My dad used to always say to my sister and me after failing to keep our room clean “Did you grow up in a barn?” and we would always, “Yes!”

From the age of 6 years old, my sister and I would go to the barn every day and ride our ponies. We would stay there all day and of course we would get bored. We filled our spare time by teaching the dogs and the horses to do tricks that we thought were great. We taught the horses to shake hands and we taught the dogs to ride the horses. Others did not seem to appreciate it much when we taught our ponies to open their stalls and come to us, I guess they started letting themselves and their friends out at night (oops).

I was always around animals and when I graduated from college, I got a job riding horses professionally and bought my first dog, Millie. Millie was my baby and she went everywhere with me. She went to work every day and played with everyone including the barn dogs. I even took her to group dog training classes and she was very well trained. Despite everything that I did she began attacking other dogs. I was embarassed and scared that she was really going to hurt another dog.  She got to be so bad that I could not take her anywhere. About a year later, I was trampled by a horse and was unable to work. In that down time, I decided that I had to fix Millie's aggression. I met Auburn Leech, he ran a dog training center and rehabilitated severaly aggressive dogs. He helped me to understand what was going on in Millie's head and how to deal with all types of aggression.  I immediately started thinking how great it would be to train dogs.

1999- I started my dog training career at the American K-9 Academy, where I took a six-week course on dog training. I had hands on experience with obedience, agility, personal protection and aggression rehabilitation. I was taught to train using compulsion which is when a negative response is given immediately during or after an unwanted behavior. That type of training is mostly associated with choke chains and force. After graduating from the Academy, I went on to be one of their head trainers. I left there with a tremendous amount of knowledge about aggression and rehabilitating dogs with behavior problems. I just felt as though there was another way to train the dogs, particularly in obedience, that might be less stressful on the dog.

2000- I studied at Dog Gone Smart in Norwalk, CT. They used a clicker and lots of treats. It was very different from compulsion training and a fascinating experience!

2001- I went into business for myself and started The Exceptional Pet, LLC.

       - I became a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

       - I was one of the first people ever to compete and win the highest title possible, Magnum Cum      Laude 1, at the very first Rally competition.

2002- I earned a CD and CDX title with my Lab.

2003- I became a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator

2004- I teamed up with WAGS Doggie Daycamp and Boarding in Danbury to offer group classes.

2005- I was one of the first dog trainers in CT to pass the CCPDT test.

       - I earned 3 different Rally titles with 2 dogs. RN, RA, RE

2010- After taking some time off from group classes to raise my two legged kids, I am going back to the group classes!

I look at dog training and my life as something that I will never completely understand. I look forward to learning new ways of dealing with different problems and finding the best possible solution for the situation.

Titles Earned
APDT- MCL Rally 1
AKC - Rally Novice (RN), Rally Advanced (RA), Rally Excellent (RE),
          Companion Dog (CD), Companion Dog Excellence (CDX)

Both of my dogs have passed the Canine Good Citizen Test and are both Therapy Dogs.
I am also an American Kennel Club Certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.

Abby Hill, CPDT-KA