Doug Pfaff

Owner / Trainer

Doug grew up in Greenfield Indiana in an animal-loving home where dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, reptiles and even a free-roaming chicken named "Chicken Pox" could be encountered at various times. Most of his adult life was pent in Virginia where he worked in sales, sales training, coaching and management roles. A move back home to Indiana in recent years brought the opportunity to purchase the Dog Training Elite Franchise and the chance to work with pups and their owners. He takes pride in bringing a new standard of Elite Dog Training to the Indianapolis area and to improve the quality of life for dogs and the humans who love them.

When he's not training dogs and their humans, Doug hangs out with his own 2 pups. Olive, a 5 year old Vizsla and Bean, a 2 year old Yellow lab, who's also his running buddy. Doug and his partner Tom, live in the Meridian Hills area of Indianapolis. When he can find time, he loves to spend time with his 2 granddaughters in Virginia and 2 grandsons in Indiana.

Tessa Smith

Director of Operations

Tessa is a native Hoosier who grew up in Southern Indiana. Her love of animals began with the family pet, a pot-bellied pig named Max. After earning her degree in Business Administration and wanting to do something that helped satisfy her love of animals, Tessa joined Dog Training Elite of Indianapolis. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching documentaries and traveling with her daughter.

Olive

Demo Dog, Semi-retired

Olive is a 5 year old Vizsla who lives to chase the furry critters that find their way into her yard. She's been known to go after squirrels, raccoons, foxes, deer and even an occasional coyote! When she's not working at Dog Training Elite with Doug, she loves to lounge by the pool and watch cooking shows with her other dad, Tom. She's often seen at the front window of the DTE shop intently watching the birds at the bird feeder or hanging out the window of the DTE Jeep enjoying the wind in her ears.

Bean

Demo Dog Team Lead

Bean is a 2 year old Yellow Lab. He is the lead demo dog and attends many of the in-home assessments and also comes to many group classes and events with the DTE Trainers. He comes from a long line of medical alert dogs and may eventually be certified as a therapy dog. When he's not working with the DTE team, he loves to retrieve a frisbee, ball or anything else anyone will throw for him, and go for runs with Doug. He also likes to wrestle with his sister, Olive. But his favorite two things in the world are snacks and naps.

Elijah Turner

Lead Trainer

Elijah is a born and raised Hoisier. He grew up on the far eastside of Indianapolis and his love of dogs started at a young age. Before his father passed he gifted the family with their first dog in his remembrance. Since then dogs have had a special place in his heart. When he’s not training dogs, Elijah is hanging out with his Bloodhound, King. He enjoys long walks and hiking trails with King. Trails are his favorite because he gets to see King do what he loves best, which is sniff everything! Elijah’s been training dogs for four years now, and can't get enough of how much we learn from the dogs. His goal is to bring a happy balanced home to our clients!

Donna Rivers

Trainer

Donna is originally from Livingston County New York, where she spent her career as a case worker for child welfare. She moved to Greenfield in 2020. She loves training dogs because she feels it's much more fulfilling than working with troubled families. "Dogs want to learn and they want to please you and it's so satisfying when they get it right. Every dog is unique and it's extremely interesting to figure out what makes them tick". She comes from a military family and has a special place in her heart for working with Veterans and their dogs.

Donna can't remember a time when she didn't have a dog. She currently enjoys her 2 German Shepherds, Lakin, a 3 year old female and Leonardo DaVinci, a 2 year old male. There were 2 litters of German Shepherd puppies at her house in the past year! She also loves spending time with her family, which includes her husband Terry and 7 kids (ages 20 up to 35).

Brittany Wilson

Trainer

Brittany grew up in Danville Indiana with three siblings and family dogs. After high school she got her own dog, Maddie, and trained her as a therapy dog. After college, she moved to Portland Oregon with Maddie to pursue her career as a Special Education teacher for kids on the Autism Spectrum. After five years there, she decided to move back to Indiana to be near family again. Brittany enjoys bringing her passion for dogs and experience as an educator to her work as a dog trainer, especially service dog training.

Outside of dog training, Brittany enjoys going on hikes with her puppy, Mochi, reading a good book, doing some yoga, and traveling to new cities!

Josh George

Business Development Manager / Trainer

Josh grew up in Ohio and then moved to Indiana after meeting his wife Sammie. He lives in Castleton with his wife and dog Lilo (yep as in Lilo and stitch). When he's not training dogs, he is at a park, taking pictures, watching Ohio State football, or playing guitar and every single one of those activities is with Lilo because she goes everywhere with him.