FirstBarkVirginia was amazing with our chocolate lab Bourbon! She taught us tricks that truly helped us with just a few times of implementation. With having a 1 year old, we needed to learn to set boundaries and she helped us with this flawlessly! Would recommend Virginia to anyone who needs a little help training their dog!
North Star Canines
Scottsville, Virginia
About North Star Canines
Providing expert dog training, puppy training & behavior services since 1991. Certified Training Partner with Karen Pryor Academy. Offering positive reinforcement techniques for teaching good manners and obedience skills. Private, in-home lessons for puppies & adult dogs. Gentle & humane strategies to modify all sorts of problem behaviors, with consultations arranged in the convenience of your home. Remote video or phone consultations are a safe, economical and effective way to address training, behavior problems, and new puppy advice! Some in-home boarding and puppy board & train available. Serving Scottsville, Virginia, southern Albemarle county, Charlottesville, Buckingham county, and areas of Fluvanna, Nelson and Cumberland counties
Training & services
Training goals
- Behavior consultation
Program details
In-home behavior consultations are available to address all sorts of problems, including fearfulness, difficult-to-handle behavior when on leash or out in public, excessive barking, anxiety, aggressive, and so much more.
Services via video conferencing are a safe, economical, and very effective way to address many training and behavior issues, all from the comfort of your home.
- House training
- Leash training
- Obedience training
- Puppy training
Behavior support
- Barking
How training happens
- Board and train
- In-home training
- Online or virtual training
- Private training
Program details
Private lessons at your home with customized training plans to address your needs
Dog age
- Adult dogs
- Puppies
Training level
- Beginner training
Support between sessions
- Personalized training plans
Assistance and working dogs
- Therapy dog training
Training approach
- Positive reinforcement
Additional services
- Boarding
Other listed services
View 26 additional details
- Animal Acting
- Animal Training
- Behavior Advice
- Behavior Analysis
- Behavior Counseling
- Behavior Counselor
- Continuing Education
- Counseling Training
- Dog Visiting
- Dog Walks
- Dogs Learning
- Door Dashing
- Early Training
- In-Person Dog Training
- Nail Trims
- Person Sessions
- Pet Therapy
- Pet Therapy Visits
- Scent Detection Training
- Tailor Training
- Training & Behavior
- Training Sessions
- Vet Care
- Video Consultations
- Video Training
- Zoom Consults
Confirm current programs and availability directly.
Customer reviews
Google listing5
57 Google reviews
Mentioned in reviews
- Positive reinforcement 6
- Behavior shaping 5
- Promptness 5
- Detailed recaps 4
- Email recaps 4
- Leash walking 4
All 10 topics
- Detailed notes 3
- Timely advice 3
- Calm voice 2
- Organized trainings 2
Google review topics, not confirmed services.
We worked with Virginia for our "opinionated" Havanese puppy last year. She was very helpful giving us tools and tips on how to teach Hazel good manners and not get frustrated when progress isn't swift. She provided detailed follow-ups after each session and was very knowledgeable about what to do/not do when establishing a strong relationship with the newest member of the family.
I would highly recommend working with Virginia! After bringing a new baby into the family my husband and I decided it was finally time to start addressing some of our pup Delilah’s more challenging behaviors. As Delilah is a high-strung cattle dog mix there was a lot we wanted to…Read full reviewClose full review
I would highly recommend working with Virginia! After bringing a new baby into the family my husband and I decided it was finally time to start addressing some of our pup Delilah’s more challenging behaviors. As Delilah is a high-strung cattle dog mix there was a lot we wanted to work on! Virginia has been extremely thorough in addressing our concerns, and very detailed in how best to manage them. All communication and training sessions have been prompt, professional, friendly, and organized. I especially appreciate the recap notes from each session that we can refer back to for extra guidance on what we worked on and reminders for how to implement. Since working with Virginia we have many tools to draw on and feel much more equipped to manage Delilah’s behavior. I am confident that we’ll continue to see improvement going forward! Thank you Virginia!
Virginia is the best. We got our first dog and were clueless. She has a magic touch with the puppies and is so knowledgeable. She had great suggestions for every issue we had and focused on what worked for us and our family. I will continue to use her for sure. She is very professional, responsible, nice, and a great person to work with.
I can’t say enough good things about Virginia - I am so thankful for her. Not only is Virginia an incredibly talented trainer, but combined with her extensive experience, she’s so intuitive and so quick to recognize and comprehend situations that I wouldn’t have noticed at all wi…Read full reviewClose full review
I can’t say enough good things about Virginia - I am so thankful for her. Not only is Virginia an incredibly talented trainer, but combined with her extensive experience, she’s so intuitive and so quick to recognize and comprehend situations that I wouldn’t have noticed at all without her. For example, I hired Virginia to help train my French Bulldog puppy. During one of our sessions, another dog was around, and Virginia noticed the slightest change in behavior and suggested I watch out for guarding - my puppy may be starting to guard food, etc. and it could become an issue. And she was completely right, I found out — Virginia had recognized this before it even started, and the next time we met, we were able to work on it before it was a major problem. She knows what to do in every situation, and she is so kind to every animal (even wild little puppies like mine). I was in over my head - and right away, I knew we were in good hands with Virginia. She has practical solutions that are easy to learn and practice and then miraculously, they work. She helped me so much. I’m so, so grateful. I’m positive she can solve any problem - animal-related or not. I would recommend her to anyone, without hesitation.
Original customer experiences from the collected Google data. Ratings without comments follow written reviews.