I’m Ashlie, founder of Canine Brain Games — and until we understand a dog’s world, they can’t really live happily in ours. That’s the whole idea behind everything I make: practical, personalized ways to support your dog’s mind, confidence, and everyday wellbeing, built on real behavior science.
I’m not a dog trainer, and I never went to animal behavior school. What I am is a certified canine enrichment specialist with a Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis — and someone who’s spent two decades learning, the hard way, that behavior is never random. At Canine Brain Games, my mission is simple: help dogs and the people who love them connect, through enrichment that’s actually grounded in science.
For over 20 years, I’ve worked with kids and dogs in different chapters of my life, always pulled toward behavior, connection, and learning.
I started out as a preschool teacher, watching up close how environment, play, and emotional safety shape a child’s whole world. Later, I moved into clinical mental health work, supporting kids through behavioral and emotional challenges — and that’s where it really clicked: behavior is communication. Every “problem” is a dog or a kid trying to tell you something, in the only language they have.
Somewhere along the way, I started fostering and rehabilitating behaviorally complex rescue dogs, and everything I’d learned with kids mapped onto them almost exactly. Instead of focusing on control and obedience, I started asking what need wasn’t being met — and watched dogs change when that need finally was.
My senior rescue dog, Freya, was a huge part of that journey. She didn’t just need training. She needed to be understood. She shaped not just my approach, but the heart behind this whole brand.
A lot of dog boxes are really just toy subscriptions with a science word stapled on. Canine Brain Games isn’t that.
Every box is matched to your dog’s play style. But the real engine behind everything is the Barkive — our always-on digital library of guided activities, behavior explanations, and new content added regularly, so you’re never just guessing what to do with what’s in the box, or why it matters.
Get real enrichment ideas, the why behind the what, and the occasional good deal — straight from someone who’s lived this with her own dogs, not just studied it.
