About Us
Positive Education for the Adventurous Lifestyle
About Us
Positive Education for the Adventurous Lifestyle
"We Believe in Seeking Adventure Together"
Our Positive Training Philosophy
We believe in cultivating positive, life-long friendships with dogs using motivational, reward-based training. We believe in using scientific learning principles that promote happy humans and happy, healthy dogs. We believe that by building a relationship founded on trust and friendship, dogs and their humans can have better adventures together.
Meet the Trainers
Meet the Trainers
Meet Amber & Roo
Amber Quann \\ KPA-CTP, CPDT-KSA
Owner & Head Trainer
Serving Fort Collins, Wellington, Windsor & Loveland, Colorado
Services: Private Lessons, Training Hikes, Group Classes & More!
"Roo and I have been adventuring together since the first day I brought him home."
Summit Dog Training Owner and Head Trainer, Amber Quann, has been training dogs since age 10. Through participation in a 4-H dog club, Amber grew up competing in various dog sports, including rally, agility, obedience, and conformation. Her Australian Shepherd, Roo, is her constant companion and adventuring partner; together, they enjoy hiking, backpacking, walks in the park, and, recently, working on dog parkour titles!
Amber is fascinated by the bond that grows between dogs and their owners as they adventure together, and promoting this special connection is a significant part of Summit Dog Training's mission. Amber is a graduate and Certified Training Partner with the Karen Pryor Academy and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge & Skills Assessed through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. Amber is also an approved evaluator for the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen program.
Meet Charissa & Dylon
Charissa Carvell \\ KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Head Trainer
Serving Fort Collins & Greeley, Colorado
Service: Private Lessons, Training Hikes, Group Classes & More!
Summit Dog Training Head Trainer Charissa's love of dog training started as a kennel technician at a humane society in Ohio when she was 16. This position sparked Charissa's passion for helping rescue dogs lead better lives through positive reinforcement training. Her own rescue dog, Dylon, is Charissa's hiking, backpacking, and biking partner, and together they enjoy giving Dylon's awesome nose a challenge with homemade nose work courses. Charissa is a graduate and Certified Training Partner with the Karen Pryor Academy and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She has also attained the Silver Low Stress Handling Certification.
Sarah Stiles \\ KPA-CTP
Associate Trainer
Sarah has been an animal lover since childhood - she was one of those children always dragging animals home asking “can we keep it?”. Her specific interest in training and behavior started when she co-founded A Soft Place to Land in 2010, a rescue helping breeding dogs from commercial breeding facilities. The special attention these dogs needed prompted Sarah to learn as much as she could about positive reinforcement practices in training As ASPTL became known as a rescue that would take less-than-easily adoptable dogs with either medical or behavioral needs, Sarah fostered dogs of all shapes, sizes, and behavioral challenges. Sarah is a graduate and Certified Training Partner of the Karen Pryor Academy.
Serving Fort Collins, Colorado
Services: Level 1 & Level 2 Group Classes
Ready to Have an Adventure with Us?
Are you an Aspiring Dog Trainer? Check out our mentorship program here.
Certifications & Education
Certifications & Education
Why Certifications Matter
At Summit Dog Training, we place a high value on achieving and maintaining industry-recognized certifications for our trainers. The dog training industry is unregulated, and thus anyone who has trained a dog (and even those who haven’t) can call themselves a “dog trainer.” Because of this, we consider it very important that our trainers have industry credentials to assure our clients that the training services they receive are based on current industry standards and scientifically-sound training principles. In addition, these certifications require periodic continuing education in order to remain certified, thus ensuring that our trainers are always learning new things about dogs in order to better serve our clients.
Certifications of Summit Dog Trainers
Karen Pryor Academy - Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP)
Trainers with this designation are graduates of the Karen Pryor Academy, a leading proponent of science and behavior-based training methods. These trainers must complete continuing education and renew a code of ethics every year in order to remain a Certified Training Partner with the organization.
Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) // Knowledge & Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA)
Trainers with this designation have passed an independent certification process with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) testing their knowledge and experience with dogs and training. These trainers must complete continuing education and renew a code of ethics every three years to remain a Certified Professional Dog Trainer with the organization. The KA designation requires passing a vigorous written exam, and the KSA designation requires passing a video evaluation of the instructor's hands-on training skills.
Continuing Education
These are just a few of the continuing education seminars, conferences and workshops that we have attended in recent years. This list doesn't include the hundreds of hours we spend each year reading books & blogs, listening to podcasts, and brainstorming with other trainers to continuously expand our knowledge about science-based training techniques.
ClickerExpo 2013 - Amber
BATting 2000 Seminar 2014 - Amber
Choice in Training Veterinary Care - 4Paws University - 2016 - Charissa
ClickerExpo Portland 2017 - Amber & Charissa
WorkedUp Workshop with Sarah Stremming 2017 - Amber
Muzzle Up Project with Marueen Backman 2017 - Charissa
IAABC Aggression in Dogs & Defensive Handling with Michael Shikashio and Trish McMillan Loehr 2017 - Charissa
Association for Behavior Analysis International 43rd Annual Conference 2017 - Charissa
ClickerExpo St. Louis 2018 - Amber & Charissa
Set It & Forget It with Hannah Branigan 2018 - Amber
Empowered Socialization BAT 2.0 with Grisha Stewart 2018 - Charissa
International Dog Parkour Workshop 2018 - Charissa
Wilderness Canine Care Training 2018 - Amber & Charissa
Already Scheduled for 2019:
ClickerExpo - Amber & Charissa
Living & Learning with Animals Course with Dr. Susan Friedman - Amber
Ready for Adventure?
We're ready when you are... just bring your pup along and we'll get started!
Ready for Adventure?
We're ready when you are... just bring your pup along and we'll get started!