Hannah Cito

About

Originally from Alaska, Hannah moved to Colorado at the peak of COVID19 pursuing a career in military psychology, suicide prevention, and equine therapy. After a personal event followed by months of depression, Hannah realized a career in suicide prevention was not the right fit, and she wanted to return to an old love: everything canine. In her words, “I just want to get married, train dogs, and write books.” She consulted with her (unknown and soon-to-be) mother-in-law, a certified positive reinforcement (R+) trainer, who introduced Hannah to the force free dog training science. Hannah started by volunteering at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, CO. in the R+ behavior modification department, then completed the Dog Trainer Foundations course through the Karen Pryor Academy, the leader in R+, marker-based training. Shortly after, Hannah joined the team at Training Wheels, Colorado’s only specialized boarding facility for fearful, aggressive, and behaviorally sensitive dogs. She quickly moved from kennel attendant, to shift manager, to boarding coordinator, and finally, training assistant. While at Training Wheels, she was invited to and completed a beta internship program for trainers, designed and taught by mentor Jamie Flanagan KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA. At the same time, Hannah acquired her Fear Free Certified Professional trainer certification (FFCP) through Fear Free Pets and her Accredited Dog Trainer credential (IAABC-ADT) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. After her time at Training Wheels, Hannah spent over 500 hours implementing Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy for children living with autism. While working directly in ABA, she deepened her understanding of behavior, its functions, and effective skill acquisition and behavior change strategies. In the midst of the career chaos, Hannah met and married her wonderful husband, Mason, spent two short years with her reactive but sweet Labrador mix, Rosie, and moved to Nebraska to get away from the Denver Metro area. In her free time, Hannah enjoys spending time with Mason, training their parakeet Shadrach, and intending to write a WWI historical fiction trilogy to add to her list of three completed novels.