About TipTop Training

TipTop Training is based in Catawba – "We are based in Catawba," as the site puts it – and describes its work as "dog training based on science and ethics." It is a single-trainer practice covering manners, behavior consulting and dog sports, and it is one of the few businesses in this metro that publishes starting prices for behavior work.

What you can book here

The services are grouped in three tiers. First Steps covers Pre Puppy, for people who have not chosen a dog yet, Puppy, for getting a new pup started, and New Dog, for an adult dog settling into a household. Classes and Trainings covers Control Unleashed classes – a named program the site describes as helping "you and your dog negotiate the world that can be a scary or overly exciting" place – plus Dog Agility Training, framed as teamwork and competition, and occasional invitation-only group hikes and walks. Consulting and Coaching covers Behavior Consulting from $250, described as being for a dog with "issues" such as resource guarding; Dog Sports Readiness, for young dogs who will be competing; and Dog Purchase Assistance at $80, in which the trainer helps the owner choose the right dog in the first place.

The approach

The site's opening is unusually direct about why owners come: the books and the equipment did not fix the problem. What it offers instead is manners, behavior work and a route into dog sports, and the published testimonials describe clicker training and work on agility weave entries. The trainer, Susan Mann, is named on the site's Meet the Owner page and in the reviews it publishes, and is credited there as the author of a children's book about training a rescue dog.

Practical detail

Booking is through a form or by phone, with 24/7 availability advertised for contact; ask where sessions take place. Note that the site also runs periodic classes and seminars, so what is available varies through the year.