Board-and-train from one to four weeks, or private lessons if you would rather do the handling yourself. I’ve put every price on this page.
Your dog lives and trains with me, in my home rather than a kennel run. Pick the program by what you want at the end of it, not by how long you can spare.
$1,000
Basic obedience, crate training, potty training, and teaching you how to manage normal puppy behavior. A foundation that points your puppy in the right direction early.
$2,000
Basic obedience with an implied stay under distractions, impulse control, and environmental neutrality. A dog you can take on walks, to the park, into dog-friendly stores, and have around people and dogs.
$3,000
For owners who want the two-week program plus the security of a dog that comes back off leash.
$4,000
Everything taught both on and off leash, with an implied stay under distractions, impulse control and environmental neutrality. Walks, parks, hiking, stores, guests — the lot.
Quoted
For dogs with serious issues: reactivity, dog aggression, human aggression, resource guarding, severe anxiety, and anything else preventing a normal life. Starts with an in-person evaluation, usually at your home or wherever the behavior happens most.
For owners who want to do the handling themselves. We meet once a week for an hour, I teach you and your dog together, and you practise between lessons. Same reliable obedience at half the cost, with more of the work on you.
$1,000
The full on-leash command set, taught to you as much as to your dog. You will finish knowing how to train your dog properly.
$1,500
Everything in the ten-lesson package, plus the reliability of an off-leash recall.
Tools are not included in private lesson packages.
This is the same reasoning I use on the phone, written out. Read down the middle column until one of them sounds like your dog.
Scroll the table sideways
| Program | Pick this if… | You end up with | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behavior Modification | Your dog is reactive, aggressive with dogs or people, guards resources, or has severe anxiety. This overrides everything else below, whatever your dog’s age. | A plan built around the actual behavior, over five to eight weeks, plus 4 follow-up lessons. | Quoted after a $100 evaluation |
| 1 Week Puppy Program | Your dog is under six months and there is no serious behavior issue. Foundations first. | Crate and potty training, basic obedience under low distraction, and $500 off whatever you do next. | $1,000 |
| 10 Private Lessons | You want to do the handling yourself, and on-leash obedience is enough. | The full on-leash command set, taught to you and your dog together over ten weekly hours. Tools not included. | $1,000 |
| 15 Private Lessons | You want to do the handling yourself, and you want an off-leash recall too. | Everything in the ten-lesson package plus a reliable recall. Tools not included. | $1,500 |
| 2 Week On-Leash | You want me to do the training, and your dog mainly just needs to listen. The usual starting point. | The full on-leash command set with an implied stay under distractions, plus 1 follow-up lesson. | $2,000 |
| 3 Week + Off-Leash Recall | You want me to do the training, and you want a recall you can trust off leash. | Everything in the two-week program plus off-leash recall, and 2 follow-up lessons. | $3,000 |
| 4 Week On/Off-Leash | You want the whole command set working off leash, not just recall. Nothing shorter covers it. | Every command on and off leash, impulse control and neutrality throughout, plus 3 follow-up lessons. | $4,000 |
Board-and-train dogs live in my home in Halethorpe rather than a kennel run. I cover about 40 to 50 miles for private lessons and follow-ups, which takes in Arbutus, Catonsville, Baltimore, Ellicott City, Columbia, Glen Burnie, Towson and most of Anne Arundel and Howard County, with no travel charge on top.
Answer six questions and I’ll point you at the program that usually fits. Or just call me and I’ll tell you straight.
One to four weeks, depending on the program you pick. The one-week puppy program suits dogs from two to six months. On-leash obedience takes two weeks, adding an off-leash recall takes three, and full on and off-leash work takes four. Behavior modification cases run longer, usually five to eight weeks.
In my home, not a kennel run. Every board-and-train dog lives in the house with me, which makes the transition back to yours easier and more realistic. Every dog gets one-on-one sessions plus safely managed group socialization.
Board-and-train runs from $1,000 for the one-week puppy program up to $4,000 for the four-week on and off-leash program. Private lesson packages are $1,000 for ten lessons and $1,500 for fifteen. Behavior modification I quote after an in-person evaluation, which costs $100 and comes off the package if you go ahead.
I treat every dog as an individual rather than running them through a one-size-fits-all system, and I build the plan around your lifestyle as well as your dog. I use some treats, but my primary motivator is play and games. Most dogs would rather chase a ball or play tug once their other needs are met, and that builds a different bond than food alone. Training tools including a prong collar and, on longer programs, an e-collar are included, and I use them as communication devices. I’ll walk you through how and why before anything goes on your dog.
If you are not comfortable with either tool, say so and we will talk about it. Raise it before you pay the deposit rather than after — the deposit covers me ordering your tools, so that is the point in the process where it needs to come up.
Not the way I use them, and I would rather answer this here than have you wonder. They are communication devices. A tool does not train a dog any more than a leash does — it gives me a way to say something clearly at the moment it needs saying, at a distance, without shouting and without dragging. Used properly the pressure is light, informational, and released the instant the dog is right.
They sit on top of the foundation, never in place of it, and they go on late rather than early. Play is still the primary motivator. A tool used by someone who does not understand it is worse than no tool at all, which is why I walk you through how and why before anything goes on your dog — and why, if you are not comfortable, you should say so before you pay the deposit.
Yes. My behavior modification program covers reactivity, dog aggression, human aggression, resource guarding, severe anxiety and other issues preventing a normal life. It starts with an in-person evaluation, usually at your home or wherever the behavior most often happens.
Yes. Every board-and-train program ends with a go-home lesson and includes follow-up private lessons of an hour each, with the number set by the package. We can hold the follow-ups wherever suits you.
Basic vaccination records. If your dog has been coughing, sneezing, throwing up or has had diarrhea, or has recently been to a dog park or another boarding facility, let me know and wait until it has cleared with your vet before coming in.
A 10% deposit secures your date on a board-and-train package. It covers me ordering your tools, including the e-collar, so it is non-refundable. The balance is due at the start of the program. Private lesson packages are paid up front.
Because the deposit pays for tools, anything you want to raise about them — including not using a prong collar or e-collar at all — needs to come up before you pay it, not after. Ask me first and we will sort it out then.
You can cancel any time up to the day the program starts. The 10% deposit is not refunded, since the tools have already been ordered.
No. I build travel into the price of private lessons and follow-ups rather than charging on top. I generally stay within about 40 to 50 miles, and most clients are closer than that.