Bark & Biscuit
Address: 3015 South State Street
Telephone: 801-231-7311
Website: barkandbiscuit.com
District: South Salt Lake
“We need to accept dogs for the creatures they are - different from us but equally deserving of respect and understanding.” Ashley Wolf speaks with the kind of clarity that comes from lived experience. Her journey into dog training was a winding path that began in Santa Cruz, California. It wove through rebellious teenage years, university classrooms, and a series of other careers. Eventually, it led Ashley - alongside her husband, Ryan Heidt - to co-found Bark & Biscuit, a business dedicated to helping dogs and their owners understand one another.
Ryan shares that same commitment, bringing his own skills and perspective to their work. Together, they have built Bark & Biscuit into a trusted resource for training and behavioral guidance, combining Ashley’s natural ability to teach with Ryan’s steady, hands-on approach. What began in the modest setting of their home has grown into a full-fledged training service rooted in patience, respect, and a genuine love for dogs.
Ashley’s connection to animals began early, but for many years she could only admire them from afar. When her family moved to Utah, her father was earning his PhD at the University of Utah, and they lived in the university’s family graduate housing - no pets allowed. She often brought home stray dogs she found, pleading to keep them, but the answer was always no. It was not until sixth grade, when her parents bought a house, that she finally got her first dog. Spirited and adventurous, this dog lived to the remarkable age of nineteen despite countless escapes and misadventures.
In her mid-twenties, Ashley adopted her first pit bull, Nia, who became her dream dog and the inspiration for Bark & Biscuit’s logo. Wanting to give Nakia a companion, she brought home a second pit bull - a choice that would change her life. The new dog’s severe aggression issues, including an attack that sent her grandmother to the hospital, shattered her belief that love and proper raising were all a dog needed. Determined to help him, she immersed herself in seminars, workshops, and mentorships with top trainers, realizing along the way that her true calling was not just in training dogs, but in educating the people who love them.
Ashley’s background played a central role in the transition to that of an educator. She had pursued degrees in elementary education and anthropology, always drawn to teaching. She now applies those skills to helping owners understand their dogs’ behavior, spending as much time guiding humans as she does working with their pets.
Ryan Heidt’s path was different but just as dog filled. Growing up in West Jordan, Utah, he was surrounded by pets from an early age. His father owned a small drive-through restaurant, so Ryan’s early jobs were in food service and retail. But he always carried an interest in working with dogs. After the death of his best friend, he reassessed his life, deciding to pursue dog training seriously. He devoured books and podcasts, even flying to Los Angeles to shadow trainer Tanya Yarborough. When he realized he needed more direct animal experience, he began applying for positions. Ryan eventually came across an ad from Ashley for a dog hiking job, referring to the service that takes dogs on natural hikes rather than the traditional neighborhood walk.
Ashley’s hiring process was old-school: applications had to be mailed, not submitted online. Ryan followed through, met her at a coffee shop, and got the job in 2016. For months, he worked full-time at a downtown restaurant while part-time hiking dogs with Ashley, shadowing her on training appointments and learning not just techniques, but how to communicate with clients.
Working closely together built a natural trust and camaraderie. “When you spend hours one-on-one with someone, talking about dogs, something develops,” Ashley recalled. By the time they began dating, they were already operating as a team. They married in 2019, had two children, and watched both their personal life and their business expand.
Bark & Biscuit began in 2012 out of Ashley’s home as a dog walking and hiking service, with a side dream of making holistic dog biscuits. The biscuits never took off, but the name stuck - catchy, warm, and perfect for the business they were building. Over the years, the company evolved into a structured training, daycare, and boarding facility, now housed in a space with capacity for sixty-seven dogs and staffed by a team of over a dozen at any given time.
The Bark & Biscuit approach is different from most boarding facilities. Dogs rotate between small, supervised playgroups and crate rest, preventing overstimulation and allowing for what trainers call “latent learning” - time to process and retain new experiences. Groups are organized not just by size, but by temperament, age, and play style, with some dogs simply learning to coexist peacefully rather than play. This structure makes Bark & Biscuit a safe place for dogs who have struggled elsewhere, and many of their clients come because no other facility will take their pets.
Training is at the heart of the business. From basic obedience to behavioral modification, off-leash reliability, puppy development, and confidence building, the programs are tailored to help dogs and their owners form trusting, respectful relationships.
After years of working with highly aggressive dogs, Ashley made the difficult decision to step back from the most dangerous cases, both for safety and mental health, focusing instead on challenges her team can address effectively and sustainably. Ryan remains deeply involved in the day-to-day training, while Ashley manages operations, marketing, and strategy from home - often with their children nearby.
For Ryan, the heart of Bark & Biscuit is simple: “We’re here to build trust between the dog and their owner, and between our clients and us. That trust is what makes everything else possible.”
