Hello. My name is Christine Neumyer Smith CPDT-KA. I started working with animals in April of 1985 at Essex Agricultural High School. I graduated from the Animal Science Program in 1989. During that time I worked with many types of animals and completed four Supervised Occupational Experience Programs through the Future Farmers of America.
I graduated from Northern Essex Community College with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts/Creative Arts in 1991. I completed a dog grooming apprenticeship in 1992. I finished a professional dog training certification course through A Canine Experience Inc. in 2001. In April of 2005, I passed the Certified Pet Dog Trainers (CPDT) exam given by the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a recently-formed organization working toward raising the standards in the field of dog training.
Over the past 24 years, I have worked with a variety of animals including dogs, cats, horses, goats, cows, chickens, sheep, parrots, snakes, turtles, rats, mice, lizards and more. I've worked on farms, in kennels, grooming shops, and as a Vet Tech in animal hospitals. In 2000 I started Happy Critters and began giving private pet training lessons and grooming sessions in customer's homes.
My belief is that all pets should be taught in a gentle and understanding way. I teach owners to take a parental role with their pets and teach them to be family members.
I compete in Flyball with the Boston Stragglers Flyball Club with Isa Onyx my 9 year old Border Collie. I also share my home with Paint my 16 year old Domestic Shorthair cat.
Thank you for looking at my site. Get started by filling out the online Training History Form. This will give me enough information for us to make the most of your phone consultation. If you would like more information, you may call me at 978-764-5408 for your FREE half hour phone consultation or e-mail me at chrissy@ happycritters.net
This is Hype, Isa, Brinks, and Duncan at Flyball and Fireworks 07.
Chrissy and Isa at a Flyball Tournament.
Photo courtesy Dave Strauss; used by permission
