Puppy Training

We travel to Arlington and surrounding areas including Alexandria, Washington, D.C., Annandale, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax, Vienna, Springfield and Great Falls.

You can find each trainer’s specific travel range in their bio when booking, or tell us where you’re located and we’ll find you the right match.

If you’re outside our travel area, virtual training sessions are a great option that allow us to work with you wherever you are.

Every puppy and family is different, but you can expect to see progress within just a few sessions. The number of sessions we recommend and choose together depends on your goals, your puppy, and how much support you’d like along the way.

After meeting you and understanding your goals, we’ll outline next steps and work together to choose the right kind of sessions for you, your puppy, and your lifestyle.

The earlier, the better! We recommend starting as soon as your puppy comes home so you can build good habits from the beginning.

Training looks different at each stage. From 8–12 weeks, we focus on routines like house training and crate training, managing puppy biting, and planning positive socialization. We also begin introducing skills like coming when called, early leash walking, and paying attention around distractions.

From 12–16 weeks, we build more focus and self-control. From 16 weeks on, we begin developing more reliable skills and consistency.

These ages are just general guidelines. We’ll meet your puppy where they are and guide you on what to focus on at each stage.

You are probably experiencing normal puppy biting. Puppy biting is a perfectly normal part of development, especially in the early months, and it can feel intense. Biting often appears during play, excitement, or when your pup is overtired.

Puppies naturally use their mouths to engage with each other and explore their world. If you watch two puppies play, you’ll see how intensely they bite each other while still having fun. They don’t yet understand that our skin is more sensitive—when they bite us, it really hurts! In most cases, this is typical puppy behavior and very different from true aggression.

Just because it’s normal doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult to live with! We’ll show you how to manage biting, redirect it, and teach your puppy more appropriate ways to interact with you.

In some cases, we do see more serious behavior in very young puppies. If you’re unsure, we can help assess what you’re seeing and guide you on the best next steps.

Most puppies can make good progress with house training within a few weeks, but it often takes a few months to become fully reliable.

Success depends on consistency, supervision, and having an established routine. We’ll help you set up a schedule, prevent accidents, and know exactly what to do so your puppy learns as quickly as possible.

You don’t have to crate train your puppy, but we do highly recommend it.

A crate can:

• Support house training, prevent unwanted behaviors, and give your puppy a safe place to rest comfortably away from you
• Help your puppy learn to relax and settle when confined, which can be very difficult to introduce later on when your puppy is older
• Build early independence and reduce the risk of separation anxiety
• Set up for success later in life if you plan to travel, like visiting friends and family, or if your dog might require confinement for medical care

We’ll always support your training goals and your lifestyle with your dog. If you choose to use a crate, we’ll guide you in introducing it in a way that fits your puppy and your regular routines.