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Fearful and Aggressive Dog Training & Behavior Help in DFW
If your dog has growled, lunged, or bitten, you're probably somewhere between frightened and heartbroken — and being told the answer is a shock collar. It isn't. Aggression in dogs is almost always rooted in fear, and punishing a frightened dog teaches them to hide the warning rather than stop being afraid. Our certified behavior consultants work fear, reactivity and aggression cases across the DFW Metroplex, in your home or through board and train, without pain or force.
Who You'll Be Working With
Aggression cases need someone who has actually worked them. Three of our behavior consultants hold advanced certification specifically in canine behavior — not general obedience training — and none of us use shock, prong or choke collars. If you've been searching for a dog behaviorist in DFW, these are some of the people you'd be working with:
Nicole Kohanski — CDBC, CBCC-KA, CTC
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the IAABC and a graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers. Nicole completed the Aggression in Dogs Master Course and is also a certified Animal Control Officer I & II through the National Animal Care and Control Association. She serves on the Animal Advisory Board for the City of Frisco.
Jenny Kraus — CTC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, FPPE
Academy for Dog Trainers graduate based in East Dallas, working stranger-directed aggression, inter-dog conflict, resource guarding and handling sensitivities. As a Licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, Jenny is trained specifically in dog and baby dynamics — if your concern involves a child in the home, that's a specialty very few consultants hold. She serves on the board of the Richardson Humane Society.
Amber Wilson — BS, CBCC-KA, ACO
Based in Granbury, covering Fort Worth and the western Metroplex. BS in Animal Science from Tarleton State, Certified Animal Control Officer through the Texas Department of State Health Services, and more than six years in municipal and nonprofit sheltering working fear, anxiety and aggression cases including bites.
We take cases other trainers turn down, including dogs with a bite history. We'll give you an honest assessment of what's realistic rather than a promise we can't keep.
Types of Cases We Work
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Aggression — Dog-to-dog in the home · Dog-to-dog outside the home · Fear of strangers · Owner guarding · Resource guarding · Predation · Concerns with children in the home
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Reactivity & arousal — Leash reactivity · Barrier frustration · Hyperarousal · Dog bullying and play skills
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Fear & anxiety — Separation anxiety · Fear of the vet · Fear of the groomer · Fear of boarding · Fear of being alone · Movement sensitivities · Body handling sensitivities
From Families We've Worked With
"We highly recommend Wiggle Butt Academy from our experience of putting our 5.5 year old lab/chow mix through weekly private sessions for managing fear and anxiety around meeting new people!"
-Malee
"Bandit was resource guarding water, us and could be aggressive ... The difference in him now is amazing. He & his furry cousin not only get along, but they share a water bowl peacefully — something we never thought we’d see."
-The Worsters
"Sally was amazing! She’s so kind and thoughtful and worked wonders with our dog. She included our whole family in the process and tailored everything to our needs. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. "
-Bryan
"Jenny was incredibly attentive and helpful in navigating the intra-household aggression situation that arose when we adopted a new dog...Our dogs are friends now, which I truly never thought was a possibility!
-Kate
Two ways to get help
In-Home Behavior Consultation
Behavior support begins with a private consultation in your home. Meeting where the behavior happens helps your consultant understand your dog’s environment, daily routines, relationships, triggers, and the practical challenges your family is facing.
During the consultation, we will review your dog’s history, discuss your concerns, observe your dog without intentionally provoking stressful behavior, and identify factors that may be influencing what you are seeing. You will leave with clear safety and management recommendations, and follow up will include an individualized training plan and guidance about the next steps that best fit your dog and family.
Board and Train for Aggressive Dogs
For families who need a running start, or whose situation isn't safe to work slowly at home. Most board and train programs won't take an aggressive dog, and the ones that will usually rely on e-collars or prong collars. We take these cases, including fear of strangers, dog-to-dog aggression, resource guarding and dogs with a bite history, without pain or force.
Your dog stays at one of our facilities or in a trainer's home and works with our team every day. You get daily updates with video in our app, learning material for your family throughout the stay, and an open invitation to visit and join a session. Afterward we come to your home, location permitting, so the work transfers to where your dog actually lives.
Behavior cases usually run longer than the standard two weeks, so we quote them after a goal-setting session. See our board and train program.
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Aggressive Dog Training Across Dallas–Fort Worth
We come to you. Fear and aggression cases are worked in your home, because that's where the behavior happens.
Dallas. Jenny Kraus is based in East Dallas, and we work in homes across Lakewood, Lake Highlands, University Park, Highland Park and North Dallas. More about dog training in Dallas.
Fort Worth and the western Metroplex. Amber Wilson covers Fort Worth, Weatherford, Granbury, Aledo and Burleson. More about dog training in Fort Worth.
Frisco, Plano, McKinney and the northern suburbs. Nicole Kohanski covers the most complex cases in these areas. We have a location in Plano, and our consultants work in homes across Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Prosper and Celina.
Outside DFW? We work with families anywhere by video.
What This Costs
Every case starts with a free 15-minute call. No charge, no obligation — we use it to hear what's happening and tell you whether we're the right fit.
Initial behavior consultation — $270 for 1.5 hours, in your home. We review your dog's history, discuss your concerns, observe your dog without provoking the behavior, and identify what's driving it. You leave with safety and management recommendations. An individualized behavior plan follows.
Follow-up sessions — $155–$180 per hour Rate depends on which consultant you work with.
Board and train — quoted per case. A two week board and train costs $2,550 but a board and train for aggression likely takes longer than two weeks. Length depends on what we're working with, so we price it after the initial assessment rather than selling a fixed package.
Behavior work is not a one-session fix, and we'd rather you know that now than find out after you've paid. Most families work with us over a period of weeks. Price list.
FAQ
Are you a dog behaviorist?
“Dog behaviorist” is what most people type into Google, and the term gets used loosely. Strictly speaking, a veterinary behaviorist is a veterinarian with board certification in behavior (DACVB) who can diagnose medical causes and prescribe medication, and a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) holds a graduate degree in animal behavior. Both are rare. We are certified dog behavior consultants. Our team holds the CDBC through the IAABC and the CBCC-KA through the CCPDT, which are the advanced credentials for professionals who work fear, reactivity and aggression cases in the home. For most families looking for a dog behaviorist in Dallas, Fort Worth or anywhere in DFW, that is the help they need. When a case calls for a medical workup or behavior medication, we'll tell you, and we work alongside your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist.
Do you take dogs with a bite history?
Yes. Bite cases are a significant part of what we do, and they're the cases most trainers decline. Our consultants hold advanced behavior certification — CBCC-KA and CDBC — and have worked bites in private practice and in municipal animal sheltering. We'll want detail about what happened: what preceded it, whether your dog gave a warning, and the level of injury. That's what tells us the prognosis. You'll get an honest assessment rather than reassurance. Click to get more info on bite levels.
Do you offer board and train for aggressive dogs?
Yes, and we're one of the few programs in the Metroplex offering it without e-collars, prong collars, choke chains or force. It suits families who need a running start, or whose situation isn't safe to work through slowly at home. Most aggression cases still begin with an in-home consultation, because the behavior is tied to the environment and we need to see it. See our board and train program.
Do you use e-collars, prong collars or shock collars?
No — not as a tool, and not as a last resort. Aggression is almost always rooted in fear. Pain-based tools suppress what you can see while leaving the fear exactly where it was, and the most common outcome is a dog who stops warning before they bite. That is more dangerous, not less. We change how your dog feels about the trigger, which is slower and holds.
What does behavior work cost?
The first 15-minute call is free. The initial in-home consultation is $270 for 1.5 hours, and follow-up sessions run $155–$180 an hour depending on which consultant you work with. Board and train is quoted per case after we've assessed your dog. Most families work with us over a period of weeks rather than in a single session — behavior change isn't a one-appointment fix, and we'd rather say that up front.
How long does this take?
Most behavior cases involve three to six weeks of active work, and longer where there's a bite history or a pattern that's been rehearsed for years. You'll usually notice early change sooner than that — a dog recovering faster after a trigger, warning earlier, coping at a distance that used to set them off. Anyone offering a fix in a weekend is selling suppression.
Is my dog aggressive or just reactive?
Reactivity usually means barking, lunging and pulling — loud displays meant to create distance, most often on leash. Aggression means the dog has used their mouth, or would. In practice they sit on the same continuum and the same underlying fear tends to drive both, which is why the distinction matters less than people expect. Either way we identify the trigger and change how your dog feels about it. If your concern is mainly leash behavior, start with reactive dog training.
What areas do you serve?
We work in your home across the DFW Metroplex — Dallas, Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Prosper and Celina to the north, and Fort Worth, Weatherford, Granbury, Aledo and Burleson to the west. Group classes run in Plano and Dallas. We also work virtually with clients anywhere.
Can you guarantee my dog will be fixed?
No, and we'd be careful of anyone who says otherwise. Behavior work reduces fear-driven behavior and gives you management that holds — it doesn't erase your dog's history or temperament. What we can tell you, once we've assessed your dog, is what's realistic for your specific situation, including when the honest answer is a hard one. A guarantee in this field almost always means suppression: the behavior stops being visible while the fear underneath it stays exactly where it was.