Katherine Ostiguy is the co-owner of Crossbones Dog Academy. She has over fifteen years of experience training dogs and raising puppies and started her business in 2010. Katherine’s passion for learning about all things canine leads her to pursue continuing education in the form of seminars and lessons with some of the world’s top dog trainers. This dedication to the field is evident in the positive way she works with her clients, both of the four-legged and two-legged varieties.
Katherine is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Program, a rigorous certification program that requires continuing education and a pledge to train using force-free methods and techniques. She uses clicker training and positive reinforcement to solve problems and train dogs to a high level of reliability. In 2022, she passed the test and became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT).
Katherine has been competing with her dogs in agility, obedience, rally, herding, weight pull, and conformation since 2005 and prioritizes versatility in her dogs. Her first dog, Tessie, earned titles in four sports and was the first English Springer Spaniel to earn a UKC Weight Pull Championship title. Her current competition dog Spark is an AKC & UKC Grand Champion in conformation, has won multiple UKC all-breed Best In Shows, and is one of only a handful of Shetland Sheepdogs to earn both a Grand Championship and Versatility Certificate Excellence (GCH + VCX).
In agility, Spark was the runner up at the 2018 USDAA New England Regional in 16″ Steeplechase and won the 2018 Cynosport World Games Grand Prix Quarterfinals in Scottsdale, AZ. Her dog Strata (pictured) was the 2017 USDAA New England Regional Champion in 14″ Performance Grand Prix. Katherine travels the country to participate in dog sports and has competed in several AKC and USDAA national championships, national specialty shows, UKC Premier & Top Ten events, and the Westminster Kennel Club Masters Agility Championship.
Katherine’s Personal Dogs
UWPCH URO2 MACH2 PACH Belcroft In A Sweet Dream BN RE HT MXS MJS MXP MJP OF PD PTM – “Strata”
AKC MACH GCH / UWPCH URO2 BIMBS GRCH Allaround Majestyk Strike Anywhere RA HT MXB MJG MXF T2B CGC TKA VCX – “Spark”
UKC GRCH Foxglove Incendio Out In A Blaze NAJ TKI – “Match”
Hellfire’s Time Bomb MX MXJ MXF HDM CGC TKA – “Ska”
Gone but not forgotten…
UWPCH UCD Sunrise Sweet Tess TT SR SJ AD JH-E NAJ NA CD RN OFP AXP AJP – “Tessie”
Professional Accreditations & Memberships


