Amber Burckhalter has spent more than 20 years inside the pet care industry. Not observing it, but living it.

Known for her genuine, approachable and effective style, Amber’s story is unique. Founding her training company, K-9 Coach with $500 and a chalk board and teaching classes in a parking lot, Amber transformed that into a multi-location pet resort known for its exceptional standards and care. After more than two decades of running the operation, she sold the business and turned her attention to what she had come to understand better than almost anyone: what it actually takes to build a pet resort that works.

What sets Amber apart isn't just her business experience. It's the depth of knowledge she brings to animal behavior. She has spent decades studying how dogs think, communicate, and respond and she has built that understanding into every system, training protocol, and operational framework she creates. For Amber, great pet resort operations and great dog care are not separate things. They are the same thing.

After her exit from K-9 Coach, Amber began coaching pet resort owners across the country and working closely with other pet industry experts. She co-created the pet boarding industry's first post-COVID benchmarking report, authored Unleashed, and became a recognized voice at industry conferences including the Pet Boarding and Daycare Expo.

After working with 100s of owners nationally and internationally, leading a team of other coaches for The Dog Gurus, she launched The Pet Resort Coach to give pet resort owners access to the kind of experienced, grounded guidance that has been hard to find: someone who has built the business, managed the team, understood the animals, has extensive industry knowledge and knows what works.

Amber works with pet resort owners who are serious about building something that lasts both virtually and on-site.