Meet the trainers

Dedicated professionals focused on structure, clarity, and real-world results.

Southern Canine's team brings experience, passion, and a balanced training philosophy to every dog we work with. We believe that training is about teaching dogs and empowering their owners — building communication that lasts beyond training sessions and into everyday life.

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Kayla Forbes - Owner & Lead Trainer

Before Kayla began her professional career training dogs she attended an Equestrian College in her home state of Missouri. After pursuing her love for horses, she got her first job at a very large training/boarding/grooming facility in Saint Louis, where she learned Dog Training would be her true passion.

Kayla attended multiple Seminars and Internships and knew that she would never do anything else. She has trained almost every breed you could imagine and has learned to train each dog individually and not a one size fits all approach. Having competed with her personal dogs in IPO and now titling in PSA, gives her an eye for precision and extreme attention to detail. While she loves to compete, her true love is watching families better their communication and relationships with their dogs. She prides herself in her success rate and her balanced approach.

Jessica Evans - Trainer

For as long as Jessica can remember, she enjoyed understanding behaviors of animals - especially canines. As she got older, the passion only grew along with her knowledge and experience. She has worked with many kinds of dogs: from eager dogs, to shy dogs, to dogs with a lack of motivation. She loves helping the dog and owner overcome - and understand - all of their challenges so they can be the perfect family!

Jessica's love for training has led her to the dog sports out there that require precision and enthusiastic obedience. She trains and competes with her personal dog in PSA and various other activities. With a strong belief that the relationship between dog and owner is the foundation of obedience, she approaches training with a balanced (to your dog) method using positive reinforcement to teach and reward, then introducing the beauty of clarity by using corrections later to solidify the dog's grasp of a command. Jessica's goal is for the dog to be confident and happy to obey.