About The Trainer

My name is Cortney, CPDT

For those of you who don’t know me—hi! I’m Cortney, and my eldest dog, Memphis, is the namesake behind this business. He has been the heart of my journey and the professional foundation that inspired everything you see today.

I started working in the daycare, boarding, and grooming industry 15 years ago, fresh out of high school, I knew one thing for certain—I wanted to spend my life working with dogs. Even as a little girl, I’d much rather be surrounded by dogs than just about anything else. I was fascinated by their behavior, communication, and the relationship they share with people.

About a year into my career, I discovered there were actual professional dog training academies. I immediately knew that was the path I wanted to pursue. In 2013, I packed up my life and headed to Texas to attend what was then Triple Crown Academy for Professional Dog Trainers (now Starmark Academy).

After graduating, I returned home to Wisconsin and spent several years working at daycare and boarding facilities throughout the Madison and Monroe areas before deciding to focus more heavily on training. I then joined Focused Dog Training in Madison, where I spent 2½ years growing my skills before taking the biggest leap of faith of my life—starting Memphis & Co.

What’s funny is… Memphis & Co. didn’t begin when I opened my doors. It actually began years earlier while I was at Starmark. During a short business class, I scribbled ideas into a notebook that slowly grew over the next nine years. In 2019-2020, I completed an entrepreneurial program through the University of Wisconsin School of Business, where I developed a formal business plan and learned more than I ever imagined about entrepreneurship.

For nine years, I dreamed, planned, failed, adjusted, questioned myself, cried, prayed, learned, and kept believing in this vision.

Then, in 2024, everything changed.

We found the property that finally allowed this dream to become something bigger than I had ever imagined. Since then, we’ve continued to grow into what is now Memphis & Co. Canine Collective—offering training, daycare, and a downtown Monroe retail store filled with products we truly believe in. We’re also fortunate to share our storefront with the amazing Wags & Whiskers, whose grooming business has been absolutely thriving.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe how much this little dream has grown.

Every morning I wake up with new ideas, new goals, and new ways to make Memphis & Co. even better—for our dogs, our clients, our team, and our community.

To everyone who has trusted us with your dogs, supported our small business, shared a post, recommended us to a friend, stopped into the store, or simply cheered us on… thank you.

You have helped turn a little girl’s dream into a career that I truly love.

We’re just getting started, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us next.

From the bottom of my heart—thank you for being here.