About

Ashley May

I am a lifetime dog owner and lover.  Growing up, my family always had dogs, but I did not discover my passion for working with dogs until 2009, when I adopted my black lab mix, Ella.  I was eleven months out of college and working as a forestry technician for a timber company.  I spent many of my days alone in the woods and longed for companionship.  I finally adopted Ella at 3 months old, who became, not only, my woods companion, but my everyday life companion.  I was determined to make her my anywhere and everywhere dog:  The well behaved dog whose presence is either unknown or welcome due to good behavior.  I enrolled her in every obedience class I could find.  We both loved going to puppy class.  I loved every moment working with her, learning from her, and watching the light bulb go off in her head when she caught on to a new behavior.  She was a quick learner and was always happy to work for me and food.  She is my “Inspiration Dog.”  She helped me find my passion for working with dogs.  She inspired me to do more: foster and train dogs for a small local rescue, join search and rescue, become a SAR K9 handler, and become a dog trainer.

In 2012 I earned my California Registered Professional Foresters License (RPF 2964), and Ella remained my constant companion.  At the time, I thought passing the exam to earn the license was hard (don’t get me wrong, it is hard), but I had another challenge coming and it hit me hard!

In 2013 Popeye graced me with his presence as a foster puppy.  He presented me with a whole new challenge.  He was 4 1/2 months old with too much energy and smarts for his own good.  He is my “Carpe Diem Dog”.  He does first and asks later.  He was in my care as a foster dog off and on for over a year.  Popeye’s excessive energy and smarts got him into mischief and we (myself and his other foster families) could not keep up, to say the least.  In 2014 I finally decided to let him try his wits at search and rescue.  He EXCELLED at it!  With in 13 months I adopted him, and we certified as an wilderness area K9 search team in our county.

Through this journey of training Ella and Popeye, and working with various foster dogs I found that my passion for working with dogs runs deep.  I am continually fascinated by dog behavior and various training techniques.  I wanted to share what I have learned and continue to learn through Carpe Diem Dogs.  Thus in 2016, I put my forestry career on hold to start training dogs.

Now I am excited to announce that I am combining my forestry skills and years of experience with my dog training skills and experience to create outdoor adventure with people and their dogs.  If you got your dog to explore the outdoors with you, I invite you to contact me today!