🐾 Katy 🐾

Playgroup Leader Plus | Group Class Training Assistant
 B.A., FDM, CPACP

 Katy has over 6 years of experience as an animal caregiver and training assistant at The Dog Den and The Puppy Den.

Her training philosophy is built on connection, communication and collaboration between dogs and humans. Katy likes to consider the many different factors that make up the big picture of who a dog is and how they behave. She uses those ‘clues’ to find creative approaches to training that support the unique learning style of each dog. 

Katy is especially passionate about helping shy and rescue dogs. She strives to be an emotionally safe and steady presence for her own dog as well as for human and canine clients. She believes even the smallest victories — an untucked tail, a curious sniff — are worth celebrating, and that earning a dog’s trust is something sacred. 

At the Dog Den, Katy manages group play, checks dogs in and out, provides individual enrichment and training sessions, and assists group training classes. She is often accompanied by her dog Layla, a sensitive mixed breed dog rescued through the Dane County Humane Society. She also carries her previous dog Rocky, a chihuahua, and her childhood dog Toto, a cairn terrier, in her heart. 

Outside of working with dogs, Katy enjoys music, art and writing. She taught herself to sew over COVID lockdown and makes dog accessories in her free time (you can find some of these products in the Enrichment Shop at The Puppy Den).