Meet Kayte!

Who: Kayte with True North K9

Where: Boston, Massachusetts

Offerings: Board & Trains aka Training Retreats at the beach! Hiking groups and boarding.

How to connect on Instagram: @Kayte.TruthNorthK9

Kayte completed the Spring 2025 Mentorship & Shadow program, and I am truly so excited to introduce her. Below you can read more about Kayte's professional work, however, I'd like to introduce her the way I have gotten to know her, as both a trainer and human.

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Kayte with her dog, Tilly!

Sam's Introduction to Kayte:

Kayte is a compassionate human, who has an incredibly intuitive approach to how she works with dogs. And, I would add, in how she works with humans! Kayte came into the Mentorship program relatively new to dog training as a profession, and I could sense a determination in her to truly provide her clients, both dog and human, with genuine support in their training. When I got to see her work with each dog at the Shadow program, I could sense a curiosity from her in truly trying to meet each dog where they are, whether chaotic and reactive, or scared and shut down. Kayte inspires me with her commitment, her curiosity, and her natural intuition for this work!

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Kayte working with Grover at the Shadow program!

Now, hear from Kayte herself a little more about her journey!

What do you love about dog training?

"I love being able to bridge gaps of communication and help confused dogs find their place in the world. I love to watch their confidence grow and get dogs to a place where they can enjoy freedom safely. I love how dog training makes me a better human and reminds me that I have a lot of similar needs that deserve to be met. I love when families can get to a place where they can enjoy life with their dog."

Tell us about your journey with your own dog!

"My dog has been super easy to train from the get-go (I joke that she conned me into the dog training world because she was too easy). However, what I didn’t expect was how eerily similar my dog and I are (down to the way we socialize, weird textural aversions, want to be close but not necessarily physical contact, the list goes on) and how I would project certain expectations on her (be friends with everyone! just eat this fucking food I paid so much money for! etc) that I definitely place on myself as well. Learning how to read and respect her boundaries and preferences actively shows me that I deserve all those same things and that neither of us are “bad” for not fitting into a specific mold."

What is your favorite kind of dog to work with?

"I love smart dogs, drive-y dogs, dogs that want to work. I am still too new to have an opinion on reactive or anxious dogs, but want to work with them more to get that experience. I’m not interested in working with aggression at this time. What I love most is fine tuning your average family dogs and giving them full off leash freedom."

Since the Mentorship program has ended 4 months ago, what are the biggest changes you have seen in your business?

"Mostly my perspective has shifted - I can design my business the way I want, and attract a client base that works for me, versus the other way around. I’ve gained more confidence in myself as a handler and feel like I’ve joined a community of people that I didn’t have before."

Since the Mentorship program has ended, what are the biggest changes you have seen in your own self?

"I have had some personal struggles (chronic health and learning how to navigate ADHD) that have forced me to slow down a bit in terms of pushing the business forward. But the permission to build my business into something that works better for who I am (doing board and trains) and ditching thinking I have to do lessons has been helpful".

You can hear more about what Kayte shared after finishing the program by clicking here, scrolling down and listening to her video testimonial.

One thing you wish you could say to every single dog owner:

"Learn everything you can about the breed of dog you have AND don’t wait until things become unmanageable to start training - being proactive will always pay off!"

One thing you wish you could say to every single dog trainer:

"Don’t box yourself in to one way of thinking, or one method of training - be a forever student, learning and growing never stops!"

Kayte during the Shadow program, focusing on recall skills.