Meet the Trainers

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Hey Portland! My name is Hailey Sweet (She/Her), KPA CTP. I started Totally Epic Dog Training in the fall of 2023 and added my wonderful partner, MacKenzie Peterson (She/Her), to the Totally Epic team in the fall of 2024. I've been training dogs professionally since getting my certification from the Karen Pryor Academy in 2015.

 

Dogs have always been my passion. My childhood was spent dreaming of and working towards becoming a Veterinarian. I spent many hours as a teenager at the local animal shelter walking dogs and helping clean kennels, it was my favorite after school activity! I started college at Purdue University studying animal behavior but realized during my internships that the veterinary field was not for me. 

 

I worked at PetSmart during college as a dog bather and got a lot of hands-on experience handling animals. I adopted a dog during this time, my chow chow/Australian shepherd mix “Chevy” and quickly realized I needed help with some undesirable behaviors he had. I attended a beginner clicker training class and it blew my mind. Chevy was learning tricks so quickly and our relationship blossomed into a team. I was so eager to learn more after he graduated class, I found the local Kennel Club and joined to take agility classes. 

 

After falling in love with training, I began looking into how to train dogs for a living. After an intensive six months, I graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy Professional Training Program as a certified trainer. This program helped connect me to my mentor, Julie Shaw who spent the next six years teaching me everything she knew. So many hours dedicated to reading books, going to seminars, dog training expos, traveling to dog sporting events - all to learn as much as I could about being a well balanced dog trainer and teacher to their humans.

 

During my time with my mentor, Stepping Stone Animal Training opened a facility where I built a Day School program from the ground up. That program was mainly for dogs that had been kicked out of local daycares and needed a safe place to learn and socialize. When my mentor retired, I was heartbroken to leave Stepping Stone but very excited for the opportunity to move across the country! 

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I worked at another facility here in Portland for a couple of years before taking the leap and starting Totally Epic Dog Training. It has been such a fun journey meeting the wonderful, local community and I look forward to helping more pet parents build healthy relationships with their pups.

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We share our home with six wonderful dogs;

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Chevy is a twelve year old Chow mix

Epic is a nine year old Border Collie

Po Boy is an eight year old Pomeranian

Spyder is a seven year old Belgian Malinois

Onion is a five year old English Cocker Spaniel

Bronco is 1.5 year old English Cocker Spaniel 

 

My partner and I love to take the dogs on hikes, play frisbee, and dabble in dog sports!