About Me

If you asked me years ago - could I see myself making dog leashes for a living? - “no way”...but here I am!

Volunteering at animal shelters (10+ years now!), working as a dog walker that specialized in caring for reactive dogs, and having my own Exceptional Dog - I found myself frustrated with the dog training equipment that I had to rely on to keep these dogs safe.

A sweetheart of a mastiff and one of the largest shelter dogs that I've ever walked!

After one too many leashes became unclipped, collars slipped out of, or equipment just broke on me (like when Rowan broke my waist leash and took off in hot pursuit of a coyote…).

And not to mention that I always felt horrible when someone insisted that I “had to” use aversive tools like a prong collar on a specific dog - “just to be safe”... There had to be a better way…

and I decided to solve the problem myself…

And I didn’t want to just make standard dog leashes, I wanted equipment that was heavy duty enough to hold the largest of the dogs, something that wouldn’t accidentally come unclipped if a dog rolled in the grass, and I especially wanted equipment that the dogs were happy to wear! 

With lots of brainstorming, testing and tweaking, incorporating feedback from friends, family and fellow dog guardians who tested my products, I have equipment that I am confident enough to use myself and know that you can rely on. 

 

My first shop was started on Etsy in 2019. Now with over 3,300 sales and almost 1000 5 Star Reviews, I decided to launch a new brand on my own website. Here I can more easily provide a greater variety of hands free dog leashes and other made-to-order products.

Now dog guardians like you can get the equipment you need with the features you want, and I can be happy knowing that your Exceptional Dog gets to live their best lives!

 

As a good "reset" from working in my shop I love to draw soft pastel pet portraits. Check out the gallery of Exceptional Dog portraits!