Hi, my name is Ashley and I am so happy to be a part of the Camp Kenlyn Family! I have always had a huge passion working with animals. My love for training started with horses. My mom was never fond when I constantly chose the less trained horses, but I liked the challenge and it was rewarding to see the progress of teaching the horse how to do specific maneuvers or build their confidence to overcome their fears of novel situations.
When I was 13 years old I got my first dogs, Rocky and Tyson. They were both Boxers and I had a new adventure ahead training these boys. Having them sparked my passion for animals and opened my mind into dog training. I learned I was capable of teaching a multitude of tricks from rolling over to saying “I love you” and also having manners to stay out of the kitchen when cooking and not jumping on guests.This love for training then leaked into a string of volunteer opportunities at many shelters where I worked with many dogs that had been returned or had difficulty being placed.
My first dog career was becoming a pet groomer. I learned a lot about handling multiple breeds and ages of dogs. Eventually, I began taking on clients that had been previously turned away by other groomers or needed sedation. I grew a large passion for helping people and their dogs and found reward in their confidence for my abilities to care for their dogs. I groomed throughout most of my college experience while I acquired my Bachelor’s in Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychology. While in college, I also did an internship with a Humane Society. There I worked in the shelter training dogs to prepare them for their forever homes, educated after school children on dog behavior and how to behave around new dogs, and placed dogs for Inmate Rehabilitation Programs. I also worked in the field training and traveling with Therapy dogs,
I now own a 3.5 year old German Shepherd, Yokai and a 4.5 Czech/American line German Shepherd named Karma. Karma is the reason I chose to stick to my dog training path. As a puppy she began exhibiting very anxious behaviors, especially when left alone. She would break out of crates and eat anything in her path. After we moved, she then started showing signs of reactivity to dogs, people, and cars on walks; lunging at barking at them as they passed. We learned to cope with these situations and ease Karma’s anxieties so she could be left alone and also walk amongst crowds with busy activity. This led to Karma earning her CGC, CGCU, and CGCA. It also opened our world to dogs sports that we compete in from Updog frisbee competitions, to Fast CAT, agility, and other fun recreational sports. She has come to teach me more than I have ever taught her and we continue to expand on our skills and constantly look for the next exciting adventure ahead.
