Tarja Ahlgren began her journey in dogs in the 1980s, after spending years in the horse world. After getting her first dog, that led to her involvement in the conformation world with her Smooth Fox Terriers. In the early 1990s, she got involved in the Giant Schnauzer community, which sent her further down the rabbit hole into the dog world with the addition of obedience training and tracking training. Tarja has competed in multiple venues with several dogs, earning conformation championships, several agility titles, multiple obedience and tracking titles, as well as producing four Tracking Champions in her Giant Schnauzer breeding program.

Tarja took an interest in K9 Nosework in 2016, after attending a seminar. She sought out classes after that and got hooked. She has titled two dogs to their Elite Championship, and continues to compete with those dogs in Elite Premier and Summit level trials. She is currently competing with her third dog in Elite Division. Tarja became a CNWI in 2019, and finds immense joy in helping her students understand their dogs and reach their goals in the sport.

Tarja became an NACSW judge, ORT CO and judge, has hosted and volunteered for countless NACSW trials, and decided to pursue becoming a CO.