AKC is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to akc.org. If you purchase a product through this article, we may receive a portion of the sale.
They say old dogs can learn new tricks. But what about dogs who’ve been given up on before they’re even two years old? All-American Dog ‘Willow’ was surrendered to her current owner, Ashley Carpenter of Severn, MD, at just a year old. Carpenter was her fourth owner by that point, and everyone believed she was a lost cause. But now, Carpenter, Owner and Head Trainer of Limitless Canines, has trained and bonded with Willow not only to the point of obedience, but the point of excellence.
Among the dog sports that the pair participate in together, obedience is Willow’s favorite. But the Willow we see today, the calm, friendly dog who competes in national obedience competitions, is miles from the dog Carpenter first met. She was destructive, had confidence issues, and severe separation anxiety. Now, the pair is doing what no one thought they could do: excelling.
A Lifelong Passion for Dogs
As long as she can remember, Carpenter knew her life was going to revolve around dogs. When she was around eight years old, her mom got her a dog encyclopedia. “I spent all of my days memorizing every dog breed possible. I’ve always been obsessed with dogs,” Carpenter recalls. “But really, it was so that I could watch the dog shows,” she laughs.
This infatuation with dog breeds shaped not only her life, but her career. She had her sights set on being a veterinarian, but started her first dog business when she was 12 years old: dog walking. All the while, she was teaching her childhood dog, a Toy Poodle, all the tricks she could.
In her adolescence, she headed to college in Florida to pursue her biology degree in order to become a veterinarian. From there, she gained experience at other veterinary hospitals, including a general practice hospital in Banfield for seven years.
But from there, something pivoted. Clients began to ask her training questions: about dog behavior, potty training, and everything in between. “So I would answer these questions. I’d go and look it up online, or read books about dog training just so I could help my clients,” she says. Before long, a client asked if she could come over and help train her dog — they were paying.
“I told them, “I’m not a trainer, I just look things up.”” But before long, the training bug stuck. “Helping my clients at vet hospitals made me want to learn more about behavior,” she says. “I thought it was really cool and decided to keep going with it.” Limitless Canines was born shortly after.
An Unexpected Detour
At this point, Carpenter had a few different dogs. One was a mixed-breed, “Butterscotch,” that a client at the vet hospital was no longer able to take care of. “I loved her,” she says. “I taught her as much as I possibly could.” Many years later, she got a St. Bernard that was her former boyfriend’s dog. Then, a Mastiff puppy: “Hera,” after Battlestar Galactica.
Currently, she has three dogs. “Havoc,” a six-and-a-half year old Beauceron, “Xypher,” a four-year-old German Shepherd Dog. “Poe,” a 13-year-old German Shepherd Dog, passed away recently. “He was a foster fail,” Carpenter laughs. And then, Willow, who’s now 11 years old, came into her life.
Carpenter was hired to board and train Willow, then a year old. “The owner said that she has separation anxiety, dog aggression, and some people aggression. She’s very wary of strangers,” she recalled. A few weeks later, Carpenter got a call: the owner didn’t want Willow back. “She said, “”I actually just got three new puppies. Can you re-home her or something?” It was awful,” Carpenter said. “At that point, I was her fourth owner by the time she turned one.”
Along with having no secure home base, Willow was also abused as a puppy. “It was a horrible thing. This is what I heard from previous owners. She had some very unique problems, so I took them with a grain of salt.” Willow’s separation anxiety was so bad, that once, she escaped from her crate, ate through the door, pushed open a window in the upstairs bathroom, and hopped out onto Carpenter’s roof. “She became very destructive when she was scared,” Carpenter recalls. “I couldn’t just let her go to anybody.”
Willow Introduced Her to Dog Sports
Around the time that she was trying to train Willow and figure out what to do with her, she was also raising her son, a toddler at the time, and working in the emergency veterinary hospital. “I needed to work through things with this dog, and a lot was happening at once,” she says.
A mentor, Linda Kaim from Lionheart K9, suggested she look into obedience competitions with Willow. She’d been looking into dog sports for awhile, but decided to give it a shot. Willow had a lot of pent-up, mental energy, that she needed to find a good way to get out. “I entered Willow into the first obedience competition I ever went to, and we had a great time,” Carpenter says. From there, the floodgates into dog sports were opened.
“Willow took me into Fast CAT. She took me into Barn Hunt. Rally and obedience, of course, are things that she got me into,” Carpenter says. “She was basically my foundation dog for all the dog sports that I did, and the reason I’m in dog sports with any of the other dogs I have.”
It changed everything for Willow. She enjoyed it so much, and became a more confident, calm dog, because she had this outlet. And from there, her bond with Carpenter grew.
“She’s become an amazing dog,” she says. “It took a lot to get to this point, but she has become one of the best dogs I’ve ever owned in my entire life. And I never expected that when I first got her.”
For Willow, it wasn’t just about mental stimulation and having a task. It was also about praise and positive energy that helped build her confidence. “She got to focus on something else. Willow really enjoys the amount of attention she gets in the ring. If I use a high pitched voice and tell her she’s so pretty, she loves every part of it.”
An Unbreakable Bond
Carpenter has undoubtedly changed Willow’s life, but Willow’s impact on her family has been tremendous too. Aside from getting Carpenter started in dog sports, something that has extended to her training clients, Willow has also bonded with her son. “Her favorite person in the entire world is my son. I’m only second favorite,” she laughs. While Carpenter says that she’s still not a fan of most people and most other dogs, she quickly bonded to her son, born in 2011.
“He’s 14 now, and it’s been amazing how much she’s connected with him,” Carpenter says. Whenever they come home, Willow always runs to look for him. “She, to this day, will choose to sleep in his bed sometimes over sleeping in someone else’s room. She’s been around almost his whole life that he probably remembers, so that’s been a really nice bond.”
These relationships and her experiences in dog sports have been key. Carpenter says Willow is unrecognizable from when she first got her. “She’s gotten to socialize a lot more, so she became a lot less concerned about being alone in a crate and more confident,” Carpenter says.
A 180 No One Thought Was Possible
It would be one thing to do dog sports with Willow. But to do them and compete at a national level with her is an incredible testament to how far they’ve come. “Dog sports give a dog a natural outlet for any pent-up frustration or any confidence issues — they’ll help your pet completely,” she says. “Another thing that really helps is the bond you have with your dog.”
Training for a sport is completely on another level from basic dog obedience and training. As a trainer, Carpenter says that while it’s fun, competing with your dog is a different level of trust and a different kind of bond you have to have with your dog. She also recommends it to her training clients enthusiastically.
“I have tons of clients that are interested in dog sports,” she says. “I invite them out to show to see what the sports are.” In central Maryland where she lives, she says there are many opportunities to get involved. “I try to make outings for my clients to different sporting classes. Some people start, some people don’t. Other people choose different sports. I say, “Just come watch this, and see how you like it.””
Willow, registered name Willow Storm CD BN RA FDC BCAT RATN CGCA TKA VHMA, is Carpenter’s Novice Obedience dog. Together, they do obedience, AKC Rally, and Barn Hunt. With her other dogs, she’s done the same, as well as Scent Work and Dock Diving. “I try to get into each of the sports, because I also meet people that are doing other sports. I just expand my dog sport world more and say, “”I’m going to try them.””
The Difference Dog Sports Can Make
“Sometimes, I forget who she was when I first got her,” Carpenter says of their journey together. And to think, Willow came into her life completely unplanned, and changed everything. “I got to see where she came from, to where she is now. She’s an amazing dog, and I will never be able to replace her.”
The duo competed on a national stage at the Obedience Classic in Orlando, Florida, in 2025. Even though Willow will be 12 in December, her enthusiasm for dog sports with Carpenter doesn’t waver.
“I just think it’s funny. I never wanted this dog, I did not choose her,” Carpenter admits. “She wasn’t supposed to be mine, and now she’s absolutely one of the best dogs I’ve ever had in my life.” From getting her started in dog sports to expanding what she thought she was capable of as a trainer, Willow has brought so much love and learning into Carpenter — and her family’s — lives.
“I know I’ll never get another Willow,” she says. “She’s helped me in so many different aspects of life, introducing me to a whole new world of dog sports, and I really appreciate her for it.”