Summit Dog Training® Owner and Head Trainer, Amber Quann, has been training dogs since an early age. Through participation in a 4-H dog club, Amber grew up competing in various dog sports, including rally, agility, obedience, and conformation. Her current adventure partner is Jameson, a Papillon; together, they enjoy hiking, backpacking, walks in the park, hanging out at breweries, and nose work!

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 (CCPDT). Amber also has the TAGteach Level 1 certification, and is an evaluator for the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen program. She was voted #1 Dog Trainer in Colorado & #15 Dog Trainer in the USA for 2022.

To learn more about our head trainer, click here for her full bio page.

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 and a Puppy Start Right Instructor.

Shay grew up exploring the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and has always had a canine partner for all of her outdoor adventures. It was here that she discovered her passion for dogs, and the joy of reward-based training. She believes that whether you are hiking, climbing, camping, or just exploring nature, the trail feels better with a dog by your side. Shay trains with the goal of developing a partnership between you and your dog based on trust and clear communication so that you and your best friend can spend more time doing what you love together. Shay is a graduate and Certified Training Partner of the Karen Pryor Academy and has been training professionally since 2017. In 2024, Shay also earned her Family Dog Mediation certificate.

She shares her home with Daisy, a spirited and tenacious American Staffordshire Terrier mix. They enjoy exploring the outdoors together, and participating in a variety of sports including rally, agility, and barn hunt.

Justine’s dog training journey began in 2019 when she attended mandatory classes in Switzerland with her rescue dogs, Rio & Fynn. From the first class, she experienced the joy of working together and understanding her dogs better. Shortly after, she began mentoring and working for Swiss Dog School providing clients with the skills needed to stimulate, engage and bond with their dogs and prepare them to handle the demands of city life.

Justine is CPDT-KA certified and has attended various seminars including mantrailing, scent differentiation and first aid. She also has 12+ years coaching people in various sports, CrossFit and personal training helping them learn new skills and build new habits. She is passionate about helping others navigate the challenges of being a dog owner and learning to enjoy the process of integrating their furry family members into daily life.

Justine grew up in Colorado surrounding herself with as many pets as she was allowed including German Shepards, cats, ducks, rats and fish. She incorporates Rio & Fynn into as many of her hobbies as possible including backpacking/hiking, going to restaurants and working out! She also enjoys seeing her dogs use their talents in sports like mantrailing and agility.

Amy Creaven graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing in 2005 and graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy in 2010. She left nursing to begin training at a Colorado shelter under the supervision of an ACAAB where she worked with many of the shelter dogs as well as taught a variety of classes and took on private behavioral clients.  With the arrival of her first child in 2013 Amy started her first dog training business primarily working with behavioral cases and agility. In 2020 Amy pivoted her business from dog training to custom muzzle making and founded Trust Your Dog so she could stay home with her young children while her partner continued to work as an essential employee throughout the pandemic. 

Amy's focus in training classes and privates is always supporting the human-animal bond, taking individual goals into account, and modifying training plans to fit everyone's needs. Amy currently has special interests in rattlesnake avoidance, cooperative care (she teaches a lab at CSU to veterinary students), and meeting people where they are on their dog-life journey.

When not working with dogs Amy can be found spending time with her partner and kids, hiking in the woods with her 3 dogs far away from civilization, playing ice hockey, gardening, or spending time with mustangs. 

Abbey has always been passionate about animals and has dreamed of working with them for as long as she can remember. She begged her parents for years to get a dog and finally got her first puppy at eight years old- she hasn’t lived without a dog since!

Abbey graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Natural Resource Tourism in 2022. Abbey enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing, whitewater rafting, camping, and hiking with her dog. Her journey to becoming a dog trainer started when she adopted her first personal dog, Banks, at the age of 21. Abbey and Banks began going to classes at Summit when Banks was a puppy and later went on to attend private lessons, where Abbey fell in love with dog training. After graduating college, she did the mentorship program through Summit and graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy to become a Certified Training Partner. Abbey hopes to help people build a relationship with their dogs where they can enjoy all of the fun things in life inside and outside the classroom together.

In typical nerd fashion, Net has been continuously learning and researching as much as she can to mitigate her how dog’s struggles with reactivity and pain from a spinal issue. Her pup’s, Noodle, activity restrictions and sensitivities drove Net to seek out more and more games she could play in the comfort of their home and yard.

Over the past few years, the discovery process of how Noodle’s nose plays such a major role in her well-being has led to Net coaching fellow dog owners in Summit’s Sniff Games for Awesome Dogs. This isn’t dog training per se (dogs know how to use their noses!), instead Net guides dog owners and their pups through fun, enriching sniffing games.

Taking what she has learned about enrichment from the incredible trainers at Summit and elsewhere in northern Colorado, from competing in canine nose work, and from books and online resources, Net has curated a super fun collection of sniffing games to help her peers continue to bond with their dogs.