About The K-9 Academy

What they do

The K-9 Academy publishes exactly two training programs and prices both.

The **On & Off-Leash Private Lessons** package is four one-hour lessons at $1,600, with owners participating hands-on in every session. The price includes the training tools used – a Herm Sprenger prong collar and a Dogtra e-collar. Training begins on-leash and progresses to off-leash obedience, working on a loose-leash walk, sit, down, an implied stay, and then an off-leash distance down and off-leash distance recall.

The **11-Night Premiere Board & Train** runs Monday of week one through Friday of week two at $3,000, closing with a roughly 90-minute pick-up session in which the owner works the dog and is brought up to speed. It includes the same two tools plus a raised dog bed, and adds the "place" command – directing the dog to go to and remain on its raised bed.

Both require the dog to be at least six months old and take a $200 deposit within 48 hours of selecting dates.

Who it is not for

The business is unusually direct about its limits. Dogs with aggression or reactivity issues are directed to private lessons instead of a board and train; aggressive dogs are stated to be ineligible for board and train outright, and reactive dogs are ineligible in some instances. Prospective clients are asked to call first to establish eligibility.

Who runs it

Ronnie and Ashley Coleman opened the business in June 2019. Ronnie's own account traces the work back to a Doberman he bought in 2009 and sent away for a two-week intensive course, then to a German Shepherd puppy in 2018 for whom he built a full program himself. Ashley co-owns and runs operations. The site states the business is family owned and operated, and carries a June 2025 banner reading "Celebrating 6 YEARS and over 900 dogs trained!"

Credentials the company publishes

Ronnie Coleman is stated to be a Certified Dog Trainer (CDT) through the International Association of Canine Professionals, and a professional dog trainer since 2019 with roughly 15 years of informal experience before that.

Practical detail

Based near Lynchburg and serving "the Lynchburg, VA area and beyond," with clients described as traveling from across Virginia and from North Carolina, Maryland and Washington DC. Lifetime support is offered to graduates. Booking runs through an intake form or by phone.