Meet Ashley Cipolletti | Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Entrepreneur, & Environmental Justice Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Cipolletti and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
The dog training industry is not regulated – anyone can call themselves a professional dog trainer and take your money. This also goes for tv shows about dog training – many of them state information like it is factual, and no one is there to fact check them or make sure what they’re saying will do more good than harm. Unfortunately most of my work is “undoing” misinformation that is widespread from these tv shows and the internet. Undoing the human learning is one thing, but trying to recover from some of the emotional damage done to these dogs is much trickier and could be easily avoided if all dog training professionals held themselves to a higher standard.

What should our readers know about your business?
Co-regulated K-9’s brings a mental health approach to dog training. From my background in human mental health and social work, I have learned about the importance of individuals truly feeling safe and learning how to regulate their nervous systems. One of the cool things about dogs is that we are able to step in and really help them learn to regulate their emotions which ends up changing their behavior.

I like to provide my clients with up to date research on dog behavior and learning, in addition to teaching them how to critically think for themselves. I am most proud about each and every one of my clients that puts their trust in me and commits to supporting their dogs to have a better life. I am honored and excited to have been awarded as a Sniffspot Top Trainer.

I got to where I am today in my business by following my intuition and my passion. In the beginning I let doubts creep in wondering if I was good enough or successful enough, but I have found the most success pushing through adversity and trusting that if I put in the work towards my passion everything else will fall into place.

I learn invaluable lessons from each and every client I work with. Training is a 2-way learning process that requires feedback from both your human and canine learners. Behavior is a study of one, but with dog training it turns into a study of an entire family dynamic. I get so excited when we work together to achieve goals and improve the welfare and mental health of everyone involved.

I want the world to know that I hear you, I see you, and I value your experience. There is so much pressure put on people to have a “perfectly well behaved dog” otherwise you’re seen as “not a good enough leader”, which is total nonsense. Dogs are animals with unique needs and sometimes our human worlds are not compatible with other animals without extensive behavioral intervention and support. Effective and ethical training is not common knowledge and you’re not failing your dog. Even just asking for help is a huge first step.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
That’s a great question. I personally love the combination of being able to hike in San Diego and also go to the beach whenever I want. The boardwalk in Pacific Beach is one of my favorite areas to walk or skateboard on and I love to grab drinks or food overlooking the beach. The best food in San Diego hands down has to be OB Noodle House and the mom and pop shop Mexican restaurants closer to the border. Sunset cliffs and La Jolla shores are top places to check out – you can even snorkel with the leopard sharks!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to give a shout-out to Jessica Wheatcraft for supporting me earlier on in my training career and mentoring me. In addition to the countless books I have read by outstanding dog training professionals such as Karen Pryor, Leslie Mcdevitt, Grisha Stewart, Emily Strong & Allie Bender.

Website: www.Coregulatedk9s.com

Instagram: @co_regulatedk9s

Linkedin: www.LinkedIn.com/ashleycipolletti