About the Northern Michigan Mutts

A woman with glasses and long brown hair, wearing a dark green sweater and jeans, smiling and kneeling on a leaf-covered ground next to three dogs near a calm body of water with an autumn forest background.
Logo with a large blue stylized 'e' and an orange 'd' intertwined, with smaller colorful shapes and text below.
Logo for the Aggression in Dogs Master Course, featuring a minimalistic black and white line drawing of a dog's head and text stating 'Certificate of Completion.'

Meet the Trainer

Abbie Robinson, CPDT-KA, FDM, FFCP

Abbie is a nonprofit marketing and communications professional located in Traverse City, Michigan, who discovered her love for animal training and behavior when she adopted her dog Luke in 2017. Since then, she has taught hundreds of group classes and private training sessions, fostered over 20 dogs and puppies for rescue organizations, and regularly gives her time to animal welfare organizations as a volunteer and educator.

Abbie is dedicated to helping families navigate life with their dogs using creative and scientific training methods. Her approach to dog training and behavior modification includes classical and operant conditioning, counterconditioning, desensitization, pattern games, enrichment programs, and more to help clients find the best possible solutions. Whether she’s working with a new puppy or a behaviorally complex adult dog, Abbie’s goal is always the same: to ensure every dog and family feels seen and supported.

Her commitment to ethical, compassionate care drives her to pursue extensive continuing education, ensuring the families she works with receive training using the newest, most effective methods, and the highest level of support in an unregulated industry. Abbie frequently takes courses through leading training organizations including the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, Karen Pryor Academy, OneMind Dogs, and more.

When she isn’t helping clients or diving into the latest behavior science, you can find Abbie staying active with her three dogs. She enjoys camping, hiking, traveling, gardening, cooking, baking, reading, and yoga. She also loves dog sports and trains and competes in scent work, dock diving, frisbee, barn hunt, agility, rally, and trick training!

Abbie’s certifications and education include:

Work With Abbie
Work With Abbie
Logo for Certified Professional Dog Trainer knowledge assessed, featuring the initials 'CPDT-KA' in black and orange.
Fear Free Certified Professional logo
A woman playing fetch with a dog at a park on a cloudy day. The dog is catching a yellow frisbee, and the woman is smiling and dressed warmly in a beige and black jacket and a mustard-yellow beanie.
A woman wearing a white t-shirt and jeans is petting a tall brown dog. There is a TV displaying a presentation about ACE Free Work behind her, and some tree branches and dog enrichment items on the floor.
A black and white dog jumping into the air next to a smiling woman wearing sunglasses, with a man standing in the background, outdoors on a sunny day with trees and clouds in the sky.
A woman in athletic clothing and sunglasses is training a white dog in scent detection outdoors near a brick wall, with green and orange cones on the ground.

Meet the Mutts

A small black and tan dachshund standing on a tree stump in a forest during autumn, with colorful fall foliage and sunlight in the background.

Mabel

Mini Dachshund, Cruelty Survivor, and Beauty Queen
Happy black and brown dog sitting on rocks with tongue out, overlooking a scenic landscape of water, islands, and greenery from a high vantage point. The dog also has a white chest and white paws.
A white dog with pointy ears sitting on a paved sidewalk in a park at sunset, wearing a teal-colored harness and collar, with trees and a lamppost in the background.

Tito

Luke

Supermutt, Lover of Snacks, and Expert Sniffer
Bully Breed Mix, Foster Fail, and Athlete Extraordinaire