Dogs Love Our Training.
Their Owners Do Too.
By Appointment Only
Enjoy Walks. Bring Your Dog Anywhere. Give Your Dog Freedom
Imagine a walk without pulling and barking, having guests over without being embarrassed about your dog jumping on them, and even trusting your dog to stay with you offleash! We’ll teach you how to get better behavior from your dog than you ever thought possible.
Start Your Puppy Off on the Right Paw
A puppy is a blank slate, ready to learn to love learning. We are pros at proper socialization and fun, confidence-building training games.
Be proactive about training to avoid behavior issues in the future.
Teach Your Dog to ENJOY Being Calm
Feel guilty about leaving your anxious dog alone? Stop the vicious cycle of stress. Every dog and owner can benefit from our methods. We give dogs the fulfillment they need so they WANT to rest.
Is Your Dog Walking You?
A majority of the dogs we work with are reactive to dogs or people on leash.. So we have A LOT of tricks up our sleeves for working with even the most difficult dogs. Of our 300+ clients so far, we have taught every single one to walk nicely on leash.
We Know Your Dog is an Individual.
Our training solutions are not one-size-fits-all. Training a fearful rescue dog is very different from training a happy-go-lucky Lab or a scent-motivated hound dog.
The pro trainer at FluentDog has studied the theory and practice of animal behavior to give you a training game plan that is as unique as your dog.
We’re proud to say we have exclusively 5-star reviews on Google and Facebook.
We work with you until your problems are solved!
What Are You Waiting For?
Experiencing Any Of These Issues? We Can Help!
- Lack of obedience
- Lunging
- Pulling on the leash
- Barking or growling
- Mouthing or nipping
- Behavioral issues
- Anxiety
- Chewing
- Jumping or counter surfing
- Potty training
- Not coming when called
- Digging
- Begging
- Barking at the door
- Chasing
What We Offer
Give us a call to discuss which program is best for you and your dog!
Private Training
Meet one-on-one with Carla to achieve the goals that are most important to you. We will work with you to implement the necessary training to be successful and teach you how to continue and maintain your training at home.
Lesson programs are great for owners who want to learn all the nitty gritty details of dog training, as well as puppy owners – since most of training puppies is actually training owners.
Boarding & Training
Board-and-train programs are like an “immersion program” where your dog lives with us on our idyllic 6-acre dog paradise, learning all day long.
Board-and-trains are perfect if you’re going on vacation and want your dog to learn some new skills while you’re out of town. They’re also a great fit for busy families and individuals who need help with their dog ASAP.
Lifetime Support
We have programs that include training support for the life of your dog! We also have a private client Facebook group where you’re welcome to ask for help in between lessons. We want to make sure your investment in training pays off with the desired result: a happy and obedient dog.
Our free consultations fill up fast, make sure to book today!
Our Location
For the best dog training in the Frederick area, FluentDog Training is the only option. We have the knowledge and experience to tackle behavior issues, leash control, obedience training and puppy raising.
Conveniently located off I-70 and close to I-270 for easy access from Frederick, Montgomery, and Howard County, Maryland.
- Frederick
- Urbana
- Ijamsville
- Spring Ridge
- Clarksburg
- Mount Airy
- Germantown
- Jefferson
- Adamstown
- Middletown
Why FluentDog Training?
Call: (240) 528-8005
Our training is not just about teaching tricks. We teach dogs to be CALM companions who perform commands reliably and happily. No robot dogs here.
At FluentDog we proudly practice the NePoPo® training system. Carla LaFleur is a graduate of the NePoPo® Gold School. In this program, she passed a rigorous animal behavior theory course with a 99% final grade, and in the practicum portion, learned how to train dogs to perform reliably on cue from world-renowned trainers Bart and Michael Bellon.
The day will come in your dog’s training when he decides not to do as you ask. What do you do in that moment? In NePoPo®, we prepare for that moment with animal welfare in mind every step of the way. A dog trained in NePoPo® is not demotivated by a correction–instead, he goes into the correct behavior with heart and soul. NePoPo® is all about helping the dog to find his advantage in the behaviors we want, and learn to love his work. The behavior itself eventually becomes the reward.
FAQs
Yes! We train giant dogs, toy dogs, rescue dogs–any dog! The principles of animal behavior still apply, though some dogs are more naturally talented in one area than another. (For example, most retrievers love fetch…Great Danes, usually not so much!) ALL dogs benefit from clear communication from their family and that’s what training is all about.
Our day starts at 7:30am, letting out the dogs for a quick potty. We prepare breakfast for the dogs (we accept up to 8 at a time). Board-and-train dogs earn their meals throughout the day as part of their training.
- 8-10am: group socialization and training sessions
- 10am-12pm: rest in crate or other exercises to promote calmness during “down time” in the home
- 12-1:00pm: lunch for humans (and some dogs)
- 1:00-3pm: Training sessions and walks
- (We can teach dogs to walk on the treadmill if it’s too hot for a long walk outside!)
- 3-5pm: Rest time for dogs, office time for humans. This is important “soak time” for them to process what they’ve just learned!
- 5pm: Dinner for dogs and time off for humans
- 10pm: Last call for potty and good night!
If you are new to dog training, a board and train makes the learning curve easier when you get home, because the dog already has some knowledge of the commands, and we will teach you how to maintain them for life. Board and trains cost more than private lessons because you are paying for me to treat your dog like my own–3+ walks a day, and several short training sessions per day. I also video my training sessions and provide frequent updates to owners via the private client Facebook group.
The key is to continue using the tools and techniques the trainer recommends. The goal is not for the dog to perform commands without any tools as quickly as possible. The goal is for your dog to perform commands happily and reliably. You must be consistent for your dog to be consistent.
Do not be in a rush to get rid of the tools that allow clear communication with your dog. It is much better to have a training tool and not need it, than need it and not have it. That said, the eventual goal is for you to say a command and the dog to do it without additional prompting.
Sorry to break it to you but…nope! Dogs live in the moment and we keep them busy! However, we know YOU will miss your pup, so we post daily updates in our private client Facebook group, and we recommend coming for a weekly lesson during our board and train programs if possible.
Did learning good table manners change your personality?
We have 6 acres in peaceful Ijamsville, Maryland, with plentiful indoor and outdoor training areas, including one that is climate controlled and video monitored overnight. Trainer Carla LaFleur lives on the property.
Yeah, it is a little bit of a trick, but we don’t publish our prices online because it forces you to call to find out! We want to speak to you to make sure we are a good fit for you, and you are a good fit for us. Our programs are geared toward normal dogs without severe behavioral issues. We may need to adapt our programs for aggressive or fearful dogs. Some dogs may require an in person consultation.
We “train the dog in front of us” rather than limit ourselves based on ideology. We use the full spectrum of motivation for dogs. When you’re at work, both a deadline and a bonus will motivate you! We are not 100% positive reinforcement and we’re not 100% compulsive. We take the middle road (leaning toward mostly positive) to find the most effective style for YOUR dog. It doesn’t make sense to expect all dogs to fit into one training style so we are flexible.
We use whatever tool is going to be the most effective for communicating with your individual dog. That could be a head halter, prong collar, ecollar, slip collar…and of course food and rewards! We don’t use harnesses because they ENCOURAGE pulling.
Absolutely not. Anti-ecollar information you find online is based in emotion, not fact. All you have to do is use your eyes and see our happy dogs enjoying offleash freedom to see that good ecollar training doesn’t cause “fallout” as some would have you believe.
Ecollars have saved lives in many cases, allowing owners to keep a dog that previously showed dangerous behavior.
A tool does not have to be painful in order to work and the ecollar is the best tool for offleash control. (And think about it: your dog is offleash 99% of the time in the house!)
We introduce the ecollar once the dog understands its commands on leash and use the lowest level detectable to the dog. There is no reason to go higher since dogs are very sensitive.
The ecollar also makes it super easy to transfer training from the trainer to the owner because it feels exactly the same to the dog.
Both are effective. It just depends how much one-on-one time you want your dog to spend with the trainer, and how you prefer to learn. Lessons will require more of a time commitment from you than the board and train.