About Us
Peach on a Leash is a full-service dog training company based in Alpharetta, Georgia and serving Metro Atlanta and its northern suburbs, from Midtown to Cumming.
Utilizing the most modern, science-based training techniques, head trainer and pet behavior expert Alex Sessa, CPDT-KA, CDBC and her team of certified, highly experienced trainers will deliver the results you’re looking for.
We provide your dog with a positive and effective learning experience that provides quick results and dramatically improves behavior while strengthening your bond with your dog.
Regardless of your dog’s breed or behavior issues, you’ll be amazed at how quickly your dog responds to our training.
Meet Our Team
Owner & Head Trainer: Alex Sessa
Peach on a Leash owner and head trainer, Alex Sessa, (formerly Andes) CPDT-KA, CDBC, VSPDT is a pet behavior expert who has been training dogs and studying dog behavior for nearly a decade.
Alex is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a certification that requires hundreds of logged training hours and passing a comprehensive exam. She is also one of only five trainers in the state of Georgia to receive full certification as a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. This high-level certification requires a rigorous application process that’s assessed by a panel of experts in dog training and behavior, and you must demonstrate the knowledge and ability to handle complex behavior cases in order to be certified.
Additionally, she has attained the prestigious Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer (VSPDT) certification, and has successfully completed Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course.
She attended the University of Georgia, where she began honing her training skills while helping improve the behavior of local shelter dogs to reduce euthanasia rates. She graduated with honors in 2012 and worked as both a pet adoption counselor and an assistant dog trainer before being offered a job with celebrity dog trainer Victoria Stilwell of Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog.”
Alex traveled the world with Victoria and had the opportunity to learn from her in all facets of training and behavior for five years before deciding to pursue her dream of founding Peach on a Leash. Their work together allowed Alex the opportunity to work hands-on with both pet dogs and working dogs, including police dogs and accelerant detection dogs.
As the founder and owner of Peach on a Leash, Alex manages our training program as well as our team of ten exceptional, highly qualified training and behavior experts. She leads the training for our VIP Puppy Development program, and has provided professional training for celebrities, athletes, CEOs, corporate therapy dog programs, and other high-profile clientele. She has been featured on HLN, WSB-TV, 11Alive, and various print publications.
Alex serves as both a faculty member and a mentor for students in the Victoria Stilwell Dog Training Academy. She also serves on the advisory board for the online dog training platform Gentle Beast, in addition to developing their training curriculum and serving as the primary on-camera training talent. She regularly consults for other training companies, public safety departments, corporations and non-profit organizations needing guidance with their dog training and behavior-related programs.
These experiences have helped her to become one of the most studied, well-rounded trainers in the area, and her results-oriented training utilizes effective and humane techniques that are backed by the latest modern behavioral science.
She shares her home with her husband Will, who is a former police K-9 officer, their two children, and their beloved dogs.
Media or Consulting Inquiries: Please email info@peachonaleash.com
Certified Trainer: Abby Freeman
For the last six years, Abby has worked in various industries in the pet world, from running pet supply stores to running a doggie daycare. Working in these facets has made her passionate about helping pet owners find the right solutions for their pets.
Abby is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a certification that requires hundreds of logged training hours and passing a comprehensive exam.
Certified Trainer: Amelia Cosmas
Certified Trainer Amelia Cosmas, CPDT-KA is a passionate dog trainer and puppy expert. Amelia is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a certification that requires hundreds of logged training hours and passing a comprehensive exam. After Graduating With Distinction from the prestigious Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training, Amelia was hired by her Academy mentor as a trainer. While working in the nursery school at her mentor’s facility, Amelia trained countless 8-16 week old puppies, taught group classes and trained privately in client’s homes.
Certified Trainer: Ashley Haley
Ashley is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a certification that requires hundreds of logged training hours and passing a comprehensive exam.
Ashley has been a dog lover since birth, spending her childhood with a Golden Retriever and a Rough Collie. At a young age, the many breed variations of dogs fascinated her, encouraging her to watch dog shows and buy breed books. But it was her first dog as an adult that piqued her interest in training and canine behavior.
Certified Trainer: Ashley Nunnelly
Ashley began raising service dog puppies when she was 19- and when her first one graduated and she met it’s handler, she realized that helping to create fantastic relationships between humans and their dogs was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life!
Ashley graduated with distinction from the Karen Pryor Professional Trainers course, received a graduate certificate from the University of Washington in Applied Animal Behavior and worked as a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor for 8 years before joining the Peach on a Leash team.
Ashley loves to learn all she can about training and loves to teach pets and their people!
Certified Trainer: Courtney Baird
Courtney has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. It was during that time that she found her passion for working with dogs, while also having the incredible experience of working with wild animals like Samango monkeys and smaller crawlers like rhinoceros beetles!
Courtney is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, as well as a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.
Certified Trainer: Danielle Smith
Danielle Smith is a certified professional dog trainer with over 20 years of experience working with dogs. She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Danielle got her start in the animal shelter world, furthering her knowledge by working for the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab Utah. In 2018, she and her husband moved to Atlanta where she dedicated two years managing a local rescue center. Danielle and Alex’s paths crossed in different professional ways since moving to Atlanta. Danielle had started her own training business but jumped at the opportunity to learn and grow with Alex so when Alex offered her a spot on the team, she couldn’t say no!
With an infectious passion for helping owners and their dogs build better communication lines – Danielle is fully committed to aiding both shelter dogs and those who have found their forever homes achieve their goals. She loves seeing a client’s eyes light up when they realize their dog can do something right and hearing the excitement in their voice when they tell people how proud they are of their dog. She’s continually looking for ways to grow her knowledge base for the benefit of her clients.
At home, Danielle lives with her husband and their four rescue pups; Rover (a Dachshund mix), Vader (a Lab/Pit mix), Cora (an English Mastiff) and Millie (a French Bulldog Mix).
Practice Manager: Elycia Tenney
Elycia is our Practice Manager and a CPDT-KA Certified Professional Dog Trainer, an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, a member of the Central Florida Force-Free Trainers Network, and an active volunteer at shelters and rescues across Central Florida. It’s Elycia’s passion and pursuit to strengthen the relationships between pets and their guardians by fostering better communication between them without the use of pain, fear, or intimidation.
After an early start training her family’s Labrador, Dakota, in elementary school, Elycia began training professionally at eighteen years old. And Elycia will forever be grateful for her Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Hannah, who started her journey of reward-based training and was the most gleaming, joyful example of the power of kindness and patience.
Certified Trainer: Frankie Jackson
Frankie recently emigrated from the UK where she had been working as a behavior consultant for a veterinary practice. She attended the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where she received her bachelor’s degree in Zoology with a focus on evolutionary psychology. During her degree she spent some time at The Wildheart Trust helping to provide appropriate enrichment for big cats rescued from the illegal pet trade.
Frankie is a Certified Behavior Consultant through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, an advanced behavior certification requiring hundreds of documented behavior consulting hours and a comprehensive exam.
Certified Trainer: Julia Skrotzki
Julia is a CPDT-KA, VSA-CDT trainer. Having worked closely with owner Alex Sessa for over 4 years, she shares a commitment for achieving excellent results using compassionate training methods supported by the most up-to-date behavioral science.
A Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, Julia is also a graduate with distinction from the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training and Behavior. These achievements come after logging hundreds of training hours and passing comprehensive exams. She is dedicated to continual studies and seminars designed to progressively enhance her training methods.
Certified Trainer: Kailin Olufs
Kailin grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and has been a lifelong animal lover. Before college, she enjoyed summer jobs such as kennel attendant at a veterinary hospital and daycare attendant at a dog daycare. Kailin then got her Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana.
After graduating, she traveled to eastern Montana, Peru, Texas and Idaho working as a wildlife technician. She has gathered data on hundreds of avian species, small mammals, large predators like wolves, bears, and cougars, ocelots in Peru, and livestock guardian dogs. It wasn’t until she moved back to Chicago, however, that she fostered, then adopted, her reactive dog, Boo, and discovered her fascination with canine behavior and training.
Certified Trainer: Mandy Grace
Mandy has transformed her lifelong obsession with dogs, psychology, and the science of learning into a training career which began in her home state of North Carolina. After adopting a dog who had above average behavioral requirements and catching the training bug, she took the plunge to become a professional in 2013, and worked at the largest positive reinforcement training company in Raleigh, NC. Over the years, Mandy fulfilled roles as a Board & Train Trainer and a Lead Trainer in the Doggie Dayschool program, then a Class Instructor and the Office Manager for the company.
Mandy earned her CPDT-KA in 2017 after logging many hundred hours of hands-on instruction and passing a comprehensive exam.
Certified Trainer: Mandy Foster
Mandy got her start in the dog training and behavior world when she became involved with a local rescue and realized that dogs were surrendered for solvable issues. This experience was what moved her into starting her own business to help dogs and their humans live fulfilling and happy lives together.
Mandy previously owned a successful dog behavior and training business in the Augusta, GA area. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). She is also a member of the Pet Professional Guild, The Association for Fear-Free Pet Professionals. Mandy also has additional certifications as a Fear Free Trainer (CFFT), Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI) and Certified Canine Fitness Coach (CCFC).
To reach her goal of treating the whole dog, she also has a Master Class Certification in Canine Nutrition and completed the Aggression in Dogs Master Class. She also enjoys teaching others about dog behavior and served as a Mentor with CATCH Canine Trainers Academy.
Mandy and her husband Mike have four dogs, Ellie, Neo, Pepper, and Storm.
Certified Trainer: Taylor Reardon
Taylor is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a certification that requires hundreds of logged training hours and passing a comprehensive exam. She has also successfully completed Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs Master Course and is an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.
Taylor graduated from Atlanta Dog Trainer’s Certified Training Academy. There, she learned to use effective methods of positive, science-based dog training for puppy manners, household obedience, reactivity, and aggression. She completed the most advanced course to train dogs with phobic and fear-based behaviors. She then worked as a professional dog trainer for a local training company before coming on board with Peach on a Leash.
Certified Trainer: Yasmin Baylor
Joining us virtually from the Midwest is Yasmin Baylor, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA, CSAT! Yasmin is a graduate of the internationally-esteemed Karen Pryor Academy, the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and Malena DeMartini’s Separation Anxiety for Professionals Program. She is our exclusive virtual trainer at Peach on a Leash.
Yasmin provides in-person training courses in her hometown. She also serves as a board member at-large and a training consultant for Paws Humane Society. Years of experience have helped her to develop a style that is calm, confident, and patient. Teaching a family to better understand their dog, and watching as they build fulfilling relationships together is such a rewarding experience. Being part of that journey is the highlight of her career.
Yasmin’s special interests and experiences range from puppy raising, adolescent and adult dog training to reactivity, fear, anxiety, aggression, separation anxiety and everything in between!
Our Philosophy
We are passionate about staying up-to-date on the latest modern behavioral science. Our methods are rooted in positive reinforcement, providing effective and long-lasting results without causing your dog any fear or pain. Just like those in the medical community take a pledge to “do no harm,” we make the same promise to our clients and their dogs. That means consistently providing you the fastest, most effective results possible, and without sacrificing ethics in the process.
We do not utilize prong, choke, or remote collars in training. We instead guide dogs into making appropriate choices, implement discipline strategies that are fair and effective without being painful or scary, and set clear and consistent boundaries, providing you with the results you’re looking for without frightening your dog in the process.
You don’t need harsh training equipment to achieve the results you’re looking for – you just need someone with the skills and experience it takes to train using the most modern methods!
Want more information on our training methods? Read this blog we wrote on the subject.
