The Team
Who We Are
Antonia Mitchell
Founder & Head Behavioural Coach
If you’ve ever wondered who’s behind the calm, structured, slightly chaotic-but-always-fun world of Surrey & Sussex Dog Trainer… it’s Antonia.
Antonia is our Founder and Head Behavioural Coach — the woman who can teach a spaniel to stop pinballing, convince a Labrador to walk past a sandwich without inhaling it, and help nervous dogs realise the world isn’t actually out to get them. She’s known for her no-nonsense approach, her big heart, and her ability to turn even the wildest pups into polite little citizens.
When she’s not training our lovely client dogs, Antonia is usually:
🐾 Working her German Shepherd, Bello, in IGP
(Yes — the one where they bite the sleeve and do all the fancy feet. Yes, she loves it. And yes, Bello is fully convinced it’s The Bello Show.)
🐾 Spending time with her husband, two children, and their beloved pet Labrador, Harry
Depending on the day, the kids are either helping with training… or creating excellent real-life distraction scenarios. Harry, meanwhile, is living his best life as the resident good boy.
Antonia lives and breathes dogs, structure, behaviour, and helping owners build calm, confident, well-mannered companions. She’s passionate, slightly dog-obsessed, occasionally sarcastic, and always ready to bring out the best in every dog that walks through our doors.
If you’ve met her, you already know:
she absolutely loves what she does — and your dogs feel it.
Ella
Day Train Service Manager & Client Liaison
Meet Ella – Day Train Manager, Organisation Queen & Secret Wizarding World Enthusiast
If Antonia is the engine of Surrey & Sussex Dog Trainer, Ella is the one making sure everything runs beautifully from start to finish. She oversees our entire Day Train Programme, ensuring every dog has a structured, enjoyable day and every owner feels fully supported and in the loop.
Ella works closely with our clients, offering clear, thoughtful updates and genuine pastoral support.
She’s the first to notice when a dog needs a confidence boost, the one who celebrates every small win, and the reason owners feel reassured knowing their pups are in the very best hands.
She’s incredible at keeping Day Train running smoothly — dogs happy, routines consistent, communication flowing, and the whole team perfectly aligned. We truly couldn’t do it without her.
And if your dog seems unusually calm, cultured, or mysteriously familiar with Hogwarts terminology… that may be because:
🧙♂️ Ella listens to Harry Potter audiobooks in the van on collections.
Yes. Your dog has absolutely heard Stephen Fry describe a Quidditch match.
Yes. They probably think Ella is a wizard.
No, we don’t know if this counts as “enrichment,” but honestly, it might.
When she’s not working her magic with our Day Train pups, Ella is at home spending time with her husband and children — or unwinding with a bit of Harry Potter fan fiction, because after a long day with dogs, sometimes you just need a trip to the wizarding world.
Warm, organised, endlessly kind, and adored by our dogs and clients alike — Ella is the heartbeat of our Day Train programme.
Emma
Canine Coach
Emma is one of the cheery faces your dog will see at collection in the morning and one of the dedicated trainers working with them throughout their day to help them achieve their training goals.
Emma brings a wealth of practical dog-handling experience to the team, with a particular background in working gundogs. She runs her own team of Labradors and works them regularly across a number of shoots throughout the season, giving her extensive hands-on experience of training and handling dogs in busy, exciting and highly distracting environments.
That experience translates brilliantly into her work with our Day Training and Residential dogs, where clear communication, consistency, engagement and the ability to remain calm around distractions are such important parts of everyday training.
Outside of work, Emma's love of dogs and the countryside continues. You'll usually find her spending time outdoors with her family, working her own dogs on shoots or in the kitchen cooking up a game dinner.
For Emma, dogs aren't just a job — they're very much a way of life.
Anastasia
Client Services Manager
The Organised One with the Glamorous Touch
If Surrey & Sussex Dog Trainer were a theatre show, Anastasia would be the stage manager, director and the person making sure everyone has the right costume on. She’s the glamorous force behind our client services—handling bookings, onboarding paperwork, and the endless stream of communication that keeps this whole operation gliding smoothly (even when we’re all running around juggling dogs, vans, leads and coffee cups).
Anastasia is the reason everyone ends up where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there… including Antonia. She’s calm, collected and somehow always three steps ahead of the rest of us. Think of her as the glue, but with better hair.
When she’s not keeping our diary in line or transforming chaos into colour-coded order, you’ll find her at home elbow-deep in floristry projects or creating something beautiful with arts and crafts. If it involves petals, glitter, ribbon or a hot glue gun, Anastasia is in her element.
We’d be lost without her—quite literally.
Ben
Canine Coach
Ben joined Surrey & Sussex Dog Trainer with previous experience working within another dog training company, bringing with him plenty of hands-on experience working with a wide range of breeds, personalities and training needs.
Since joining us, Ben has been busy learning the Surrey & Sussex Dog Trainer way of doing things and has quickly become a firm favourite with both the dogs and the rest of the team. He is incredibly hard-working, dependable and always willing to get stuck in — exactly the qualities we value in our trainers.
Ben has a real passion for developing his skills and has a bright future with us. We're excited to see him continue to grow as a trainer and he's very much part of our plans for the future of the team.
Outside of work, Ben has a young family and a dog of his own, so life is rarely quiet! When he's not spending time with them, you'll quite often find him enjoying one of his other big interests — airsoft.