★★★★★  4.9 from 1,200+ client reviews
Balanced dog training since 2013 · Serving 7 states across the US
Call us: 415-583-5412
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East Bay · Aggressive Dog Training

East Bay Aggressive Dog Training

Our team of certified dog trainers in the East Bay, California area are available to provide private in-home training and board and train programs for aggressive dogs.

3–8 week programs Max 5 dogs per trainer 2× weekly photo & video updates
★★★★★

“Whether we’re your first call or your last hope.”

Programs from $3,600 · GPS collars · Max 5 dogs
How does aggressive dog training work in East Bay?

Koru K9’s mission is to understand each pet and their family’s individual needs and develop an effective training plan that delivers results. We specialize in resolving even the most extreme behavior issues, while preventing problems from occurring in the future. Furthermore, our methods focus on teaching you how to understand your dog so you can build a strong relationship between them.

Problem behaviors we help with

Behavior we work with in East Bay

If the reactivity, anxiety, fear, or aggression feels unfixable, we want you to know it’s not.

Tell Us About Your Dog →

Aggression

Dog-to-dog aggression, Human aggression, Resource or food guarding, Dogs fighting

Fear & Anxiety

Fear based behaviors, Separation anxiety, Generalized anxiety, Destructive behaviors

Obedience Issues

Pulling on leash, Not coming when called, Jumping, Excessive barking

Our philosophy

Let the heeling begin.

Ever wonder why some East Bay dog Board & Train programs promise quick fixes or take a one-size-fits-all approach, only to leave you with unreliable results and behaviors that come back? That doesn’t mean your dog is broken — it means they need a different approach.

At Koru K9 Dog Training in the East Bay, our Board & Train programs are built for real-life success — not shortcuts. We focus on lasting behavior change through connection, consistency, and clear communication.

Real-life training in real environments. Each day includes structured sessions, field trips, and exposure to everyday distractions — city sidewalks, parks, and real streets, never a kennel run.
1–5
Client dogs per trainer — never more
2×
Photo & video updates weekly
GPS
Collars & secure home environments
0
Kennels — home-based, always
How it works

How aggressive dog training works in East Bay

We treat every dog as if they were our own — because we know how much they mean to you.

1

Pick-up day

Pick up and drop off are part of every program. Your dog travels safe and settles into their trainer’s home.

2

Life in a real home

Your dog lives with a professional trainer — structured sessions plus playtime, exercise, and rest, never a crowded facility.

3

Real-world training daily

City streets, parks, and field trips — with at least two photo/video updates per week so you follow the progress.

4

Delivery & go-home lesson

We personally deliver your dog back and teach you everything they’ve learned — plus two follow-up lessons.

Your local team

Koru K9 trainers serving East Bay

Local trainers who live and work where you do.

David Besseler

Northern California
Certified Behaviorist

David currently runs his own full-time dog walking business, where he works hands-on with dogs of all temperaments and energy levels every day.

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Debbie Port

Northern California
Dog BehavioristMichael Ellis School +1

Debbie Port grew up riding and training horses professionally. She trained her own dogs on the side and over the years got interested in dog sports.

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Becca Contreras

Northern California
Dog BehavioristBalanced School for Dog Trainers

Becca has been training dogs professionally since 2011. During that time, she has made the transition from a purely positive trainer to balanced training, after seeing the limitations of purely positive training, particularly…

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Jourdan Murphy

Northern California
Dog Behaviorist

Jourdan was born and raised in Santa Cruz County. Her passion and love for dogs started at a very young age. Jourdan has owned high drive, working breeds her entire life, and realized, at a young age, that she had a natural…

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Celeste Schmidt

Northern California
Dog Behaviorist

From the time she was young Celeste always had a deep passion for animals. Learning as much as she could and spending her free time with the family dogs.

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Maddie Galati

Northern California
Dog Trainer & Behaviorist

Maddie has always had a passion for dogs. Aside from growing up with them, as soon as she graduated high school she was volunteering with a local German Shepherd rescue and shadowing a balanced trainer.

Read full bio

David Besseler

Northern California
Certified Behaviorist

David currently runs his own full-time dog walking business, where he works hands-on with dogs of all temperaments and energy levels every day. Through this work, he gained a deep appreciation for canine behavior, communication, and the importance of structure and consistency.

His interest in training grew after working with one of Koru K9’s top trainers to help his own reactive dog, an experience that showed him how powerful the right training approach can be in improving both behavior and quality of life. Inspired by those results, David decided to pursue dog training to help other owners build stronger, clearer relationships with their dogs.

He uses a balanced approach, combining positive reinforcement with fair, appropriate corrections, and focuses on practical, real-world skills that help dogs and humans succeed together.

Debbie Port

Northern California
Dog BehavioristMichael Ellis SchoolAKC Evaluator

Debbie Port grew up riding and training horses professionally. She trained her own dogs on the side and over the years got interested in dog sports. Over the past 15 years she has taken clinics and seminars to better her training for her dogs.

As she educated herself more she decided to switch from helping horse owners to having better relationships with their horses to helping dog owners to have better relationships with their dogs. She attended the Micheal Ellis School for dog trainers and is an AKC Evaluator for the Canine Good Citizens, Community Canine, Urban Canine and Tricks Dog certifications.

Committed to providing the most effective, convenient solutions to her clients dog training needs, Debbie advidly pursues ongoing continuing education and provisional development by attending several seminars per year and keeping current on all industry literature.

When not helping clients to enjoy easier lives with their canine companions, Debbie trains her own dogs in IGP (Schutzhund), ring sport, AKC obedience and dock diving.

Becca Contreras

Northern California
Dog BehavioristBalanced School for Dog Trainers

Becca has been training dogs professionally since 2011. During that time, she has made the transition from a purely positive trainer to balanced training, after seeing the limitations of purely positive training, particularly when it comes to behavior modification. Becca managed a successful daycare, and board & training facility in her home town of Chico, CA.

Her experience at this facility allowed her to gain invaluable experience in dog behavior through working with a wide variety of dog breeds in diverse environments. Becca’s own personal dog, Smokey, a German Shepherd mix, proves that, at 12 years young, it’s never too late to train! A year later Becca adopted an Australian Shepherd, named Bentley, who had resource guarding issues as well as reactivity towards people.

We are happy to report that, through balanced training, Bentley is a calm, cool, and collected guy, and is one of our staff dogs used to help other reactive dogs. Becca has continued expanding her training by obtaining her certification through the Balanced School for Dog Trainers.

Jourdan Murphy

Northern California
Dog Behaviorist

Jourdan was born and raised in Santa Cruz County. Her passion and love for dogs started at a very young age. Jourdan has owned high drive, working breeds her entire life, and realized, at a young age, that she had a natural affinity for training. The beginning of Jourdan’s career in canine training started with her seeking a higher level of training for her Australian Cattle Dogs.

She took them to an Obedience & Agility class at a local police K9 training facility. The facility owner had been training dogs fro over 30 years, and immediately identified Jourdan’s potential, and offered Jourdan her first apprenticeship.

Upon completion of this apprenticeship, Jourdan began private lessons, and group classes in obedience, protection, and agility, as well as board and trains for dogs with behavior issues, and for mobility and medical alert service dogs, and puppy raising. Jourdan’s interest for protection training and sports was peaked, and she began attending protection and obedience seminar or workshop she could.

Through these seminars and workshops, Jourdan has trained with some of the best, and most inspiring trainers in the world. She has competed at a national, and International level with her personal Belgian Malinois, and has trained and titled multiple dogs / breeds.

Jourdan who is forever a student of her craft, is happy to pass along her years of experienced, and education to her clients, and is excited to see her client dogs become happy, confident, engaged dogs.

Celeste Schmidt

Northern California
Dog Behaviorist

From the time she was young Celeste always had a deep passion for animals. Learning as much as she could and spending her free time with the family dogs. In her early teens she got her first dog Dakota, who had severe fear aggression towards people, and fear-based reactivity towards other dogs.

She reached out to local trainers to work with him. That turned into Celeste mentoring with those trainers and eventually becoming their assistant trainer. These trainers worked for an animal shelter, and Celeste assisted them in training and rehabilitating the shelter dogs that had behavior issues.

She learned the importance of timing, consistency, and balance, and worked Dakota through his behavior issues. Dakota was such a success story that he became their go-to demo and training dog! Little did Celeste know at that time that she would eventually end up fulfilling her mentors’ role, and become the lead trainer for the shelter.

Celeste was also responsible for evaluating the temperament of all the dogs at the shelter, giving her a tremendous depth of experience in dealing with a wide variety of breeds, temperaments, and behavior issues. In her spare time, she began training Dakota in sport work — successful competing with and titling Dakota.

It was through this process she discovered her passion for German Shepherds, and went on to compete with and title her first GSD, as well as train him up to be her Medical Service Alert Dog. Since that time, she has also gone on to start her own, successful breeding program for German Shepherds as well.

Maddie Galati

Northern California
Dog Trainer & Behaviorist

Maddie has always had a passion for dogs. Aside from growing up with them, as soon as she graduated high school she was volunteering with a local German Shepherd rescue and shadowing a balanced trainer. After that, she began working for a company that did behavior modification and working dogs.

From there, her passion grew for working dogs and she started working with detection canines in the school system and conservation detection canines that detect invasive species. Maddie was a competitor on Americas Top Dog Season 2 and is now working towards PSA (Protection Sport Association) titles with her Malinois.

When Maddie is not working with dogs she enjoys working out, traveling and hiking (dogs are typically still included here though!).

More reviews

Results from families like yours

Verified reviews from clients across every market we serve.

★★★★★

“I went online to find a dog trainer for owners with aggressive dogs and came across Koru K9 and Will Greenway. I have had five sessions and a onboarding session all one hour each in Portland, Oregon.”

OR Olivia RucinskiVerified client review
★★★★★

“Our dog Molly, an English springer spaniel, recently returned from a 3-week board and train with Sparky Davis and Koru K9. She is a different dog!”

KB Karen ButlerVerified client review
★★★★★

“Rob was fantastic with our dogs! We completed a 7-lesson package with him and have seen great progress with our stubborn old lady, Stella.”

BT Becca TrevinoVerified client review
Questions

East Bay aggressive dog training FAQs

To manage an aggressive dog, prioritize immediate safety by using physical barriers like crates or baby gates, and introduce a basket muzzle for secure handling. Avoid shouting or physical punishment, as this increases fear and escalates defensive behaviors. Schedule a complete veterinary checkup to rule out underlying pain, injuries, or thyroid issues that could be triggering the sudden hostility. Finally, hire an experienced professional trainer who specializes in aggression to build a structured, long-term behavior modification plan.
Dog aggression is a symptom of underlying distress rather than a permanent personality trait. It is most commonly driven by fear and anxiety, where a dog uses hostile displays to force perceived threats to back away. Physical pain, illness, resource guarding of food or space, and frustration from leash restraints are also frequent triggers. Additionally, a lack of positive socialization during early puppyhood can leave a dog fearful and reactive toward unfamiliar people or animals later in life.
Dog aggression cannot be outright "cured," but it can be successfully managed and modified. Through consistent training, counter-conditioning, and proper environmental management, a dog's aggressive outbursts can be drastically reduced. However, because underlying instincts and triggers remain, maintaining a safe and balanced dog requires lifelong vigilance, structure, and consistent handler leadership.
The 3-3-3 rule outlines the three main stages a rescue or newly placed dog goes through when adjusting to a new environment. During the first 3 days, the dog is in decompression mode, often feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and guarded as they process new surroundings. By the first 3 weeks, the dog begins settling in, learning daily routines, and dropping their guard, which is usually when true personality traits and behavioral challenges emerge. By the first 3 months, the dog builds full trust with their handlers, feels secure in their routine, and becomes fully integrated into the household.

Each trainer works with just 1–5 client dogs at a time, ensuring your dog receives focused attention, personalized dog training, and plenty of affection in a real home environment. This small, intimate setting allows our expert trainers to tailor each session to your dog's unique personality and behavior challenges—whether it's leash reactivity, separation anxiety, or basic obedience. Your dog isn't just trained—they're cared for like family.

Your dog will receive exceptional care, personalized training, and plenty of individual attention throughout their stay. In our Board & Train program, each trainer works with only 1 to 5 dogs at a time. This intentionally small size ensures your dog receives the focused support they need to succeed. Each day includes multiple one-on-one training sessions, play, physical exercise, and rest. Your dog will live in the trainer's home—not a kennel—and will be treated like one of their own. We don't just teach commands, we help your dog build confidence, trust, and the skills they need to thrive at home and in the real world.

Your dog's safety is our top priority at Koru K9. During our Board & Train program, your dog lives in a safe, structured, and supervised home environment—not a kennel facility. This allows for 24/7 monitoring, individualized care, and secure containment when dogs are not actively training or supervised. Each dog is housed in a crate when unattended, which not only ensures safety but also supports structure and calm behavior. Our trainers follow strict safety protocols to prevent injury, stress, or accidents. From controlled environments to professional handling, our training programs are designed to keep your dog safe, secure, and thriving throughout their stay.

Yes — your dog will absolutely remember you after completing their Board & Train program. Dogs are deeply bonded to their people, and that connection doesn't disappear during training. In fact, time spent apart often strengthens the bond. Rest assured you will be greeted with tails wagging, full-body wiggles, and all. Throughout the program, your dog is learning new skills, gaining confidence, and practicing calm behavior. When you reunite, you'll see not only a dog that remembers you, but one that is the best version of themselves. Our go-home lesson helps you step into your new role as the leader your dog needs, and we provide clear, personalized guidance to make the transition smooth and successful. With continued consistency at home, you'll build an even stronger relationship with your dog.

Other dog training programs in East Bay

Dog Behaviorist

Dog Behaviorist for East Bay dogs and their families.

Explore Dog Behaviorist →

Your companion is worth it. Your peace of mind depends on it.

Whether we’re your first call or your last hope, Koru K9 will meet you — and your dog — where you are, and help you build the calm, confident companion you’ve been searching for.