Anchor Up K9 Academy

DeWayne is amazing! Our dog Kingston is great at listening, but we felt like Kingston and us needed training. DeWayne was patient and very personable. I’m a worry wort, and while he was away on his 3 week boarding school, I literally didn’t feel like I had to worry at all! He sent amazing non-edited videos with amazing pictures daily of Kingstons progress. Kingstons first day back we had to make a Home Depot run, and let me tell you, this dog stayed at the heel position the entire time and didn’t act up once. Seriously can’t say how thankful we are for DeWayne helping us feel like better owners, teaching us the important things to know, and also training Kingston. It was a school for all of us at the end of the day and I could tell DeWayne appreciated that! He loves his job and your dogs, so don’t look any further, he’s your man!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommend Anchor Up K9 Academy! I can’t say enough great things about Anchor Up K9 Academy and the transformation I’ve seen in my dog, Marley. I have an XL American Bully, and I needed training that could handle a strong, powerful breed—not just basic commands, but real control, structure and better understanding of K-9 behavior. Before training, Marley struggled with leash pulling, overexcitement around other dogs, and not consistently listening to commands, especially in distracting environments. Walks were stressful, and I didn’t feel fully in control. After working with Anchor Up K9 Academy, the difference is night and day. Marley now: ✔ Walks calmly on leash with little to no pulling ✔ Responds to commands the first time (sit, stay, recall) ✔ Is much more neutral around other dogs and people ✔ Shows improved impulse control and overall focus ✔ Is easier to manage in public and high-energy environments What really stood out was how knowledgeable and hands-on DeWayne is. He doesn’t just train your dog—He teaches you how to lead your dog with confidence. The balance of discipline, structure, and care is exactly what dogs like Marley need. If you have a strong breed like an American Bully or just want real, effective results, this is the place. The transformation speaks for itself.

Our 8 month old German Shepherd / Black Lab mix, Koa, spent 3 weeks with Dewayne and his family for a board and train program. We had some big goals for our puppy when we dropped him off. 1) We homeschool and wanted to be able to have him hang out with us all day without being destructive, mouthy, or running all over the house. 2) We are a very active family and wanted to be able to bring him along with us on our travels, on the trails, and to our kids’ sports practices. 3) We needed to greatly improve his manners around the home (eliminate counter surfing, respect our kids’ space, learn to co-exist with our cat, etc.), and on walks when out and about (stop pulling, reduce his reactivity to other dogs, not eat everything in sight). We would have been thrilled to have Koa make progress on even just one of these goals, but Dewayne worked his magic and has helped our sweet Koa boy gain the confidence and training to transform into the best version of himself. He’s able to be with us all day, lays down by our feet during our lessons, and is doing a much better job of listening and obeying. He is now so sweet and gentle with our 4 month old baby and 2 year old — an absolute gentleman — and he plays/trains exceptionally well with our 5 and 7 year olds. Because of all the progress he has made on the leash and being around strangers, he is now living his best life going on long neighborhood walks, running errands, and adventuring around Hampton Roads with us. We’re excited to bring him to soccer in the coming season! He rarely counter surfs now, and is making great strides toward comfortably cohabitating with our cat. Most of all, we’re all able to have so much more fun with Koa now, and our enjoyment of him has grown exponentially. We can see how happy he is to be a part of our family and that he feels loved and safe. We found Dewayne to be extremely communicative, supportive, and helpful with us, and also very intentional in his individualized training efforts toward Koa’s unique goals. The videos we received each night helped us learn how to best communicate with and train our dog, and we were pleasantly surprised by how much Dewayne’s teachings also helped us move on from trauma we were still unknowingly harboring from our previous dog. Dewayne has continued to support our journey with Koa’s training. Even after his transition back home, Dewayne has made himself available to us when we’ve had questions, needed advice, or needed in person meet-ups to work through some challenge areas. Finally, we were also so grateful for how much Dewayne, his whole family, and even their personal dogs showered Koa with love and attention while he was away from us. We missed him a lot, but seeing how well cared for he was made the separation a lot easier, especially for our young kids. Anchor Up was without a doubt a worthwhile investment, and we would recommend Dewayne to anyone looking for a top notch dog trainer who will help create lasting positive changes for your pup!

Dewayne was such a wonderful trainer for our dog, Darla. Before training, our dog was bolting out of our door, pulling on the leash, and was not listening to us (we didn’t know how to get on the same page as her). We did the 3 week training for her and we are so grateful that we found Anchor Up k9 Academy! Dewayne was very communicative and would send us nightly updates about Darla. These updates were so organized and included what training was being done for the day or any activities that were done, with plenty of pictures! My husband and I also met up with Dewayne to go over everything that she learned, even showing us everything in person. He also provided a nice folder with references and Darla’s certificate for training. I cannot express how grateful that we are for Anchor Up k9 Academy and how helpful Dewayne has been for our dog!! The best trainer ever!! 🎉🎉🎉