About

Debby Kay, CDT, CDTA, PDTI,  was one of the early trainers of search and rescue dogs in North America. As an outgrowth of her volunteer work, she eventually left her position as a research scientist with the Federal Government to become the training director of International Detector Dogs Ltd. In this capacity, she trained the first toxic waste detection dog and was an early pioneer of using dogs to help ecologists, geologists and field biologists find targeted specimens for their research.

She has taught classes for dog professionals and amateurs alike all over the world. As a contractor, Debby helped to develop and train the first classes of dogs and instructors for the fledgling ATF explosive dog program in Front Royal, Va.

She has been breeding dogs under the Chilbrook prefix since 1969, with dogs from her program earning hundreds of titles in the field, conformation, tracking, agility and obedience rings. In addition, hundreds of her dogs work as service dogs for the blind and physically disabled, as seizure and medical alert dogs, and as assistance dogs for the autistic. They also serve as working members of police, security, and search and rescue organizations around the world.

Debby is an all breed conformation, obedience and hunt test judge.  She is the author of numerous books and conducts her popular Super Sniffer™ workshops on scent detection training around the world.