Get Quotes Contact Us Sign In
Website
Call
We offer private behavioral consultations and training for pet dogs throughout Northern Fairfield County as well as group obedience classes for puppies, beginners and more advanced students. Our trainers are the only trainers in the area to pass the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers test. We are a proud supporter of The Exceptional Sidekick.

Please check out the amazing service they are providing to our local teens and young adults struggling with their brain health. The Exceptional Pet is proud to announce we won the 2017 Philanthropy Award for supporting Newtown through donations to NewArts, Newtown High School Band and Guard, Newtown High School Winter Percussion, Newtown High School Football, Newtown Animal Control, Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, plus countless other charities including Because4Paws, Danbury Animal Welfare Society, and ROAR.
Follow us
Services
We have training programs to fit everyone's needs. When you invest in your dog's future you are taking all of the necessary steps to ensure a well behaved and social pet dog. Give us a call at 203-270-3647 or email us at info@theexceptionalpet.com and we can put together the perfect program that not only saves you money but also gets you to your dog to live happy lives together.
Day Training is not appropriate for reactive, extremely fearful, or aggressive dogs. We always put the dogs needs first and a drop off training program will cause more stress to an already stressed or traumatized dog. Your dog will do best working directly with the person or people s/he trusts the most, you.
The Board and Train Package at The Exceptional Pet is different than many other places. Your dog will have the time of their lives while they learn basic commands, leash skills, door manners, polite greetings and more. We offer a unique home-like environment where your dog will be living with a team of highly skilled trainers.
Many pet parents believe that they just need one lesson but a single lesson does not result in the happiest clients. While a single lesson is a great option for people looking to solve one small problem like barking, jumping, integrating a new dog into your home with other friendly pets, or adult housebreaking, it usually takes multiple lessons to really work with your dog. At least one follow up lesson is recommended for even the most simple problems so that you get lasting results with your dog.
Reviews (10)
Write a Review
Judy Jackson
Mar 22, 2022
Best! I am so lucky to live so close to this facility. I could not have found a better training facility anywhere. Staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. Both my dogs love their trainers! I'm a lifer!
Glenn Schietinger
Apr 20, 2021
They are great here. Always able to answer your questions and give great advice. Very friendly. Made a big difference with my puppy Bear.
Hydrobomb
Nov 27, 2020
I finally got my first puppy/dog and decided to look for a great trainer to help me out in teaching my new dog. I came across a few different pet training places and after speaking with Christine from Exceptional Pet I was sold. After speaking with Christine she informed me that the best route to take would be group classes and three personal trainer sessions valued at $1,005 before taxes.

My first group class I was told that I should switch up to a personal training class instead of the four group classes at the beginning because it would allow my eleven-year-old son to partake in the training as I have physical disabilities. Due to scheduling conflicts (on both sides) I was only able to get two personal training classes in and one group training in a matter of over a month.

Long story short, the interaction with the owner, Abby, became very uncomfortable after she sent me a very long email that was way out of context and was condisending. The email was over a patch that said "service dog in training" on my puppies new vest. I had been talked to by Courtney there and explained why it is not good to have that patch on my dogs vest and I understood right away and removed it.

Over a week later that's when I received the email from Abby that made me feel very uncomfortable about attending classes there ever again. When I inquired about taking my puppy out of the classes and discontinue training with Exceptional Pet due to the interaction with the owner Abby, I was under the impression I would receive the remainder of my balance, however that was not the case.

I was even told by Christine when I asked if I was able to get a refund, Christine said yes and would get much more than half the money back due to the email issue. About 15 minutes after that conversation with Christine I received an email from Abby the owner very quickly with a refund of only $580 (a little more than half of the money I paid upfront).

I tried to call Christine after this a few times and left messages yet never received a call back. So as I stated earlier, I had only received two personal training sessions and one group class session. I still had 12 group classes left and 1 more personal training class valued at over $700-$800. Exceptional Pet did not try to keep me as a client and Abby tried to justify the small refund back as if she was doing me a favor.

If I ran a business and the person did not receive what they paid for and was made to feel uncomfortable about going back, I would reimburse them. Beware of this company as I was ripped off.
Shirley Lenhard
Jun 22, 2020
I was lucky enough to find The Exceptional Pet, LLC through people at my vet's office and a friend who was a former trainer and was kind enough to look over their website for me. She told me to "run, don't walk there and enroll Saffi." That was my first good fortune. My second was finding that Christine would be able to work with me in finding an acceptable schedule for Saffi.

My third was finding Donna and learning that this training was more for me than my puppy and that through every day training, the rewards would be beyond my wildest imaginings! Donna is just simply the most talented person I have ever encountered where dogs and people are concerned! She is calm, polite, and always willing to lend extra advice when needed - and believe me, it's been needed!

Then I enrolled Saffi in a puppy play date! Oh my goodness! Courtney was an amazingly engaging lady whose obvious love of dogs was apparent! Abby, the owner of this facility, cares not only about the facility and her staff, she is genuinely concerned for the safety and well-being of all of her students and their parents/handlers. I have never met a more cohesive and amazing group of talented and caring people.

I will enroll Saffi is every single solitary thing that they host or offer! This is a quality place for your pets to be trained by CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS! I could go on and on singing their praises because they are just simply that amazing!
Sandra Lee
Jun 01, 2020
Excellent trainers, friendly atmosphere, caring staff. Clean facility with parking. Trained my puppy through their High School program - and loved, loved their extra fun classes like pups around town and agility! Highly recommend.
Theresa Roy
Nov 18, 2018
Abby has been a wealth of knowledge and very compassionate. As owner/trainer working with us (humans and dogs) she has an exceptional knowledge on what/how to train. Every Dog/ human can lean a new trick! The facility is huge, clean and set up well. I recommend her!
Sherri Axcell
May 31, 2018
Love this place! They're great about personalizing training so every dog can succeed. My 11 year old retired laboratory beagle has passed his CGC (first try!) and is having fun with agility.
Ashley Lavallee
Dec 04, 2017
The trainers here are amazing! I started with my new Pup Toby who's a stubborn yet really cute frenchie, I plan on bringing the rest of the pack to the girls to tame. They are beyond wonderful and extremely educated. I never once felt stupid while they helped me learn to train my dog and correct behaviors. The facility is clean and large and wonderful.

They also offer private lessons which I loved and we did a private lesson before the pre school started to get a feel for the place. As a business owner in town, I love to support other local business and boy did I pick the best one to support
H. Ostrosky
Feb 12, 2017
I have taken my puppy to several sessions now and I am very pleased. The class sizes are small so you get individual attention, but also have the benefit of having other dogs present for distraction. The trainers are very positive and caring. We see progress every week following our training classes! I highly recommend the Exceptional Pet!
Bridgette Ashmore
Feb 13, 2015
Abby is Exceptional! You won't find a more knowledgeable or compassionate trainer anywhere. She is positive and encouraging. She helped build my confidence and my pup's and gave me the information and skills to work with my reactive dog. She really took the time to understand me and my dog as unique individuals, and gave us unique approaches to help overcome our challenges. I highly recommend Abby to anyone. She really is the best!