Who We Are
Crossbones is a team of dog trainers & canine care staff founded in 2010. We are devoted to providing exceptional care & a positive education for dogs and their owners.
We are driven by the belief that early socialization, consistent training, and regular physical & mental enrichment are the keys to bringing out the best in any dog. We teach dog owners like you how to fulfill these needs, and provide services and products to set you up for success.
We are committed to modern, effective, positive reinforcement-based training. Our team applies these principles not only to dogs, but also to their owners, the community, & each other.
Meet your dog’s new best friends.
Puppy Day School principal, agility instructor, chai latte enthusiast, & ringmaster of the circus!
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
Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP), 2010-present
- July 2013 CTP of the Month
- TAGteach International Level 1 Certified, 2016-present
- Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed, 2022-present
- Mentor, Victoria Stilwell Dog Training Academy
- Evaluator, American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Program
Puppy Day School teacher, training field trip leader, craft beer connoisseur, & master of dog-related patience.
Daniel Lombard is the other half of Crossbones Dog Academy. After five years as a professional dog walker, Dan has been training dogs full-time in our Puppy Day School program since 2015. His quiet nature and endless patience brings even the most reserved, shy dogs out of their shells. His goatee makes him quite the “puppy magnet!”
Dan is a graduate of Norfolk County Agricultural High School and is Pet First Aid certified through the American Red Cross. He is TAGteach Primary Level certified. He recently began taking lessons in herding and is enjoying the process of teaching his Shetland Sheepdogs to work stock.
His current competition dog Anthem has gone from Novice A to making National finals & the podium (3rd place) at the 2018 Cynosport World Games in Murfreesboro, TN. She was the top 16″ dog at the 2017 USDAA TitleMania East event. In late 2022, Dan and Anthem were named to the IFCS Agility World Team and will represent the United States in England in August 2023.
Dan has just begun competing with Anthem’s son Wick, his next agility star.
Our Dog Trainers & Behavior Consultants
Her interest in training dogs was sparked by becoming a puppy raiser for Canine Companions for Independence. As a puppy raiser, PJ provides care, socialization, and training for a puppy until they turn 20 months old. CCI places dogs as service dogs to people with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities. She is currently raising a retriever mix puppy named Nester. Service dog candidates need to be trained to a high level of reliability in public. Raising these puppies has given PJ a lot of hands-on experience socializing puppies to be confident and well-behaved.
Prior to joining the Crossbones crew in 2020, PJ was the lead trainer for a dog training program in Massachusetts. She earned the Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) designation in 2019 and the Certified Behavior Consultant Canine – Knowledge Assessed (CBCC-KA) designation in 2022. We are thrilled to have her as part of our crew!
Our Academy is an 8000 square foot facility located at 189 Swan Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Our building includes a 70×45’ training hall, three indoor play spaces, a retail store, and an 880 square foot outdoor play yard. We have ample off-street parking and are just minutes off I-95.
