Meet Kimberly Artley | CEO | Founder of PackFit Dog Training and Behavior, Published Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Artley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Everything in life involves a level of risk. It’s through taking risks we gain new and different insights, knowledge and understanding, inspires creativity, builds confidence- as well as adaptability and resilience, develops new skillsets, and usually leads to opportunities we could have never anticipated.

I’m a risk taker by nature. Everything I’ve ever done in life has involved a significant level of risk, so this has always been zone of comfort.

Building a business from nothing, writing and publishing books, and putting myself out there every day sharing tips, insights, and “content”- all require courage, fortitude, and faith (though the levels of these may fluctuate).

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
PackFit is a dog training and behavior outfit specializing in one of the most misunderstood aspects of dog training– *behavior*.

I take a holistic, root-cause approach, which means we take a magnifying glass to the various ingredients and nuances that contribute to, influence, and impact it.

Educating, equipping, even empowering the human end of the leash figures prominently in this work.

I’m not like many dog trainers in the respect that I bring trauma-informed life coaching, nutrition, and health background into the mix.

“Dog training” is, very much, a “both ends of the leash” ordeal, and there’s – often- a very fixed, one-end-of-the-leash focus (the canine end). Not only this, but there’s a usually a strict emphasis on the mental and physical bodies of the dog only. This approach only sets everyone up for behavioral failure, as major behavioral influencers are neglected and left unspoken to.

PackFit was born through pain and tragedy (https://www.packfit.net/lobos-story), and lives through a deep, passionate desire to help others – and their dogs- avoid what my dog and I went through years ago. Sadly, our story is such a common one.

We often have people who’ve been through several trainers for behavioral issues prior to finding us come through. It’s heartbreaking the rampant level of misunderstanding and limited guidance that exists today in the industry.

Being able to call this “work”… being able to be of service in this way… is what I’m most proud of; along with the writing and publishing of several books.

The book I’m currently working on is called, “The Human End of the Leash: Dog Training’s Missing Link” (which is available for pre-order here: https://packfit.thinkific.com), and speaks to what’s missing in most standard dog training programs. It fills the gaps that are usually left unbridged.

I’ve also written a few children’s books which are currently being illustrated… *really*, really excited about them, and can’t wait to share more about them in the weeks to come!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Gosh… I’ve just moved here to SoCal from living the majority of my life in Northern VA (just outside of Washington, DC), so I’m still getting my feet wet.

Right off the bat, though, I’d say Temecula Wine Country (Avensole and Oak Mountain Winery are our faves), the *unparalleled* Neapolitan style pizza from Wood Fire Pizza Wagon (the ONLY pizza I’ll eat), and also just hangin’ here at mi casa so my boyfriend could show off his mad kitchen and grill master skills (seriously…he’s crazy talented).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate who I am (and am still becoming) and what I’ve done (and am still doing) to my first solo responsibility dog, Lobo (https://www.packfit.net/lobos-story), every dog I’ve had the immense pleasure of raising and sharing chapters of my life with (Skippy, Nemi, Tucker, Raiyna, Todd, Chip, Levi, Ronin, and Franklin), my clients, peers, and the amazing community we’ve built through PackFit. We’ve all played a meaningful part in each other’s growth.

I’d also like to give a loving shout-out to my boyfriend, Steve, who (dogs aside ; )) has been my biggest cheerleader and such an immense source of love, support, joy, friendship, and encouragement.

Website: https://www.packfit.net

Instagram: @packfitdogtraining

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-artley-09443126/

Twitter: @packfit1

Facebook: @packfit2014

Youtube: @packfitdogtrainingandbehavior

Image Credits
Amanda Ghobadi, The Branding Babe