About The Dog Wizard Chattanooga

Cali has always loved animals. She grew up loving the Animal Planet network, and playing with the neighbor’s dogs. She begged her parents for a dog of her own, and when she was 10 years old her family got a golden doodle named “Buddy”. Cali and Buddy did everything together and Cali was motivated to learn everything about dog communication, even from this very young age.

Cali was working on her degree at the University of South Carolina in Journalism and Mass Communications when COVID-19 began. In the summer of 2020, she picked up “Dakoda”, an Australian cattle dog. Cali spent her free time working with a trainer to socialize, reduce leash reactivity, and mastered different outlets of enrichment for Dakoda so she would be a confident dog. She started implementing training methods as she researched more on her own with friends and family dogs and loved the rewards and positive communication that quality dog training provided. Cali wanted to dive further into training dogs professionally.

Communication with humans being her original field, her passion changed course to dog communication! Upon completing her degree in 2021, Cali began searching for jobs in her field. She looked up dog trainer opportunities and connected with The Dog Wizard, the rest was history. She enrolled in the Dog Wizard Academy for dog trainers in-training. While there, she mastered the balanced training methods The Dog Wizard utilizes. Her strengths in communications helps her as an educator, teaching clients how to properly communicate with their dogs. Soon after finishing Trainer Academy, she began working as an apprentice with the Chattanooga Dog Wizard team. She joined the Chattanooga Dog Wizard team as a fully certified trainer in 2022.

Originally from Georgia, Cali was drawn to Chattanooga’s beauty, hiking, incredible food, community, and the opportunity to train professionally under the Chattanooga team. Cali is excited to use her skills to help change the lives of dogs and their humans, just as training changed the life of hers and her dogs. Cali is a Certified AKC Trainer and a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals.

Director of Operations and co-owner Lauren Hayes assists The Dog Wizard Chattanooga in a multitude of facets. Lauren is certified with the AKC as a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator and Therapy Pet Evaluator through Therapy Pets Unlimited. Lauren’s love of animals has been evident since childhood. During her high school and college years, she earned experience working in vet clinics, volunteering at shelters, and taking her therapy dogs to visit assisted care facilities.

Lauren graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in Biological and Environmental sciences. She began her career teaching middle school and high school sciences with Hamilton County, and later transitioned into a professional position in Environmental Compliance in a microbiology lab. Wanting more freedom from the 9 to 5 jobs, she and her husband John launched a home-based rescue organization to rehabilitate and rehome abandoned and abused dogs, and later grew their organization into a full-time training career.

Supporting John’s training career over the years, she interacts directly with The Dog Wizard clientele while supporting group training classes and playing an active role in the customer service department. Lauren keeps the wheels turning behind the scenes and loves helping the dog owners of Chattanooga achieve their goals. “Human education is key to changing the dynamic between pets and their handlers. Dogs are so special to us because of their unconditional love, and the value they add to our lives is immeasurable. I love what I do with The Dog Wizard because I know we make a difference with each pet parent that comes through our door.”

Keila’s passion for dogs began at an early age in her hometown of Ringgold, GA. Growing up her family used to call her the “dog whisperer” since she always seemed to connect to any dog that crossed her path. Her first adopted rescue was very insecure and had a rough start in life. Being an animal lover, she knew that working with animals was what she wanted to pursue. Learning how to build her dog’s confidence and how to accept human companionship taught Keila how to communicate with dogs on a deeper level, and she wanted to learn more, resulting in further interest in understanding canine body language and behavior.

Keila began as early as possible working as a kennel tech in a freeplay daycare facility. For 4 years she earned hands-on experience in canine behavior. During this time she worked on coursework and graduated from Animal Behavior College as a Certified Dog Trainer, as well as certifications in Canine CPR and First Aid. Working with other local training facilities, she gained experience in puppy manners, behavior modification and basic obedience. With experience handling dogs over the past 15 years, and the past two years of Trainer Certification coursework, she is a welcome addition to the Chattanooga Dog Wizard team.

Keila’s passion is driven by the idea of improving the way a handler and their dog can communicate better. It truly makes the relationship so much better between the two! “The absolute best feeling I have ever had is when I teach someone’s dog how to do something correctly and the owner is beyond proud of the pup! Seeing how their eyes light up and say ‘I didn’t think they would ever get it!’ Being part of the growing relationship is the best gift anyone could ever ask for!”

Susan graduated from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in Business Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Early in her career, she was a photographer at Walt Disney World, where she met her husband, Anthony. They decided to move back to their hometown in Chattanooga, where she focused on developing further customer service skills in various hotels around the scenic city.

Susan was able to grow her business skills for many years, including other jobs in credit and billing. The position she once loved at a locally and family-owned concrete business was bought by a larger company, and she felt less at home.

Deciding what direction to go next, she considered what career would actually make her happy. Her love of dogs (and all other pets) helped her jump into the customer service side of the veterinary world. Working at the clinic she got to experience a variety of animals from dogs and cats, reptiles, and other exotic pets.

Every day at the animal clinic was an amazing experience, but it came with a lot of emotional hardship. Susan was introduced to The Dog Wizard as a client first. Her personal training experience with Kota, a husky mix who was surrendered at her clinic job and needed lots of love, healing and training, introduced her to a close knit team of trainers who shared the same passion about helping owners and dogs connect; a passion that was equally shared. When presented with the opportunity, she decided to join The Dog Wizard customer service team.

Born and raised in Chickamauga, GA, John Hayes was born into a family with working breed dogs. His interest in studying dog behavior began at a young age, with his grandfather’s dog “Pep”, who had a close bond with John. Pep was a border collie who did not allow certain people to get near John, and John wanted to know why. John Hayes’ dog training career over the last 10 years has blossomed from hobbyist training into various facets of the dog training community professionally. Aside from his strides helping families train their pets in obedience professionally, his time spent researching canine behavior and competition obedience provided the opportunity to begin service dog work. John was a member of a team in Knoxville who helped train the world’s first Addison’s Disease Alert dog. John has since gone on to train Therapy Dogs, PTSD Service Dogs, Emotional Support Animals, Police K9 Narcotic and Paraphernalia Detection dogs, Diabetic Alert, Psychiatric Alert and Support, Mobility and Autism support, and SAR dogs. He is also one of a limited number of trainers certified to train cancer detection dogs through the InSitu Foundation. John is an IACP Professional member, certified with the AKC for Canine Good Citizen. He is an AKC Judge, and the Chattanooga AKC Fit Dogs Club owner. He's certified to perform evaluations through Therapy Pets Unlimited, and Canine First Aid and CPR.

Brian had always had dogs in his life, and with frequent moves from state-to-state throughout his childhood, he developed an early understanding for dog behavior as he helped them acclimate to each new home. As a child, he had family Schnauzer/Poodle mixes, “Cookie", “Candy"", and later on “Mandy” and “Skippy”. As a college graduate he took in “Ginger”, a Boxer/Lab mix that was rescued off the streets of Denver. It wasn’t until Brian got his Belgian Malinois “Ripley” that it all started coming together. While he took a large part of training and learning about breeds in his earlier years, having a performance working dog sparked the passion to dive further into learning dog behavior on a deeper level.

As a nurse for over 16 years with experience in both the OR and ER, Brian traveled the country as a travel nurse. His dog Ginger was always by his side. Whether it was at a brewery, camping trip, cross country road trip, she was his right hand pal. Ginger lived a long and happy life long into her senior years. After she passed, Brian focused his efforts to find his ideal working-dog partner. He found the Belgian Malinois fascinating, and when the time was right, ""Ripley"" joined his family. The healthcare world changed significantly over the past few years, and Brian wanted to leave healthcare behind but still utilize his skills in a meaningful way. Ripley opened those doors. Training her, shaping high end competition-style obedience, and working with client dogs quickly became the life he'd dreamed to have.

Brian wants to use that passion to help owners and their dogs truly have their lives sync together. Whether they want that perfect heel to work in the ring, or just want their dog best friend sitting at a brewery patio with them, Brian believes that the cohesive relationship is the key to the picture-perfect life that all dog owners want when they grow their pet families. Brian is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals, and an AKC Certified trainer. He also enjoys earning certificates with Ripley, participating in AKC Scent Trials and tracking and trailing.

When he isn’t training dogs, Brian enjoys riding his bike, brewery hopping, tending to his vegetable garden, and attending CFC soccer games.

Marco has been fascinated by dogs since before he could walk. His first dog, Eva, was born the same month he was, and they grew up together for 14 years. She lived a long and happy life, and the lessons she taught him growing up introduced him to many aspects of dog behavior, from body language to communication. Eva helped spark Marco’s interest in dog training. For years following her passing, Marco had dogs coming in and out of his family home, ranging from rescues, strays, dangerous dogs, happy go lucky dogs, you name it, Marco has seen it!

When Marco was ready to adopt his own personal dog, he found an Australian Shepherd and named her Amidala, or “Ami” for short. He has been dedicated to helping Amidala become a perfect example of how dog training can help a dog live a happy and structured life! Nowadays, she helps him train other dogs in the field. Whether it be aggressive dogs, or even well balanced dogs, Ami is there to lend a helping paw.

Marco’s introduction into the professional dog training world started with work at a Doggy Daycare that was in partnership with The Dog Wizard in 2021. While there, he started developing his craft with a deeper dive into dog behavior, body language, and social cues. He became heavily invested in how dogs learn and why they do the things they do. He found, through months of observation and hands-on work with a variety of dog personalities, that dogs do everything for a reason. Finding ways to positively motivate dogs to shape behaviors helped Marco’s introduction to the balanced and scientifically based training methods that The Dog Wizard offers.

The Chattanooga Dog Wizard’s owner, John Hayes, was Marco’s trainer during his apprenticeship before working at The DC Dog Wizard. After deciding to move to Chattanooga and work with our Chattanooga team, we welcome Marco to Chattanooga from the DC area. He's a passionate and knowledgeable trainer, and cannot wait to help countless dogs and families live their best lives together here in the Scenic City!

Marco is an AKC Certified Trainer. He has experience ranging from basic obedience to aggression rehab and behavior modification. In his free time, he enjoys writing music and visiting local trails and parks.

Mel has always loved her dogs and worked her way into the pet industry while working at a local doggie daycare shortly after moving to Chattanooga, TN. Mel is from Tampa, Florida originally, where she went to school to earn a Bachelor's of Science in Geology. Wanting to be closer to the rock climbing scene, Chattanooga was the perfect place to call her new home! Mel spent time volunteering at her local Humane Society during high school, and also completed hours of research for canine nutrition and allergy control. When she rescued her personal dog, ""Nellie"", a one and a half year old pit/poodle mix, she found that Nellie had dietary restrictions and food related allergies that required special attention, and Mel was curious to understand the finer points of canine nutrition. Nellie also had some behavioral issues early on with minor leash reactivity, and over time, Mel has worked to build her confidence and overcome hurdles that come with many rescued pets.

Mel started her journey as a dog trainer as many do, by researching methods and working with her personal dog. She learned aspects of balanced training methods and tools, and while working with pet daycare centers, her curiosity continued to set her on a trajectory towards earning apprenticeship hours with a professional dog training team. Mel was introduced to The Dog Wizard Chattanooga through a past client & mutual friend. After several months of completing courses with The Dog Wizard & completing her hands-on training with our team as an apprentice trainer, our team gladly welcomes Mel to our crew of trainers!

Her background, along with her passion and talent for dog behavior, provides her a unique skill set of problem solving and critical thinking that every dog trainer needs. Mel is fully versed in several training techniques that help show our clients the most effective way to communicate with their fluffy family members, and is a member of the IACP, along with her AKC Evaluator certificate. In her freetime, Mel can be found training and rock climbing, and spending time with Nellie out in the Scenic City.