Ashley Conlin, IAABC CDBC, IAABC ADT

Owner: Pets Behave Dog Training

Ashley Conlin is a Fear Free® certified dog trainer and IAABC accredited dog trainer who spent the first part of her career in the aquarium and zoo world training dolphins and other exotics. Ashely grew up in California by the ocean, and quickly found that the water and beach were her happy place. She decided to pursue a journalism degree and went to college at Indiana University, but realized during her first year that her real passion was animals. And despite her enrollment at a landlocked college, she switched her major and ultimately received a Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Recreation and Resource Management with specialties in Animal Behavior and Underwater Science.

While in school Ashley volunteered at a local shelter and worked as a trainer at a big box store. She completed her first internship at a local zoo, and a second at a marine park in Hawaii. From Hawaii, Ashley took on an extraordinary full time job as a dolphin trainer in Dubai! Then, if that wasn't cool enough, went on to train at an aquarium in the Dominican Republic.

After her time in the Dominican Republic, Ashley took a break from zoos and aquariums. While managing a whale watching company and working as a naturalist on the boats, she gained new insight into the animals she had previously worked with directly. As much as she loved her whale watching job, Ashley's heart yearned to be back IN the water as an educator.

Ashley landed in Florida where she still resides. After 13 years working professionally with exotic animals like stingrays, sharks, sea turtles, alligators, birds, and dolphins, Ashley left the zoo and aquarium field to work with Alaqua Animal Refuge as a trainer and adoption coordinator. Upon accepting the Behavior and Enrichment Manager position at the Refuge, she developed and implemented new programs including K9 Comeback (working with volunteers to behaviorally rehab at-risk dogs) and Puppy Preschool (providing puppies with early socialization and life skills).

A few years into her rescue career, Ashley was presented with the opportunity to purchase a brick and mortar training facility in Niceville, Florida, which she seized! Now, she's the proud owner of her own training center, Pets Behave Dog Training! However, Ashley is not exactly a fish out of water – she continues to volunteer with local marine rescue and rehabilitation.

Resources :

• Rickert D, Simon R, von Fersen L, Baumgartner K, Bertsch T, Kirschbaum C, Erhard M. Saliva and Blood Cortisol Measurement in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): Methodology, Application, and Limitations. Animals (Basel). 2021 Dec 23;12(1):22. doi: 10.3390/ani12010022. PMID: 35011127; PMCID: PMC8749515.
  

  
  

• Lisa K. Lauderdale, Jill D. Mellen, Michael T. Walsh, Douglas A. Granger, Lance J. Miller. Behavior reference intervals and activity budgets of bottlenose dolphins in accredited zoos and aquariums. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Vol. 265, 2023, 105968, ISSN 0168-1591, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105968.