Find a Dog Trainer in Durham

EmpiricK9 has 10+ years of experience. He helped my female pup with her calls, hand signals, and obedience training. I recommend EmpiricK9 to anyone interested in bettering their working dog, domestic pet, or service dog.

Awesome! Loved it and highly recommend to anyone looking to bond with their dog and simultaneously work on basic training skills.

It was a great experience! We received all the techniques we need to keep our dog well behaved. Everything has been working great. Thanks so much!

I have two dogs who both react to dogs and/or people on walks, and over the years they've fed off of each other and gotten worse. It got to the point that I dreaded walking my dogs, and they weren't getting enough exercise when we moved to a house without a fence. Val has been incredible with them - she tailors her exercises to their specific problems and they've responded to everything she's told us to try.So far we've cured them of barking in their crates (which for one dog was constant and driving us crazy), and they have both calmed down significantly in the house due to the training focused on relaxation. My little chihuahua checks in with me constantly when we walk now and is great on a leash. My other dog is a little more distractable outdoors, but he has still improved dramatically with a couple of sessions under his belt. Keeping up with the training at home is certainly a huge commitment, but the price of individual behavioral issue lessons for two dogs with Val is comparable to what we would pay for group classes at a Petsmart for basic obedience training with SO much more value for my family! We still have a bit to go with the dogs, but both we and they are already so much happier and calmer.

I met Shana about 3 years ago while signing my crazy pup Mahala, up for some classes (long overdue) in Chicago. She was really informative about the type of training my dog needed. Shana would start each class with socializing the pups, and giving us a group lesson. Then we would split up and work with our dogs one on one, and she would go around and help us all individually. I learned a lot about my dog in her class, but also learned how to be a more confident while training her. Shana always helped me understand why my dog was not listening to me, and showed me how to correct the problem. My dog is 4yrs old now, and knows all of her basic commands. However, Mahala is a bit of a spaz, and has some behavioral issues that we will always be working on daily (not best with kids, and some small dogs). The most important thing I gained from training with Shana, was that I need to alway have patience with Mahala. Training (in my case anyway) is never "finished." It's something you have to continue to work at every day! I learned so much from Shana, and still use what I learned in her classes with Mahala on a daily basis. Shana is super friendly, sweet, and so helpful! (She even kept Mahala overnight for me in an emergency situation once). Plus, she has the best pups to have play dates with! ;) Miss her and her crazy bunch! (Ember, Ted, Honey, Bromo, Shenzi.. and the rest of the crew that's joined her pack since she left Chicago). Highly recommend!

Thank you for taking such great care of our Ellie for the past 7 days. We appreciate how patient you were with helping her learn to play with other dogs. Ellie an 11 month old Australian Shepherd and golden retriever had never played with other dogs her size. We loved watching her on the Bow Wow app learn to play and socialize with other dogs her size. Being able to watch her on the app made it a lot easier leaving her to go on vacation. It helped make our vacation stress free knowing she was being taken care of and having fun! We already have our reservations for Thanksgiving and she will be back soon for day camps too!

We struggle to find places to take our black lab in the summer time since it gets so hot. We used the pool today at ZoomyDogs and it was nothing short of amazing! The service we received was wonderful. We got there a little early and they let our dog play in the track area upstairs. She was so happy! They had towels and dryer for afterwards which was great. The place was clean and I will definitely be taking my dog back. I recommend ZoomyDogs to anyone looking for a great place to wear your dog out in the summer time!