About Kaulike K9…

Aloha! We’re Ashley & Makana - and we’re the owners and head trainers of Kaulike K9. With a shared passion for all things dogs and canine behavior, as well as a love for coaching and helping people, we realized years ago that dog training and behavioral modification was our calling.

While Kaulike K9, LLC has only been around since 2022, we’ve both been in the animal industry for years. Ashley has been working in the animal industry for the last 16 years - first working with wildlife as a volunteer at the Peninsula Humane Society in California, as she went to school for Wildlife & Forestry Management and Conservation (“a-not-as-wild-as-you-may-think” jump from working with raccoons and hawks, to later dogs). She also spent time working at and managing doggie daycares, dog boarding facilities, rescues, and a cat hotel for a time, before landing in the vet med field. Makana too, spent time volunteering at the Hawaiian Humane Society, before moving up to management in daycare and boarding facilities, as well as eventually becoming a managing staff member for a department, in a local animal clinic. 

It was at a doggie daycare on O’ahu, where Ashley and Makana both got to work under and with an amazing trainer, and later a training company, and got to begin developing their skills with dog behavior, psychology, canine social development, and techniques relating to animal handling & communication (not only with dogs, but just as importantly, with the humans who loved them too!). And it was a couple years later, in a dimly lit kennel room, that the idea for Kaulike K9 was first born. Ashley and Makana had been talking about the idea of wanting to find a way to help local owners and their dogs for a long time. Constantly seeing owners come into the animal clinic, and hearing about their struggles, while they also built long lasting relationships with these same owners and dogs - they couldn’t help but want to find some way to help. In 2019, after being called by a rescue friend, to help evaluate some dogs being brought out of a hoarding situation; they started really putting their education first, and started attending and taking as many classes, courses, seminars, workshops, and webinars as they could. Learning and taking in whatever knowledge they could absorb, while still trying to give back to their community.

In 2022, after changes in their work environments, it became the perfect time to have their dreams become reality. And with the support of their family, friends, and clients who so dedicatedly wanted to join them on their new journey and business endeavor, Ashley and Makana officially opened Kaulike K9, LLC in April of 2022.    

Our mission is to always help create the most fulfilling and successful lives possible for the dogs, humans, and community that we work with. Our goal is to never stop learning and growing - right along with you & your dog - so that we’re always striving to be the best versions of ourselves, so that we can be the best dog trainers and human coaches for you!