About Dog On It Training & Grooming

Lia is one of the owners and the head trainer of Dog On It. She has been training dogs for over 16 years and has experience working with a variety of breeds. Continuing her education on a regular basis is a priority to her, as is making sure that training is fun for both dog and owner. Dedicated to the humane treatment of animals, she focuses on strengthening the human-animal bond through training. Lia is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA), an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator as well as a Therapy Dog Evaluator and handler. She lives in Grovetown, GA with her child, Arlo, and their dog Opie.

Tiana’s goal has always been to have a career working with animals. By the age of 12 she was pet sitting for friends and family and by 16 she began working at a pet store. She enjoyed working in pet retail but wanted to explore other career paths in the pet industry. Over the years she has worked at dog daycares, grooming facilities, and veterinary clinics, developing a strong understanding of the industry as a whole and the best and most ethical ways to provide services for our pets. Today, Tiana lives in Maryland with her husband and their 3 children. She is earning her bachelor’s degree in Pre-Veterinary medicine at the University of Maryland and plans to apply to Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Theresa is an engineer who moved to the US from Austria. She became exposed to positive reinforcement training methods from a young age, as aversive equipment is illegal in Austria. Inspired by her dad who also trains dogs, she gained experience working with a variety of breeds, especially French and Belgian Shepherds. Theresa owns Tucker, a Chocolate Lab, and Flynn, a Carolina Dog mix, who are an inseparable duo. She is certified through CATCH Canine Trainers Academy (CCDT) and her motto is “Why do I work with dogs? Because I speak their language and I would love to teach you too!”.

Sonja grew up having close relationships with dogs and has never been without a canine companion. In 2015, she became interested in what it was about the human-canine relationship that helped her rescue dog, Lucy, recognize what she was asking without having formal training. She started researching training methods, specifically positive reinforcement. When she got her first German Shepherd, Elsa, she began working with Lia after becoming convinced that positive reinforcement was the best way to maintain and grow her relationships with her dogs. Two more dogs later, training is Sonja’s favorite part of the day! Currently, Sonja lives with cats Squeaky and Junebug, a German Shepherds (Arthur), and a Belgian Malinois (Rocco), both rescues. While she trains with all the dogs, Rocco keeps her especially busy, training in bite sports and dock diving. Sonja is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA).

Kayleigh found her passion for animals and training at a young age on the farm she grew up on. She would do “training walks” with her Labradors every morning before school, set up pretend agility courses in her backyard, and spent hours on end training her horses for shows. As an adult she began working in an animal shelter in Virginia and her dreams of making training a career became reality. She went through the Karen Pryor Academy Professional Dog Trainer course and dived into behavior modification work with the dogs at the shelter while also teaching group classes for dogs and their owners. Kayleigh moved to Georgia in 2023 with her husband, toddler, and small zoo (dog, cat, and horse). She loves helping pets and their owners become more confident in each other while helping them reach their training goals.

Becky has lived in the Augusta area since 1975. There has never been a time in her life when she did not have pets! Becky’s first experience with positive reinforcement training occurred in 2013 when she adopted a Lab puppy, and she has never looked back! later, she still enjoys training with both of her dogs, along with her grand dog, Baylor. She is currently working toward her first training certificate through the CATCH program. Becky’s most recent accomplishment is becoming certified in pet CPR and First Aid. She lives in Martinez with her husband, Sean, and their two dogs, Daisy and Cooper. They have two grown children and one grandson.

Elizabeth has always enjoyed having animals in her life! She is a Harlem native who received her vet assistant certification in 2022 and has been working with animals for as long as she has been able to work. Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her family, her boyfriend McKenzie and participating in training classes with her dogs, Hudson and Benson.