About Our Trainers

Susie Aga

Owner/Trainer

Susie Aga CPDT is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. She is also a Certified Canine Behavior & Training Specialist receiving her certification from Triple Crown Academy, a world leader in pet education. She has 20 years experience with dogs and is recommended by over 45 Veterinarians in the Metro Atlanta area.

Susie was chosen by Turner Broadcasting to be their featured "Pet Expert". You can find her on their web site: Pet Expert Story.

From there, follow Susie Aga’ Pet Expert link and it will take you to puppy/doggie helpful hints page. Susie Aga  hosted  a talk show called “The Animal Hour" for four years. It was on every Tuesday at 2pm on AM 1620. You can listen to archived shows on-line at www.radiosandysprings.com . 

Susie is the “Pet Expert” for Pet Doctor Online. She is interviewed by veterinarians regarding many behavioral issues and their solutions. The discussions are directed towards behavioral problems such as separation anxiety, cage aggression, and other hard to define issues facing many owners and their dogs. The shows are also archived for your convenience. Susie Aga has been a reoccurring pet expert for Nancy Grace on her new television show “Swift Justice“. She was also chosen to be the pet expert by the Weather Channel’s new show “Lightning Rod” where she discusses the effects of weather on dogs.

Susie is  a regular expert guest on Dog Cast Radio based out of London England and listened to worldwide. Listen to an interview on “aggression”.  Susie specializes in hard to define behavioral issues, fear induced behavior all all levels of aggression management.

Being a Behavioral Specialist, Susie was chosen on several occasions to be a guest speaker at Georgia State University. She is a recurring guest lecturer for the psychology department at the university. Her lectures on canine behavior and the similarities of conditioning behaviors in humans and animals are often included in the professors testing at the end their semesters. Susie has also been asked by several other schools such as The Howard School, in Decatur, to be the pet expert. She has been chosen to teach the professors at the school, behavior modification techniques she developed as well as training them in her obedience courses with their personal dogs. Susie was a columnist for Petlanta, Dog’s Life and Dog World magazines where she wrote a monthly article on training, pet tips, and other helpful hints for people and their pet. Her Articles on training and behavioral issue and their solutions are published on various web sites.

Susie is a AKC registered Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. She was asked to join HOPE an Animal Assisted Crisis Response organization. She was a team leader and evaluator for the organization and managed handlers and their dogs on disaster call outs for four years. Her dog Hezikia , recently retired,  was a certified therapy dog and frequented hospitals, assisted living homes and anywhere else comfort from a dog might be needed.

Susie was the head trainer for the film “A Dog Named Fifi” featured at this years 2008 Film Festivals. Watch the web site for information on the doggie fashion show, where Susie will be the featured “Animal Wrangler” airing on the Turner Broadcasting Network [TBS] shown nationwide. Ms. Aga dog training skills have been seen on a multiple  national commercials.   To name a few companies that have employed her serivces as head dog wrangler in their promotion and commercials  are Burger King, Purina and American Floorin . 

She has completed her certification for CERTS and is an active member of The Community Emergency Response Team of Georgia. Aga is a certified FEMA [Federal emergency Management Agency] responder as well.     Susie is a member in good standing with the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Her training includes, but is not limited to Basic through Advanced Obedience, Off Leash, Agility, Aggression Management and Behavior Modification. Susie’s specialized training includes Severe Behavioral and Aggression cases, Special Odor Detection, and Tracking Work.

She has six rescue dogs of her own and donates much of her time and services to Rescue Organizations. You can truly say her life has gone to the dogs and that is just the way SHE WANTS IT!

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judge by the way its animals are treated” – M. Gandhi

Sonja Thiels

Manager of Atlanta Dog Trainer Pet Resort/Agility Trainer/Aggression Management Rehabilitator

Sonja has been with Atlanta Dog Trainer for some time and we are proud to have her manage our new project, The Pet Resort in Cumming. We look for many wonderful years ahead for this growing partnership.

Sonja is the Board and Train Department Director and Head Trainer for all the dogs that come into our pet resort board and train program. Sonja has excellent dog training skills and she has a natural talent for reading dog language. She is constantly striving to continue her education through, seminars, workshop and volunteering for any project she may learn or assist.

Sonja has an inborn love for all animals but especially dogs and horses. She has been studying dog behavior and behavior modification for 15 years and horses for 35 years. She is a graduate of Animal Behavior College and is a certified behavior modification and obedience training specialist. Sonja is an obedience trainer and aggression management rehabilitator. Sonja is also a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. She holds master level titles in agility with her dogs Neige (retired) and Alaia, and is training Micah, her German Shepherd, as her 3^rd agility competition dog. Sonja also does sheep herding with Maggie Rose her Border collie and Rally with Harry the Terror.

Sonja teaches agility classes and they are such a part of her client’s lives now we have the advanced class run continuously for almost 4 years due to her warm and nurturing style. She is very involved and all of her level classes are constantly meeting at agility trials as a group of friends and competitors. Sonja will help anyone whether they join a class for fun or are looking for a sport to continue with their dog. Her amazing teaching skills will captivate even the most novice owners and their dogs to want more…

She has broad knowledge working with a diversity of dogs in a variety of situations. She has been a foster mom for various rescue groups in Atlanta. Sonja also donates her time to help abused and neglected dogs. She volunteers her training services to help shelter dogs so they can be placed in good homes.

Sonja lives with her 5 dogs Neige, Alaia, Harry, Maggie Rose and Micah.

Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.
Roger Caras

Trish Carpenter

Behavioral and Obedience Trainer, Aggression Management Co-Trainer

Trish Carpenter has spent the past 10 years as a tireless animal advocate through several rescue organizations, primarily Labrador Friends of the South. She has worked with dozens of dogs in order to help them transition from a shelter environment into a stable family life. Her specialty has been socializing dogs into life as family members, and she & her husband have fostered over 90 dogs. Trish has also worked closely with local animal shelters in order to temperament-test dogs to assess which ones are good candidates for adoption. She is experienced in severe & hard to manage behavioral issues, such as separation anxiety, different types of aggression, fear- based behaviors, & behavioral problems that are the result of little or no socialization in the puppies’ crucial learning stages.

Trish works with owners and their dogs in private or in-home lessons, for either behavioral issues or basic obedience. She is the Aggression Management Co-trainer along with Ms. Aga, & works with hard to define, severe aggression cases & other dangerous behaviors that require the skills to be able to manage aggressive dogs. Trish also works with autistic individuals in order to assist them in learning how to care for their own companion dog, as well as coordinating the Hands for Hire program where adults with disabilities learn to train and care for dogs. She participates with Ms. Aga in her lectures on Behavioral Psychology at Georgia State University, and she is responsible for Atlanta Dog Trainer's puppy classes. Trish is also a Certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. She will continue her efforts with rescue groups, including evaluations & assessments of shelter dogs, as well as follow-up training for those who are adopted.

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.” – Unknown

Rick Carpenter

Canine Behavoir and Training Specialist

I have been involved with dog rescue and dog training for almost seven years and I have been a part of Atlanta Dog Trainer for two years.

My wife Trish and I have fostered over 90 dogs over a span of seven years with gratifying results; as they have been rescued from a shelter and paired up with new owners. Our job has been to take these dogs from the instability of their previous life and socialize them enough to go into their forever home.

I started as a Board and Train trainer for Atlanta Dog Trainer and have branched into doing private lessons at our Freemanville location as well as in-home, private sessions. Additionally, I teach group classes throughout the year, and am continuing to broaden my experience by attending “Nose Workshops,” as well as other educational seminars. I will receive my Canine Good Citizen Evaluator certification soon as well.

I have a particular interest in the more willful breeds such as the “bully” breed dogs. Their particular plight is always a challenge but shaping them with the correct training is rewarding. I am also involved with a group of mentally challenged individuals who are learning to care for and train dogs at “Hands For Hire.” As part of my responsibilities to this group during their weekly “dog club,” I introduce dogs of various breeds and personalities in order to educate the clients in the proper care and handling of all dogs.

With dogs being so much a part of our lives, it is its own reward to see a happier dog and a happier family through our training.

Crystal Turner

Canine Behavoir and Training Specialist

Crystal Turner became a part of our team in July at our Freemanville Road location as a daycare associate and boarding manager. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, she started pet-sitting and dog walking at a young age. She worked at a Daycare/Boarding facility in East Atlanta before joining our team and she brought her experience dealing with rescue/foster dogs, daycare and boarding, and managing aggressive dogs. Crystal is constantly trying to learn as much as she can about canine behavior, aggression management and obedience training. She has rescued multiple dogs, and is the proud mama of Boo, a rescued Cockapoo, and Cubby, a rescued Border Collie. Crystal spends her spare time reading and working on obedience with her dogs.

Crystal is blessed to be able to spend her time doing what she loves and to be surrounded by dogs on a daily basis. She is extremely excited at any opportunity to learn more about dog behavior and psychology, and looks forward to continually adding her skills into the mix as well as learning new training methods at Atlanta Dog Trainer.

Ji Kim

Canine Behavoir and Training Specialist

Ji Kim is our Atlanta Dog Trainer Pet Resort Obedience and Behavioral Trainer. He works with our Board and Train clients, group and private lessons and in-home training sessions.

Ji has had an affection for dogs as long as he can remember. He has grown up with at least one dog as part of his family since he was a child. Ji understands how the bond between a person and dog leads to a lifelong relationship shared between both. Ji is the most recent trainer to join the Atlanta Dog Trainer team, having apprenticed with Susie Aga through the Atlanta Dog Trainer Academy.

Ji really enjoys working with different Rescue Organizations to rehabilitate dogs that need a little guidance to show their charming characteristics.and can often be found around town with his furry companion Nina walking in Piedmont Park, Leita Thompson Dog Park, Parkgrounds, Chattahoochee River Parks, or hiking and camping in North Georgia’s mountains. Ji believes that a dog that can go anywhere will go everywhere with it’s human companion

Ji Kim is our Atlanta Dog Trainer Pet Resort Obedience and Behavioral Trainer. He works with our Board and Train clients, group and private lessons and in-home.