Does your canine need a coach?

We offer six-week training courses to help prepare your pooch for a paw-some lifetime at your side. Classes are open to the public.

Our Classes

We have a course for every dog of every age!

Canine Manners

Have you ever wondered why your dog pulls on a leash, jumps up to greet people, and won’t do as you ask? This course will teach you how to communicate with your dog effectively. You will learn the skills necessary to teach your dog basic manners using reward-based training methods. We will build reliable behaviors such as sit, down, stay, wait, come, leave it, tug, and much more!

The class is limited to 8 dogs, 18 weeks old or over when the course begins.

Puppy Kindergarten

Your goal as a puppy parent is to give your pup the best possible start in life. Puppies learn more between 3 and 18 weeks of age than they will in their entire lifetime! Laying a positive foundation during this time is critical for puppies to grow into behaviorally healthy dogs. This course focuses on proper socialization, bite inhibition, house training, manners, and more! 

The class is limited to 12 puppies who are 8 to 18 weeks old when the course begins.

Beyond Basic Manners

Does your dog have selective hearing? Do you have to repeat yourself when your dog is near distractions? We will expand upon basic training to help you get reliability anywhere, anytime, and at any distance. Your dog will learn how to stop forward movement when running towards a distraction, sitting at a distance, and more!

The Prerequisites for Beyond Basic Manners are:
  • Graduated from the AHS Canine Manners Course OR Successful completion of equivalent training including sit, down, stay, wait and come
  • Dogs MUST be able to work effectively near other dogs and handlers without interfering with other participants

If you have any questions about your dog’s eligibility for the course, please get in touch with our trainers at psilvani@ashevillehumane.org

Class requirements

Pricing & refunds
Courses are $175 plus an online processing fee. Each course consists of six weekly one-hour classes. Refunds can be processed up to 7 days before the first class. Online processing fees are nonrefundable.
Reactive dogs
If your dog is reactive on a leash to other dogs, reach out to our trainers at psilvani@ashevillehumane.org before signing up.
Vaccines

All dogs must be current on the following vaccines: distemper, parvo, bordetella, and rabies to participate in courses. All puppies must have started their puppy vaccine series (distemper, parvo, and bordetella) at least one week before the first class. Owners must commit to continuing this vaccine series during the six-week course.

Our trainers

Pia Silvani, CPDT-KA, CCBC

Pia Silvani is an internationally-recognized dog trainer and lecturer with over 30 years of experience. As VP of Training and Behavior at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ, she developed numerous courses focused on positive, reward-based techniques. In 2013, Pia began working for the ASPCA, eventually becoming the Director of Behavioral Rehabilitation. She led programs to educate shelter professionals in effective behavior rehabilitation techniques and specialized in socialization, enrichment, and shelter protocols. This cutting-edge program is featured in the award-winning Netflix documentary, “Second Chance Dogs.” Pia now has a consulting business in Asheville, offering in-home behavioral consultations, and is the Director of Behavior and Training at Asheville Humane. Pia is one of Bark’s 100 picks of the best and brightest people that changed the world of dogs. Her goal has always been to combine her love of dogs with respect and affection for people. She enriches the lives of both through humane relationship work and training.

April Kormanec, RVT, KPA, CTD

April previously worked as a Veterinary Technician in the Emergency Department while providing low-stress veterinary visits, educating staff and clients on behavior, and teaching proper handling skills while providing compassionate medical care. She has Sophia Yin’s Low-Stress Handling Certification and received a scholarship from the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians to attend the Karen Pryor Academy, where she graduated. April has several years of education in animal behavior management and modification. Currently, she is working towards becoming a Specialist in Behavior to continue teaching the community how to make behavior training, education, and veterinary visits fun and safe for everyone. Her goals are to effectively lead, encourage, and help clients provide their animals with love, compassion, and relief. She hopes to create a home where humans and animals live happily and harmoniously.

Marz Barberio

Marz has lived in Raleigh, North Carolina for a majority of her life. After going to college at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC she decided she loved the mountains too much to leave and moved to Asheville! While working towards her degree in Communications Electronic Media/Broadcasting and Photography she found her passion in dog training and has pursued a full-time career training ever since.

She has been training dogs for over five years now and worked with thousands of dogs in the shelter environment and private dog training. Her goal is to help dog’s and their owners live a happy, balanced life together and teach people how to properly communicate with their dog to form a strong relationship with them.

Marz currently has one rescued border collie that she competes in agility with and when they are not doing agility you will find them exploring all of the hiking trails! Her dream is to open up her own agility facility one day to teach her community all about the sport to help build people’s relationship with their dogs in a fun, positive way. 

*photo coming soon. 

Do you have a specific behavior challenge?

We can help! Check out our behavior resources page for more information.

Ask a trainer

We understand that sometimes your pet may need some additional guidance when it comes to training and behavior. Tell our behavior specialists what problems you are having and we will get back with you as soon as possible!