About Brian Ezzell Dog Training, LLC

Brian Ezzell Dog Training is based in Carrboro and, in its own description, offers "relationship-focused dog training consultations and coaching, with in-person sessions available when useful in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, and surrounding Triangle communities." The trainer writes that his work with dogs and people has developed over more than twenty-five years across different roles.

An unusual starting point

Most trainers start with a visit; this one starts with a conversation. Every new client begins with a one-hour Training Consultation by phone or video, and the site is direct about why: the point is to understand what is happening before deciding what kind of help is actually useful. The consultation begins with the concern that brought the owner there, then widens to three foundational areas – how the dog uses and responds to energy and the environment, how impulse control and self-regulation develop, and how timing affects communication – and ends with practical priorities and follow-up notes.

How the work progresses

The published sequence has three steps. After the consultation comes Apply and Observe, where the owner makes changes and watches what the dog shows them, with a follow-up consultation available to interpret the result. Only then comes an in-person session, scheduled when seeing the dog, the environment or the relationship directly would add information that cannot be got another way. In-person sessions are currently held on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Service areas

Three areas are published. Behavior, Anxiety and Reactivity treats behavior as information about how a dog is experiencing the world, looking at anxiety, uncertainty, frustration, overstimulation and confidence. Everyday Skills and Public Spaces covers leash handling, walking, waiting, settling, reading the environment, managing distance and moving through distractions. Puppy Development focuses on confidence, communication, household skills, social development, routines and boundaries.

Pricing and affiliation

The site states that rates are straightforward with no required package or minimum number of sessions, and that new clients begin with a $120 one-hour consultation. The trainer lists membership of the Pet Professional Guild, and publishes an extensive library of his own articles on stress signals, reactivity, puppy development and everyday training – including one titled "Why I Don't Use Electric Collars for Behavior Problems", which is about as clear a statement of method as a trainer can make.