Best Dog Trainers in and Near Virginia Beach, VA

Coastal K9 Academy is based in Virginia Beach and says it serves Hampton Roads and the communities nearby. Its blog says founder Josh Avila spent years as a K9 handler with the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Department.

The academy offers more ways to train than most on this list. You can book private lessons, including in your home, or join group classes that practice obedience around distractions. Its listing describes group classes for every stage from puppy to adult, plus advanced and confidence building classes. It also runs board and train programs, where your dog stays with the trainers, and day training, where your dog comes home each evening.

The site describes its method as balanced, using rewards for correct behavior and clear consequences for boundaries, with owner coaching so the work holds up at home. Its home page also lists behavior modification and off leash reliability. The site's blog includes a post about electronic collar training, so ask how and when the trainers use one if that matters to you.

Cobra Canine is a Virginia Beach business led by Jeff Franklin, who the site says has more than 35 years of experience training dogs. The company also trains police and military dogs, runs training courses and sells dogs.

For pet owners, the site lists private obedience lessons in basic and advanced levels, with in home versions of both. It also offers board and train by the day or by the week, plus an evaluation and training consultation to start, with an in home option. The packages cover loose leash walking and basic commands, and the advanced levels add distractions and distance work.

The pages we read don't list prices or describe training methods or tools, so ask about both on your first call. Cobra Canine fits an owner who wants obedience from a trainer with a long law enforcement background.

Freak On A Leash runs its classes from a training facility on Centerville Turnpike in Chesapeake and lists a service area that covers Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton and Moyock, North Carolina. The site says it has been locally owned for more than 10 years and is not a franchise.

The group class lineup is wide. It includes a Great Start Puppy class, Basic Manners, a teen dog class called Teenage Tyrants and a Canine Good Citizen class. Scent work, agility and rally also show up in photos from the Chesapeake facility, and the site mentions therapy dog prep for Pet Partners evaluations. For dogs with fear or aggression problems, the trainers offer in home behavior work.

The site describes its training as ethical, welfare based and rooted in behavior science, and says its trainers use positive reinforcement. It displays logos from groups including the CCPDT, Fear Free and Karen Pryor Academy, though it doesn't say which trainer holds which credential.

Half Moon Bay Canine Training is a Chesapeake trainer. Its website wouldn't open for us, so this write up comes only from its AnimalTrainerPro listing.

The listing names four services. There are small group classes and puppy socialization classes. It also offers private behavior modification for dogs with problem behaviors, and it runs workshops.

The listing doesn't give credentials, methods, prices or a class schedule. Call and ask how the small groups are sized, what the puppy class covers and what age the trainer wants puppies to start. If you have a dog with a behavior problem, ask how the private behavior modification sessions are set up and where they take place.

Joanna Garner trains dogs in Norfolk under the name The Best Dogs In Larchmont. Her listing has no website, so this write up comes from her AnimalTrainerPro listing.

Her listing shows a strong academic background. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, an MPhil in Psychology and a BSc in Psychology. She also lists the NASAR SARTECH II, a search and rescue credential, and membership in the Pet Professional Guild.

She offers private training, group training and behavior consulting. That mix suits a Norfolk owner who wants either a class or one on one help with a dog's behavior from someone with formal training in psychology. The listing doesn't give prices or a class schedule, so ask about both, along with where sessions are held, when you call.

Mutts With A Mission is a Virginia Beach nonprofit and an accredited member of Assistance Dogs International. It trains service dogs for disabled veterans and first responders at no cost to the recipients. The site also lists facility dogs for law enforcement and expeditionary facility dogs on U.S. Navy ships.

Its Owner Train program lets an eligible veteran train their own dog with the organization. The dog must be two years old or younger and pass a suitability test, and the veteran needs an honorable discharge or current honorable service plus a verifiable service connected PTSD, MST, TBI or mobility disability. The application fee is listed on their site as $300. Accepted teams finish with a two week Transfer Camp in Virginia Beach, and recipients pay their own travel and meals.

This is not a pet obedience school. Choose it if you are a qualifying veteran or first responder looking for a service dog.

Off Leash K9 Training Virginia Beach is part of the Off Leash K9 Training network, which the site says has more than 130 locations. The local office lists Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Newport News, Williamsburg and northeast North Carolina in its service area.

Its most popular package, according to the site, is a two week board and train, and there is a separate puppy board and train. Private lesson packages include Basic Obedience with four lessons and Basic and Advanced Obedience with eight. There are also eight lesson packages for therapy dog training and for aggressive dogs, plus a five lesson nosework class and beginner and urban tracking packages. In home training and behavior consultations are available too.

The site's main promise is off leash control around distractions. The pages we read don't say which training tools the trainers use, so ask on your first call. The site names Josh Wilson as the owner and Larry Enscore as head trainer.

Playful Pups & Performance Training holds its group classes at a climate controlled facility in Virginia Beach. It also offers in home private training and day training in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk.

Puppy Manners starts when your puppy is 8 weeks old. Older pups can move to Adolescent Puppy Obedience, and the five week obedience courses include Intro to Force Free Obedience and Brush Up Basic Obedience. For fun, there's a three week Clicker Tricks class, Just for Fun Agility, Rally Obedience and Therapy Dog Prep. The site also lists a Canine Good Citizen test, with one scheduled for November 7.

The site calls its methods force free. Trainers use a marker, either a click or a word, paired with treats, and the site says the goal is to wean your dog off needing food once a behavior is learned. Trainer names and credentials aren't listed on the pages we read.

The Portsmouth Chesapeake Obedience Training Club is a nonprofit dog club on Portsmouth Boulevard. Its site says the club was established in 1949 and has hosted AKC licensed obedience trials every year since 1973.

The club teaches in seasons. Its basic obedience class runs nine weeks with evening sessions, and the 2026 sessions ran in spring from April 9 to June 4 and in fall from August 20 to October 15. The basic class is listed on their site as $125 and includes the option of an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluation. A seven week advanced class is listed at $100.

The club describes its classes as fun, positive learning aimed at well mannered dogs and stronger bonds. The site says classes fill up fast, so watch for the next pre registration if you want a spot.

The Freckled Paw Dog Training serves the Virginia Beach area and northeast North Carolina. Its group classes meet at the Chesapeake Humane Society Adoption Center in Great Bridge, and they start with a new puppy or basic manners for a new rescue. You choose the skills you need most.

Private training happens in your home or another location and can cover everyday manners, problem behaviors or dog sports. The site lists Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Carrollton and Smithfield for private sessions. It also runs workshops and the Paws on the Path Club, a monthly meetup with group outings, training games and drop in classes. Its Sniffari Station is a fully fenced half acre field in Norfolk that you can reserve for play.

The site says trainer Crystal is one of a few Certified Behavior Consultants in the Virginia Beach area, and every team member holds the CPDT-KA or is working toward it. A free phone consultation helps you pick a program.

Zoom Room Virginia Beach is an indoor dog training gym on Landstown Centre Way. It teaches Puppy Preschool, obedience classes, agility and socialization, and it also hosts playgroups, parties and open gym time. Private training is offered as well.

The site says it uses science backed methods with positive reinforcement only. Socialization is a big part of the program, with the site describing repeated, positive exposure to new people, dogs and places.

Getting started is low pressure. You can book a free 30 minute orientation without your dog, and the 30 minute evaluation with your dog was shown at no charge in the booking flow when we checked. Classes must be booked ahead, and you can cancel up to 24 hours before. The indoor setting is handy on hot summer days, when the Oceanfront limits where dogs can go.