About The Balanced Dog

Behavioral training with Brian Agnew

The Balanced Dog is a Salt Lake City behavioral dog training business run by Brian Agnew, who works with each dog from his home in Salt Lake City and has helped owners, rescue groups and shelters with behavior issues since 2005. He began his career with an intensive 4-month Shadow Program on dog psychology and later studied nutrition and behavior under Wendy Volhard. Since 2012 he has taught workshops for dog trainers in the US and Europe, and he has taught over 520 dog trainers.

Approach

Brian takes a holistic approach built around a dog's three instinctual drives: pack, defense and prey. Rather than suppressing a problem drive, he aims to gain control of the drives so the dog operates more in pack drive, and he draws on nutrition as part of hard cases. His specialty is problem-solving, with a custom strategy for each dog and owner. Work starts with a free in-person evaluation, virtual consultations are available, and clients describe three-week board and train stays.

What owners say

One family wrote that after three weeks with Brian their 140 lb Great Dane "was calmer, more confident," and that their 13-year-old daughter can now walk him on leash.