Hi, I’m Ashley Cipolletti - I’m a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) and behavior specialist!

My passion for understanding behavior, learning, emotions, and relationships has led me to create Co-Regulated K-9s. Both you and your dog are a collection of every experience you have had leading up to this moment. Whether that’s the food you have eaten, how much you’ve moved your body today, the stressors you faced in the past, how your parents raised you, or how you learned to communicate to get your needs met - it all impacts how you show up in the world and your ability to regulate your emotions (and behavior!). Understanding this, paired with understanding both human and canine behavior helps me problem-solve with my clients instead of at my clients, to get them the best results that last.

My Story

Every experience of my life has led me here. I’ve been deeply empathetic for as long as I can remember, and have always believed that animals are more similar to us than different.

I grew up with my own mini “zoo” and had a knack for bonding with animals that everybody else labeled as “troubled”, “aggressive”, or “stupid”. I have been exposed to every training “method” you can imagine as I have worked with different species and learned from different mentors along the way. What never settled well with me was seeing someone lose their ability to regulate their frustration and take it out on an animal for not “obeying”. Many times these animals would “give up” and I couldn’t help but notice they were not enthusiastic to be around people and many times acted out aggressively. It felt like they were responding to humans out of fear of abuse, and not because they wanted to.

I then went on to pursue my undergrad degree double majoring in behavioral psychology and animal-assisted psychotherapy. I took pretty much every available course on psychology, sociology, animal behavior, and husbandry. Shortly after college, I worked full-time in the human mental health field attending various trainings on emotions, trauma, education, and more while still working and riding at a local horse farm. I got into a relationship that required me to move across the country, twice, and truly learned how it felt to be living in “the wrong environment”.

My love for canine behavior, animal welfare, and community education catapulted from one pivotal experience I got out of these moves - becoming the Adoption Coordinator at Kitsap Humane Society. I met thousands of dogs living in a state of really high acute stress as their entire lives were turned upside down upon arrival. I met and counseled hundreds of owners absolutely devastated to have to relinquish their dogs due to behavioral concerns, financial limitations, or medical issues.

The dogs I met at the shelter will forever leave a mark on my heart, and it is why I specialize in working with complex behavioral issues or recently adopted dogs. Some dogs were fearful and trying to protect themselves, some were SUPER over-stimulated, and some were a bit of everything in between. I took a particular interest in helping dogs stay in their new homes post-adoption and counseled new pet parents every step of the way to set them up for success the best way I knew how.

While I was working at the shelter my own mental and physical health started declining. I was in a relationship that turned unhealthy with no support system or coping skills to help me through it. It led me to have an underlying chronic illness flare-up, that no doctors were able to detect yet despite my cries for help. Otherwise known as “your bloodwork appears normal, maybe take ibuprofen and anti-acids to help”. Some days the physical pain was so unbearable that I could not eat and I could barely move, which led me to miss work, become more irritable and feel depressed.

One day I had enough, and I decided to leave this unhealthy lifestyle I was living and I chose to prioritize myself by moving to San Diego. I came here on a quest to heal and found my answers by creating a lifestyle that I could thrive in based on eating nutritious foods, moving my body, regulating my nervous system, socializing with friends, and reconnecting with nature.

During this adjustment, I couldn’t help but support my friends I saw struggling with their dogs as I pursued getting my certification in professional dog training. Because I wanted to train in the most ethical way possible, I studied every piece of credible literature that I could find on dog behavior, learning theory, and psychology. The pet industry, including dog training, is not regulated and there are loads of people doing more harm than good to animals’ welfare with good intentions and poor execution. Once I got certified I worked for various dog training companies and received mentorship from some phenomenal trainers and behavior consultants along the way.

Throughout my career, I’ve ventured back and forth between pursuing human mental health and education or dog mental health and education. I’ve now realized that I can combine my love for both passions into the work that I do coaching clients who own dogs with complex behaviors. Our dogs’ behavioral and emotional issues impact our mental health and well-being too. This is where the power of co-regulation comes in - we can help ourselves feel better, by helping our dogs feel better and they can do the same back for us too.

I’ve learned first-hand through my healing journey how important it is for our physical bodies to feel their best if we want our emotional bodies to act their best. I’ve learned how inflammation leads to aggression, irritability, and emotional dysregulation. I’ve learned how we can teach coping strategies to non-human species that don’t speak English. I love sharing all that I have learned with my clients because to me how we act and feel is personal and it takes a personalized approach to see results that last. You won’t find another trainer like me.

I can’t wait to work with you and your dog and help you along this transformative journey using co-regulation.