Asheville Dog Academy

Anna was so great in training our 11 month old pups, Laverne and Shirley! The 11 week program is an investment that you’ll want to make. Our walks are so much easier and more enjoyable now and we’re continuing to build off the training they taught us. We are confident in handling our pups, who can sometimes be reactionary with other dogs. The ecollar training was extremely helpful- and being taught how to use it versus figuring it out on our own saved a lot of energy, time and mistakes. Teaching them “place” and “stay” is the gift that keeps on giving! We’re using it at coffee shops and cafes and when we all just need a little chill time. We’re looking forward to some fun drop in classes. Thanks, Anna!

My 3 year old black lab, Wade, just finished his 5 week program to work on his leash reactivity to other dogs and animals. I battled with using an e-collar and definitely wanted the help of a professional to ensure it was used in a positive and humane manor. I was a bit skeptical that 5 sessions would accomplish much, but thankfully I was wrong. Rebecca taught me how to properly use both the e-collar and prong collar along with the positive reinforcement (treats). Wade gets excited when the e-collar comes out because it means he gets to train. He absolutely loved going to school and working with Rebecca. The fact that he can go to a brewery or a park and not pay attention to any dogs is a huge bonus. I am happy just to get through a walk without a meltdown. Rebecca, thank you so much for changing our lives!

One year update: August 2026 I just want to come back here to say that we are so proud and happy with our girl Blue. Her progress since her training sessions last year has been great and truly a life changer. She absolutely loves people now, she wags, smiles and lets everybody pet her and look into her eyes. We take her everywhere with us, she goes into so many stores, crowded places and loves every second of it. And gets excited when she sees people. Before her training, I didn’t think she could ever be this good in public! She does have some slip ups here and there where she doesn’t like a certain someone and she will bark. But that’s pretty rare at this point. And she is still scared of small children, but she will let them pet her from time to time if they are calm. We still put the e-collar on her when we go out in public just to be extra safe if she does bark at someone, but we hardly ever have to use it anymore. And the prong collar is necessary for her pulling. We only used the muzzle for a few months during training, but she graduated from that pretty quickly. We get compliments all the time, that she is such a well-behaved dog and that she’s so sweet. And it makes us so happy every time we hear that, and seeing her love being pet and getting attention from strangers is such an amazing feeling. I want to thank Asheville Dog Academy and Rebecca again, for helping us and leading us in the right direction with how to handle Blue’s barking/fear of strangers issue. It has changed our lives tremendously and now we can take her everywhere we go without worrying. Original review: June 2025 Our dog Blue had a reactive issue with people, she would constantly bark at anyone. Very loud constant barking that would cause scenes in public. We mostly avoided taking her anywhere because of the stress & anxiety it caused us. But after a really nerve wracking embarrassing hiking & brewery trip with her… we just didn’t know how to fix her problem on our own, so we were ready to finally make a change and get help. That day we decided we were going to sign her up with professional dog training at the best training facility around. We did the 5 week reactive dog program and our trainer was Rebecca. We met with her once a week for an hour session, meeting up at the facility, the park or the brewery. And now we are already taking Blue out to festivals, Home Depot, breweries with no problem! Months ago we would have never imagined that was possible. Friends are commenting that she is a different dog and that she seems so comfortable & calm in those types of environments. Who would have thought that she is actually enjoying getting all the attention and pets from strangers!?! Of course it’s going to take time, practice and consistent exposure but we are now on the right path! We now feel confident in Blue and it’s such an amazing feeling to feel so proud seeing her succeed. Rebecca did a great job, very knowledgeable and nice person. Blue fell in love with her very quickly! All the advice, tips and demonstrations from Rebecca really helped guide us through everything we needed to know. Knowing how to use the e-collar correctly, using a prong collar for pulling, working on heeling, wearing a muzzle for safety, etc. And taking all that information she provided us along with practicing with Blue daily, taking her out in public regularly, and having people come up & pet her. Not only Blue was getting trained but we were getting trained to know how to train her. It is very expensive training but reading all their 5 star reviews and all the happy customers confirms that they are the best around! My friend recommended Asheville Dog Academy to me and was satisfied with her dog’s training results. If it changes everyday life for you and your dog for the better, I’d say it’s worth it for sure!!