The Coventry School Inc — Local services in Columbia

I signed up my Dalmatian for puppy kindergarten at Coventry before I even brought her home from the breeder. It was my first experience with a training school since moving to this area, and as a veterinarian, you better believe I did my homework! There is only one acceptable way to train a dog in my opinion--and that is through positive reinforcement. Coventry does not use ANY harsh methods or punishments to teach the dogs, and that was the most important thing to me. (I found that some of the local training organizations try to make shocking your dog sound cute by calling it "remote training" or "e-training").

I could not possibly have been more impressed with Liz. Liz even had an assistant trainer for puppy kindergarten (Stephanie, who was also fabulous) so all of the dogs got individual attention, even at this young age.

After finishing Puppy K, we signed up right away for Head Start, the next class in the series, with Vinny. I was so impressed at how quickly my puppy was learning, and we came out of this class with skills we use every day.

I took my pup to Coventry's doggie day care when I was able. I was impressed with the staff there, as they all knew exactly who she was and how her day went each time. When I dropped her off, she didn't even turn around to say goodbye--she was so happy to see her new friends there!

When I was having some issues getting my dog to walk well on a leash (when there were "real world" distractions present), I scheduled a private training session with Liz. She used some creative solutions to get my dog heeling in a few minutes. A few days later, we were able to walk in downtown Annapolis with no problems. What a relief, and a relaxing experience!

My crazy work schedule kept us away from doggie day care and classes for awhile, but we recently completed a 3-week "Don't Jump on Me" clinic with trainer Jackie to get back in the swing of things. It was held on a Sunday! Perfect for my schedule! Now we're starting the next level of classes (WonderDog) next Sunday.

I recently had some professional photos taken of my Dalmatian (now 2.5 years old). The photographer told me that my dog was the best trained dog with whom she had ever worked. Thanks Liz, Vinny and Jackie!

I now have a 5 month old Labrador Retriever puppy as well. She is a service puppy in training that I am raising for Fidos for Freedom. I have been so impressed with Coventry that I am paying out of pocket for what is now the puppy's second Coventry class, to give her every advantage in a potential service career. Both of our classes have been with Jen, and she's been phenomenal. I'm learning even more the second time around. Thanks, Jen!

Even though I work about 45 minutes away from Columbia, I still recommend Coventry to all of my puppy clients, and especially to any clients with older dogs having behavior issues. Liz and Vinny have the insight and patience to do what is right and best for the dogs. If you are serious about your dog's behavior and want them to be happy and well-adjusted, this...

(Pre-Covid Review) I love this place! I have taken my two puppies here for training and socialization as soon as they were eligible to go. My first girl, I took 6 years ago, for puppy kindergarten. She would have a blast! Because she isn't food motivated it was a little hard getting her to focus because she just wanted to see the other dogs and people! At this time, they also had a social hour which was adjacent to my class, so that was a lot of fun to do on her school days. I took my newest dog for puppy kindergarten, too, a little over two years ago now. She also had a blast! I would take her to day camp/super puppy club on some off days. I ADORE the little notes they would give you at pick up telling you about her day and what she did. The staff here is great. The facility is huge, clean and well maintained. They really love the dogs and you can tell. I love their training methods as well. This is truly the place to go if you want to correct issues you may have, or like me, just to get off on the right foot. When I was working in a veterinary office, we would recommend them to all our new puppy clients and would always hear amazing feedback and thanks for the recommendations. It would be so neat to see super scared puppies change through their training there each time we would see them for their vaccines, how confident and happy they became. My coworker also took her reactive adult dog there for corrective training and was so pleased with the outcome. They have so many different classes, from group basic fundamentals to super cool specialty skill stuff that would really be fun for dog and handler. Even private lessons! Such awesome things to keep your furry friend happy and stimulated! I clearly can't say enough about this place and hope everyone goes to check it out, it is...

Love this place! I've been taking my dog here for classes and their day camp program for almost a year, since he was a puppy.

The trainers and staff are all wonderful and highly knowledgeable. I LOVE that they exclusively use positive reinforcement based training, free of any physical or psychological intimidation. I can tell it makes for a stronger bond between me and my dog, much more fun and happiness for him, and much stronger and reliable behaviors as well. The classes are also small enough that the trainers can really observe and provide individual assistance, which is great since the classes usually have such a big variety of dogs.

I absolutely love taking him to the day camp program, as it is difficult for me to provide my dog with all the socialization, exercise, and mental engagement all on my own. But he always comes home from day camp well exercised, mentally and physically, and we can see from pictures and videos that he has a long day of fun with the other dogs and staff. He is always appropriately paired with dogs of similar size and temperament, and supervised by the staff at all times as well. They also get to know all the dogs very well, and surprised us with how much detail they notice with him and are able to report back. It's great to find a place I can completely trust to handle my dog. It is obvious he has a great time, as every time we bring him there, he can't...