MEET
THE APEX TEAM
Katelyn
Owner/Head Trainer
My love for all animals, especially dogs and horses, began when I was very young. I started out teaching family dogs tricks and working with them on obedience. I began horseback riding lessons at a young age and couldn’t get enough of either animal. Back in October of 2014, my husband and I rescued a dog named Ruger. Neither of us would have ever guessed that little trouble maker would have led us on this great adventure. Ruger had behavioral issues and a lack of manners that led us to a local trainer. The local trainer, who has become a great friend now, gave us all the tools and guidance we needed to communicate with Ruger. After working with him day and night, I quickly fell in love with dog training. Ruger and I became an amazing team and forged an unbreakable bond. The bond Ruger and I had formed made my decision all that much easier to make him my medical alert service dog. We saw such a huge change and impact in our lives that we wanted to create this for others. Thus Apex Dog Training was created with idea of helping others in similar situations and improve relationships between dogs and owners. Every year I attend seminars around the country to continue my education and learn new and different approaches to training. My love for training has blossomed over the years and I’ve been able to share it with so many people and build my own personal pack of 7 dogs. All of our dogs help aid in the training and have their own individual characteristics that lend a helping paw with others.
Shelley
Business Manager
Shelley grew up as dog lover and avid equestrian. She connected with Apex when she rescued her Doberman puppy Pippa. At the time, Pippa was only 13 weeks old but had already spent more than half of her life living in a veterinary hospital for life-saving medical treatment. Early on Shelley recognized signs that Pippa missed out on key developmental milestones due to being separated from her litter too young and reached out to Apex because she wanted to prevent those tendencies from becoming behavioral problems later in life. As an Apex client, Shelley saw how training provided an essential foundation and changed her relationship with Pippa for the better and wanted to become more involved with training. She began helping Katelyn out with the administrative side of the business, learning more about training and gaining hands-on experience with dogs. Shelley also works full-time as a chemist, holds an MBA and is a board member for Georgia Doberman Rescue. She lives with her husband, Jon, and their three dobermans Scarlett, Pippa and Jett.
Alex
Jr. Trainer/Kennel Tech
Alex started out as a client at Apex with her Black Lab mix Missy. Missy was a dog in desperate need of help. Missy was dog and human reactive and very fearful leading to unwanted behaviors. Although, she grew up around horses and other dogs , Missy presented some behaviors that needed to be addressed with professional help which lead us to Apex. Alex fell in love with training and wanted to provide as much support and guidance for Missy by giving leadership and structure in her life. Alex's dedication with Missy's training gave her the opportunity to grow and learn more and to be able to provide knowledge and support to families in need. Alex is now the Jr. trainer and kennel tech for Apex Dog Training and enjoys learning the skills and techniques of training and communication. Alex is also the Children’s Pastor at a local church, Christ Chapel. Alex lives with her two dogs, Missy the Labrador Retriever and Dante the Catahoula mix.
