About Kingsbury Canines

Kingsbury Canines is a small Middle Tennessee operation built around one lead trainer, Sophia, with Caleb running the business side. The site describes it as "a small-scale training facility that only takes a few clients at a time", and that limit is the point rather than a caveat: board-and-train dogs live in the trainers' home rather than in a kennel run.

What you can book here

There are two board-and-train programs with published prices. The 4-week program is $3,500, is for dogs six months and older, and covers socialization and exposure, basic obedience (sit, down, stay with distractions), off-leash recall, in-home manners, three follow-up sessions and all training tools. The 2-week program is $2,000, is open to all ages, and is described as "ideal for puppies or dogs just needing the basics" – on-leash obedience, socialization, in-home manners and crate training, two follow-up sessions, with a prong collar included and an e-collar available for an additional charge. Private sessions run $200 for one, $600 for four and $1,000 for eight, and take place in your home or somewhere public like a park depending on what the dog needs. Group classes are offered as a structured, distraction-rich option. Boarding is also offered, small-scale and in-home, with add-ons including bath and nails and pick-up/drop-off.

One thing to know before you call

The 4-week program carries an explicit exclusion: "Not for dogs with severe behavioral problems (dog or human aggression). Please reach out for behavior modification pricing." Severe cases are not turned away outright, but they are quoted separately rather than folded into the standard program.

Where the tools fit

The FAQ is unusually direct about method. Kingsbury says it uses "all four psychological quadrants", with prong collars and e-collars "layered in over known commands" only after the dog is conditioned to them, and states plainly: "We do NOT use fear, force or pain to teach commands." Play and bond-building are named as the primary motivators, with food, affection, movement or freedom used for dogs who will not play.

Background

Sophia's write-up says she mentored under a local trainer for about a year, then worked full-time for another trainer training dogs and managing a kennel in Nashville, then spent four years as one of the lead trainers at a program near Gallatin, working with puppies, general obedience, fearful dogs and severe dog and human aggression cases. She competes with her own two Border Collies in agility, disc, dock diving and sheep herding.