As a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed, Ashlea King is truly honored to bring effective and humane evidence-based dog training and behavior modification techniques to pets and their people here in the beautiful Black Hills area. Originally from East River, Ashlea earned two Bachelors degrees from South Dakota State University in Biology and Spanish with a Chemistry Minor. During her undergraduate experience, Ashlea worked as an animal control officer and as a veterinary technician. She also completed a service learning study abroad semester in Guatemala, Central America working with a vet clinic and animal rescue. Moving to Fort Collins allowed Ashlea to attend Colorado State University and manage the behavior departments of 2 large shelters in Northern Colorado. During her masters program, she instructed labs through the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital and worked with a PhD Behaviorist to teach veterinary students practical animal handing and behavior. Having worked in animal shelters and as a veterinary technician for over a decade, Ashlea made the leap into behavior and training in 2013. She is a member of the Pet Professional Guild and is certified in low stress handling. As a CPDT-KA, Ashlea must maintain 36 continuing education credits every 3 years and must adhere to a strict code of ethics provided by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. In 2022, Ashlea underwent a rigorous skills review through the Pet Professional Accreditation Board to gain another accreditation as a Professional Canine Trainer. Because dog training is a completely unregulated field, these certifications give you confidence that Ashlea will bring the most cutting-edge techniques to you and your pet. When not studying all things dog, Ashlea enjoys baking, camping and outdoor adventures with her husband, their daughter and 2 rescue dogs, Kade and Kiyah.