About Us

Abby graduated from Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training and Behavior in 2012 and is a Karen Pryor Academy – Certified Training Partner. She received her B.A. in Business Management from the University of Houston, Victoria.

She found her passion for training dogs when she began working with her first Australian Shepherd in high school. She has professionally trained dogs since 2009 and has worked in the pet industry since 2006. With the support of friends and family, she opened up Sweetwater Bark LLC in April 2013. Being able to help owners and their dogs over the years has been one of the biggest blessings in her life.

Her ultimate goal through training is to show clients how intelligent and awesome their dogs truly are! She is married to her wonderful husband, Matt, and they welcomed their baby boy, Isaac, into the world in the Spring of 2023. They share their home with two Australian Shepherds, Swerve and Dazzle. She likes to compete and train in agility with them and teach them fun tricks!

Nicole has been training dogs for as long as she can remember. Granted, in the beginning, it was make-believe with stuffed dogs! She carried her passion for animals as she went on to get her B.S. in Animal Behavior at the University of Texas in Austin and worked at a vet clinic before joining the Sweetwater Bark team. She earned the Karen Pryor Academy – Certified Training Partner certification in 2018. Nicole worked as a full-time dog trainer with Sweetwater Bark until the beginning of 2022, and then she switched career paths to the medical field. After almost two years in the medical field, Nicole missed the dogs too much and came back to Sweetwater Bark full-time as Training Manager in December 2023! She manages the scheduling, e-mails and phone calls, along with teaching group classes. She especially enjoys teaching Trick Class and Canine Nose Work classes.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys working with her Australian Cattle Dog, Emmy Lou, teaching her new tricks and competing in Nose Work.

Katie is a lifelong dog lover who has always been interested in animal behavior and training. She graduated in 2015 with a degree in animal science from Texas State University and worked at a dog boarding facility. During this time, she took a lot of classes with her dog. After graduation, Katie started her career working in veterinary and human diagnostic laboratories. She moved to Sugar Land in September 2020, and that is when she started considering a career shift to dog training. After some research and spending time shadowing the Sweetwater Bark team, she decided this was the career path she wanted to pursue. She completed the CATCH Canine Trainers Academy Master program to become a CATCH Certified Dog Trainer (CCDT).

Katie and her husband, Chris, have a one-year-old black lab named Piper, whom Chris uses for hunting, and Katie competes with in Dock Diving trials. They also have a 10-year-old dachshund mix named Cowboy and a 4-year-old golden retriever named Roux. Katie enjoys working with Roux to improve her advanced obedience skills and tricks, and Roux loves to volunteer her time helping socialize puppies.

Follow Katie on Instagram @dogtrainerkatieswb

Mayra embarked on her journey in dog training back in 2013 at Petco Animal Supply Co. Her passion and dedication earned her the role of a dog training mentor for the district within a year. Expanding her expertise, Mayra sought further training opportunities under another dog training company. Here, she honed her skills, aiding countless dogs and their owners in overcoming a spectrum of behavioral challenges, from leash reactivity to nervousness and anxiety.

Notably, Mayra is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (CDBC), showcasing her commitment to excellence in her field. Additionally, she holds accreditation as an AKC Evaluator & is certified through the Certified Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPTD-KA).

In her leisure time, Mayra participates in dog sports with Gumball, a spirited Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She also shares her home and heart with Marvel, an eight -year-old English Sheepdog mix, and Charlie, a three year old special needs, visually impaired pit-bull mix. She loves taking her dogs for outings and creating fun enrichment activities for them to do. 

Follow Mayra on Instagram at @mayrathedogtrainer

Nikki graduated from Texas A&M University in 2016 with a B.S. in Environmental Geoscience. She later moved out of state and worked in the client services field. When Nikki moved back to her home state of Texas, she decided to pursue a completely different career path. Feeling inspired to work with dogs, Nikki began employment at an enrichment-based doggie recreation center in Houston in 2022. She was gradually promoted to Manager and gained a foundational knowledge of dog behavior, handling, and training.

While working at the recreation center, Nikki took group classes through Sweetwater Bark and fell in love with dog training. She began shadowing and assisting with classes and enrolled in CATCH Canine Trainers Academy. After several months of shadowing, Nikki began working for Sweetwater Bark full time in 2024 and has earned her Certified in Dog Training Knowledge (CDTK) certification.

Nikki and her husband, Brandon, have an Australian Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix, Ryker. Ryker competes in the AKC Fast CAT and has earned his BCAT title.

Before discovering her passion for training dogs, Naima received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Houston and pursued graduate degrees and a professional career in the higher education, counseling and technology consulting industries. Her first dog inspired her to pursue training with Sweetwater Bark as a client, and she has since developed a keen interest in dog behavior and obedience.

While pursuing a dog training certification through the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers, she has found that positive reinforcement dog training has given her a deep sense of purpose in helping her precocious Cocker Spaniel/ Poodle mix, Reggie, overcome confidence and anxiety struggles Through trick training and participation in various dog sports. Naima’s biggest goal is to transform her knowledge of human behavior into a practice that assists clients in understanding their canine companions, allowing them to develop positive, compassionate and fulfilling relationships.

Follow Naima on Instagram @raising.reggie

When Susan added Prince, a rescue German Shepherd, to her family, she wanted to train him well, especially because she is a mother of three young children. Her veterinarian recommended Sweetwater Bark, and after working with Mayra, Susan fell in love with dog training.

She works part-time for Sweetwater Bark while completing her CDTK credential through CATCH Canine Trainers Academy. Before becoming a mom, Susan studied biochemistry at Rice University and worked as an intellectual property lawyer. Prior to settling in Sugar Land, she also lived in Switzerland, exploring that beautiful country with her angel dogs, Frieda and Kendall.

Susan loves helping dogs and their families acquire the skills they need to integrate their lives and have fun together!