About Us

Johnnie Sikes is a United States Navy Combat Veteran and retired as a Chief Petty Officer after serving 24 years flying in H-60 Series helicopters performing Search and Rescue. As a former Search and Rescue Swimmer, Johnnie’s passion lives on through the motto “So Others May Live”. His training philosophy focuses on positive reinforcement and ultimately to help both canine and human counterparts thrive in health and wellness. Johnnie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from University of Maryland Global Campus and is working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Johnnie has a history of rescuing dogs and discovered his passion to train dogs while working with his own rescue, a pit mix (Ginger). He is canine CPR trained and currently working towards becoming a Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Johnnie has been with Arfordable Dog Training for over a year and has had great success in training behavioral cases, therapy dogs and service dogs. Johnnie’s ultimate goal is to focus his training on Service and Therapy Dogs for Veterans and Trauma Survivors and we’re so happy to have him with us!

Hi, my name is Dorian however, everyone calls me Dori. I’m a born and raised Texan although I did tour Madison, Wisconsin to finish high school. As quickly as I could, I made my way back to New Braunfels, Texas.

I have two crazy kiddos that I hold dear to my heart, Victoria and Vanessa. Trust me, you’ll hear stories about them so bare with me. If I’m not talking about them, then I’ll be talking about my fur babies, Leya and Julia.

During my career, I managed a kids indoor inflatable bouncy house business then moved into a flooring business as an expeditor for a little over 4 years. I loved my job but never felt complete until I found Arfordable Dog Training. At ADT, I feel right at home. You will see alot of me helping out trainers, at the front desk or even taking the doggos out for walks.

My main goal is to one day become a trainer myself. In my spare time, I love to be outdoors whether its going for a hike, kayaking, bike riding or just walking around flea market, you can always catch me outside.

Dro grew up in a military family in Anchorage, Alaska. During his youth, he enjoyed attending training classes with working breed such as Rottweilers and Shepherds. In 2004, he joined the Air Force as an Ammo Troop and served for over 6 years. Once he transitioned out of the military, he did a complete 180 and became a professional dog trainer in 2011.

In recent years, Dro graduated from Texas State in 2020 with a BGS degree: emphasis on Communication and Psychology. With his academic background, he has been able to apply those concepts to clients and dogs from all walks of life. Teaching others how to see and react to behavioral changes in their dogs’ attitude brings a feeling of accomplishment. Being around dogs and working with clients reignited his passion for training after a traumatic brain injury.

When he’s not training, Dro enjoys riding his motorcycle through the hill country and spending as much time as he can with his 4 year old pup, Denali.

Mara Eck is an Active Duty Army Officer in the Military Police Corps and a part-time Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Mara holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Troy State University and a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice from University of Pittsburgh.

Mara has been passionate about animals and especially dogs her whole life and has volunteered at the Hawaii Humane Society where she became a foster failure and adopted her “love bug” Leila (Pit/Airedale mix), who is an AKC Canine Good Citizen. Mara has has trained three of her own dogs (Allie, Leila, & Makana) dating back to 1999 and she loved it so much that she went to Animal Behavior College in California in 2015 and became a Certified Dog Trainer. Mara trains dogs in Puppy101, Basic Obedience, Intermediate Obedience, Advance Obedience, Agility, Trick, and she is an AKC Canine Good Citizen certifier. Mara is also Canine CPR Trained.

Mara’s next goal and passion is to train Service Dogs for Veterans and First Responders and to learn and train dogs that have behavior issues. Mara will be retiring from the Army in October 2022 after 31 years and will be able to pursue her passion of dog training full time.

Sierra has always had an interest in working with dogs from the time that she was little. In high school, Sierra took many classes that revolved around animal science and veterinary medicine as well as competing on teams that focused on veterinary science.

Sierra found her love for dog training in 2016 with an organization called Guide Dogs for the Blind. In total she has fostered and trained seven dogs for this organization with one becoming a seeing eye dog, one becoming a therapy dog, and two currently training. As of 2021 Sierra joined the leadership team for guide dogs and manages over twenty student raisers and their puppies. In 2020 Sierra took a position at Petsmart and was the head trainer of her store for two years until May of 2022 when she took a position at Arfordable Dog Training.

Along with her guide dog puppies, Sierra has a black lab named Amiri who enjoys swimming, hiking, and tubing (yes tubing) during their free time. Sierra is currently pursuing an Associates Degree in Business and has plans to get her Bachelors in Psychology.

Isabelle originally started her career with dogs in the veterinary field. She has always had a passion to help pets in need and strived to get as much hands on knowledge as possible. Between hours interning at a local vet clinic and volunteering mucking stalls at a small horse barn, she helped raise and train a variety of species. From mice and rabbits, to goats, sheep, and horses, she enjoyed training them all! As much as she loved tending to wounds and assisting with vaccinations, nothing could beat the joy of training her previously fearful livestock to heel happily by her side. When time allowed, she even enjoyed trick training her goats and sheep to place on platforms and paw at the ground.

Isabelle continued on to Texas A&M to pursue an animal science degree. She was volunteering for a service dog organization when she herself got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and began searching for her own diabetic alert dog. Shortly after adopting Haribo, a German shepherd mix from Animal Care Services, she decided to move back to San Antonio to pursue her new passion in animal behavior.

Isabelle never stopped learning, gaining even more certifications and completing online courses while quarantining in 2020 including becoming a Certified Fear Free Trainer, CGC evaluator, and Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Isabelle believes that training shouldn’t just be a necessity when owning pets, but an fun activity for everyone.

Shortly after getting Haribo’s Canine Good Citizen Certification, the duo continued having fun earning trick dog titles and experimenting with dog sports. Although Haribo was unable to become Isabelle’s service dog for medical reasons, together they have competed in Fast Cat, scent work, agility, and dock diving! Isabelle added her papillon to the pack in early 2021. Aptly named, “WiFi” is a natural in the agility ring and can’t wait to show everyone his full potential alongside his sister.

Lisa Anderson is a graduate from The Behrend College at Penn State University with a degree in Psychology. Recently, she graduated from Animal Behavior College and is currently working towards her CPDT-KA through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, Inc. Her training philosophy focuses on positive reinforcement and understanding the dog as an individual with individual needs. Throughout her training, she has worked with many dogs of different temperaments and has a passion for rescues and misunderstood dogs.

We couldn’t be more excited to have her. Please help me welcome her to the team!

Photo is courtesy of Paw Prints – Pet Portraits by Charlene – Pittsburgh Pet Photographer.