About Dog Training by Valerie

Dog Training by Valerie runs the most structured class program in Charlottesville, built as a ladder rather than a menu: "Our program is designed support your dog through each phase of development: Puppyhood, Adolescence and Adulthood."

The class ladder

Puppy Preschool and Puppy Kindergarten each run "6 weeks | each class is 1 hour" at "$245 for all 6 weeks", and the business is explicit that they can overlap: "Puppy Preschool and Puppy Kindergarten may be taken concurrently or sequentially." A Kindergarten-Extended course follows for pups who finished Kindergarten, then Basic Good Manners for dogs "20 weeks old and up who like other dogs and are friendly with people", then Building on Basics and Loose Leash Lassie. A drop-in Puppy Socialization class runs "Saturdays from 9:30 – 10:30 am" at "$27 pay as you go".

Puppies, day school and in-home work

"Puppy Day School is a drop-off training program for puppies under 24 weeks of age", offering "a structured program of play, training, confidence building and rest". For owners who want help at home first, private puppy consults are "1 hour at $185", covering "potty training, puppy biting, crate training, and more".

Behavior work

Dogs who cannot be in a class are routed away from one, in the business's own words: "Dogs that are fearful, or lunge/bark/growl should register for a private Behavior Consult." A separate separation-anxiety track exists with its own booking path, and a leash-reactivity course is published for dogs "that bark and lunge at other dogs while on leash".

Who teaches

Valerie Balwanz has been training since 2009 and moved into the Harris Street facility in 2020; she is a CCPDT-certified behavior consultant and professional dog trainer, a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer, and "a member of the Pet Professionals Guild, an organization of force-free training professionals". Staff trainers Caiti White and Lu Shannon publish their own CPDT and KPA-CTP credentials.