was a Collie puppy with an American Kennel Club show dog championship heritage.  A month after being Shamu's new owner, Anna and her family attended the local Del Valle Kennel Club dog show in Livermore, California. There she saw other children show and train their own dogs in Junior Showmanship (a competition for children under 18 years old), and that's when Anna turned to her Dad, and said, "I want to do that." The rest is history....

Over the years, Anna began to compete in the dog sports of Conformation (dog shows) and Junior Showmanship with her own Collies and hundreds of other dogs/breeds across all 7 groups - Sporting, Working, Herding, Non-sporting, Hound, Terrier, and Toy. Experienced and renown breeders, exhibitors, professional handlers, and judges provided Anna with expert mentoring, and she learned the ins and outs of AKC breed standards, training, animal husbandry/care, health, showing, grooming, conditioning of dogs. She apprenticed under the dog industry's top leaders. Additionally, Anna's "dog show career" as a young teenager enabled Anna to travel and compete all over the US, competing at national shows such as Westminster Kennel Club in Madison Square Garden and the AKC National Championship. 

Anna's involvement and excellence in the sport of dogs enabled her to receive multiple scholarships to pay for her college tuition at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Post-college, Anna worked 8 years across venture capital with Tim Draper and the Draper Venture Network and technology sales at late-stage, startup unicorn Verkada and Wagmo.

Today Anna trains the dogs and families of Silicon Valley executives and investors. Her pet dog training programs focus on everyday-usable obedience skills, good manners, and relationship building with their owners. As a lively hobby, Anna is involved with AKC champion show dogs at shows too. Anna Diaz is a current member of the San Mateo Dog Training Club as the go-to Conformation instructor, the Collie Club of Northern California, Collie Club of America, and the Bay Area Rhodesian Ridgeback Club. Best in Class Dogs Walking & Training is also a proud donation partner for the Spring Auction of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation. 

A List of Anna's Accolades throughout the Years