Hi, I go by Ashton. I began working with dogs in a professional setting in 2011 in Anchorage Alaska. I received my Certificate to be a Professional Dog Trainer through Animal Behavior College and immediately began working along side seasoned obedience, behavior modification and agility trainers. After some time I was able to begin mentoring new trainers in basic obedience, teaching them how to run puppy and adult basic obedience group classes. Though my profession career began in 2011, my passion for working with dogs truly started many years before that, here in Reno,NV, when I adopted a Chow Chow named Leo. I was just a teenager and Leo had come with several severe behavioral issues. He was both human and dog aggressive, destructive, not house broken, had sever separation anxiety, ran aware regularly and was leash reactive. Despite being uneducated in dog behavior at the time, I began to do my own research and was dedicated to teaching Leo how to feel safe, happy and confident so that he would overcome his many barriers. We walked every day and I tirelessly worked toward socializing him. When I moved to Alaska, I took Leo with me, he became my practice dog and we learned dog behavior together! In no time, he was attending puppy class with me, rolling on the floor letting puppies jump all over him. He was going on walks with other leash reactive dogs, HE was the calm presence that helped other dogs see that it was all okay. Leo learned to love people and other animals, he learn to trust and because of him and everything he overcame, my heart was set on making that difference in as many lives as I possibly could. In 2024, as a single parent, I made the difficult choice to "retire" from dog training to focus on feeding other passions and traveling with my daughter. During that time I have continued to have a lovely time with my own dogs and the dogs of close family members, but I am starting to feel the ache of wanting to help again. I have decided to offer limited services related to dog walking, drop in visits, play dates, nail trims and limited bathing/grooming. (Oh, did I mention I used to be a dog foster parent, groomer and kennel tech alongside my training?) I have outline my services in more detail below; however, feel free to reach out with any questions if you don't see what you are looking for! I look forward to hearing from you :)