Today we’d like to introduce you to Katrina Ledwell
Hi Katrina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In 2020 my husband and I lost our first pet together. We had a pet fox named Snow. He was a white red fox and we spent all of our time making this domesticated fox our priority. We would spend every minute of our free time caring for Snow, foxes are very bonded to their owners and we were very bonded to him as well. He passed away from complications of a surgery. It really devasted us with his passing. Shortly after his passing my husband had a friend who knew someone with a litter of puppies they were looking to home. As much as we knew a dog was not going replace the memory of our fox we thought maybe it would help ease our loss. That is when we met this cute little fat black and white puppy who is now known as Oakley. Oakley is a husky, lab, german shepherd mix and is the reason my whole life changed. When we brought Oakley home I began right away teaching her everything I possibly could as far as obedience. I knew she was going to get big and I really didnt want a dog to jump on me or have bad manners because I wanted her to be able to go with me everywhere I could take her. I began watching videos and doing research on dog behavior and how dogs learn. I recorded my process with her and started sharing on social media ( facebook) all of our progress. I then started getting friends and family who were asking for help with their dogs obedience and thats when I started training other peoples dogs. I offered trainings for free to just get more experience and to see if this was really something I was really good at or if it was just a fluke! I started getting a lot of positive feedback from people and I have an amazing husband who believed in me and help encourage me to start my own training company. It grew from training dogs to also boarding dogs while people go on vacations. I named the company Oakley’s Adventures because Oakley changed my life and I wanted all dogs to be able to go on all the adventures they can with their owners. If they cant go on vacations with their owners I wanted them to have a place where it was like an adventure with us!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most of my challenges were self doubt and just being afraid of not being good enough. I did not know how to start my own business which is very scary and it took me out of my comfort zone to start looking for those connections to get me started. The hardest part was determining if quitting my full time job of almost 10 years was worth giving it all up for training dogs and making it a full time job for myself. It is the unknown that scared me the most.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Oakley’s adventures is a boarding and training facility. We pride ourselves in providing excellent care to the dogs that stay with us while their owners are on vacation. Our boarding is located on our property and the dogs are no more than 20 ft away from our home. We let dogs out more than most other boarding facilities in the area. All dogs are let out every two hours from the hours of 5 am until 9 am. We give the dogs one on one time each time they are out of the kennels and are never left in the kennels for hours on end. We also give the dogs enrichment treats and games when in the kennels and provide enrichment and mental stimulation while in and out of the kennels such as peanut butter frisbees, pup cups, and special doggie dinners on holidays. Our training is designed around the owners goals and the dogs abilities. We want all dogs to have real world obedience. We have private training lessons, group classes, board and train programs and specialty group classes such as AKC STAR PUPPY CLASSES, AKC Canine Good Citizen classes, Rodeo dog, heeling classes and much more!
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Going to sea world and watching the dolphins. I wanted to grow up and train and swim with dolphins.
Pricing:
- Boarding- 1 dog is $30 each additional dog is $25
- Private lessons are $65/hr.
- Board and train starts at $1675
Contact Info:
