Ivy League Canine Academy

Ivy League Canine Academy Ivy League Canine Academy takes a positive, individualized approach to ensure that you and your dog have the best education possible.

Ivy League Canine Academy has custom programs that all stress three main pillars; a strong foundation of obedience both on and off-leash, socialization, and exposure to public places and different stimuli, and extensive training for YOU, the pet owner, to ensure a successful future for your pet and family. We know your dog is a member of the family and that is the philosophy we have here. Invest in your family’s future with an Ivy League education for your dog, today!

08/14/2026

Morning Movement 🌞

Morning walks have been one of our non negotiables for a long time. Our dogs NEED this type of activity every day and they get it about 28 days at least out of every month. (And the reality is we as humans need this as well). This is the best way to help reset your dog’s nervous system and build a true energetic connection with your dog over time.

I challenge you to do this type of activity for 30 days straight and see how much more balanced your dog’s behavior and overall demeanor are.

If you can’t have your dog off leash yet, then use a 30 or 50 foot leash to start and you’ll see a similar benefit.

There are literally places to do this everywhere. We lived in a city of 1.5 million people and had our daily spot. It’s a lot of work, for sure, but so is having a dog with severe health and behavioral issues.

I can truly tell a difference on the rare occasion I can’t start my day like this. Think how much more profound that difference is to our dogs…

08/12/2026

Behavior from our dog cannot and will not change unless you do as well. There is ZERO training that exists for your dog to truly change/improve/grow without parts of you matching.

Your dog can learn skills, yes, but those skills will not integrate into their life without mental, physical, or spiritual embodiment from the human.

This is why dogs are so valuable to our lives. They demand presence, responsibility, integrity, and stewardship. (Notice we didn’t say that dogs merely require “ownership”)

Be the change you want to see in your dog!

07/23/2026

The last few years have changed us in ways we never expected. Bass’s cancer challenged everything we thought we knew about canine health. Our fertility journey challenged everything we thought we knew about our own. Both invited us to become students again and taught us to ask better questions.

Today, Maddie begins Dr. Ruth Roberts’ Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach program, and Alex will soon begin studying somatic education. Not because we’re changing what we do, but because we want to deepen how we do it.

The more we learn, the more convinced we become that behavior is an expression of the whole dog. Health, nutrition, movement, genetics, environment, fulfillment, and the nervous system all shape the behaviors we see. If we only focus on changing behavior, we’re often missing the story behind it.

We couldn’t save Bass, but we’ll spend the rest of our lives improving the health, wellness, and fulfillment of our own dogs and every dog entrusted to us through ILK9.

And if your dog becomes the reason you spend more time outside, nourish your body differently, regulate your nervous system, move with more intention, question old beliefs, or simply become a healthier human, then we’ve accomplished something far greater than training a well-behaved dog.

Our hope has never been to simply train better dogs. It’s to help raise a generation of stewards who understand the whole dog and discover that, in caring more intentionally for their dog, they begin caring more intentionally for themselves.

We believe healthier dogs create healthier humans, healthier humans create healthier families, and healthier families create a better world.

That’s the work we’re committing the rest of our lives to.

The industry loves to say, “training the human is the most important part.” Yet, too often, human development and curric...
06/22/2026

The industry loves to say, “training the human is the most important part.” Yet, too often, human development and curriculum is falling short, which results in “failure.”

The skills a trainer has with the animal is absolutely important, but the overall training philosophy, re-integration process, and human curriculum of the mentors you hire are just as crucial.

The human/family has to be prepared that “training” is never truly done and the best way to do that is to mentor the humans and help them evolve from “owner” to LEADER.

HOW TO MANAGE A PACKHouseholds and families with more than ONE dog have a pack. The more dogs you have in the household,...
06/14/2026

HOW TO MANAGE A PACK

Households and families with more than ONE dog have a pack. The more dogs you have in the household, the higher your chances are for conflict to break out. Thats just the reality of it.

We speak to families often who are dealing with dog fights with varying nuance. After peeling back the layers it is usually the same cause: no clear priorities from the owners.

If you prioritize YOUR emotions and play instead of clear boundaries and activities that help dogs bond through fulfillment, you are eventually going to have conflict between pack members.

Here is how to apply structure and prioritize healthy activities for your pack.

1. Dogs need to rest together. Place training and kennels are the perfect starting point. INTENTIONAL rest that you as the human initiate for ALL dogs throughout the day.

2. Dogs need to eat together. Not out of the same bowl and definitely not free feeding. We eat as a pack. Give dogs space and YOU stand there while they eat to enforce boundaries and redirect when dogs start finishing their meal. Calm, clear, supervised always.

3. Dogs need to walk together. Loose leash, calm, and connected. The heel walk is an incredible skill every dog and human should have together, and when the individual dog can do it, so can the pack. Enforce the calm team dynamic on leash every day. And if you can’t calmly walk one of the dogs in your pack, start there.

4. Dogs need to be able to explore together. Off leash, in nature, foraging and exploring like wild dogs would. Dogs that explore together are constantly communicating. Giving each other space, noticing when other dogs become interested in something, exploring independently but yet moving together as a pack. When you have off leash capability and you let your dogs go explore out in nature, as they are intended to, it is quite beautiful to observe how they interact.

If you truly focus on prioritizing these for activities on a daily basis with your pack, and do not add in any of the extra noise or pressure of making the dogs play, share toys, eat out of the same bowl, or any of the other emotion led activities you will see incredible results.

06/09/2026

They only get so many summers.

Our dogs deserve more than just a longer life. They deserve a life filled with adventure, purpose, movement, connection, and experiences shared alongside the people they love most.

As guardians, it’s our responsibility to continue learning and evolving so we can give them exactly that. The more we learn about nutrition, genetic fulfillment, nervous system regulation, movement, recovery, and training, the better equipped we are to help them thrive.

Because the goal isn’t simply to add years to their life. The goal is to add life to their years.

Training is a huge piece of that puzzle. A dog that can confidently move through the world with you gets access to more experiences, more freedom, and more opportunities to be included in everyday life. Instead of staying home, they get to join the hike, the road trip, the coffee run, the family gathering, and the quiet evening watching the sunset.

Our dogs are only here for a chapter of our lives, but we are their entire story. They deserve guardians who are willing to keep learning, keep growing, and keep showing up for them.

They only get so many summers.

Make as many of them as possible together.

06/08/2026

Try this for a week and see how much your connection will improve. Be present!

06/07/2026

Does this resonate with you? How would you rate the connection you have to your dog? How about to yourself?

Let’s get curious about our relationships to our animals and CONNECT

You don’t have a dog problem. You have a systems problem.This year, Alex & I are investing deeper into our education to ...
04/10/2026

You don’t have a dog problem. You have a systems problem.

This year, Alex & I are investing deeper into our education to expand ILK9 as a space for true, whole-dog vitality. We are pursuing advanced, veterinary-led certifications while exploring modalities like somatic work and nervous system regulation because training isn’t just about behavior. This is about rebuilding the entire system.

Many of you have already heard us and your trainers talk about nutrition, water quality, sunlight, and genetic fulfillment but those are just the entry points. When you start looking at the dog as a whole system meaning body, mind, and nervous system then you begin to see how much more is actually influencing behavior, regulation, and overall well-being.

As more of you begin asking these questions, we’re building something to support it. This includes education, resources, and eventually 1:1 guidance designed to help you understand your dog on a deeper level.

Our goal is not to add to the noise in the holistic space. We’re not here to push links, discount codes, or create a sense of urgency that makes you feel like you need to spend hundreds on supplements to be a good dog owner because that’s never been us. We want to support the people who are ready to do the work. Those that want to invest the time, ask better questions, and challenge what they’ve been told. As always, we’ll meet you where you’re at, but we’ll also be honest that this isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. The deeper and more individualized we can get, the better it’s going to serve you and your dog.

We want to continue to provide resources and guidance that not only improve behavior, but that truly support the entire dog. In today’s world, that means taking ownership of being informed, rather than passively accepting a system that is often reactive instead of proactive.

We value both holistic and traditional veterinary care, and we are deeply grateful for emergency medicine but we believe there is more we can be doing proactively, intentionally, and consistently with our dogs.

Train the mind. Support the body. Regulate the system.

San Antonio raised us. Tennessee is growing us. Hey! We’re Alex & MaddieAnd if you’re new here (or have been quietly wat...
03/01/2026

San Antonio raised us. Tennessee is growing us.

Hey! We’re Alex & Maddie

And if you’re new here (or have been quietly watching for a while), we wanted to re-introduce ourselves.

We’re the founders of Ivy League Canine Academy.
Husband and Wife.
Parents.
And dog people through and through.

What started as a training company has grown into a philosophy.

We don’t believe in forcing dogs into molds.
We don’t believe in obedience for the sake of optics.
And we definitely don’t believe behavior exists in a vacuum.

We believe:

• Behavior is communication.
• The nervous system drives performance.
• Genetics matter.
• Environment matters.
• The relationship is everything.

Our work lives at the intersection of structure and lifestyle.
Real-world training
Family integration
Clear leadership
Daily reps
Nervous system regulation
Genetic fulfillment

In our programs, we say cooperation over compliance because when you truly understand your dog, you don’t have to overpower them.

We’ve built this company from the ground up. Late nights, early mornings, 13+ dogs in the house, camera in hand, working with owners and dogs 7 days a week.

ILK9 Academy remains one of San Antonio’s most trusted dog training destinations. Now we’re building it in Tennessee but with more space, more nature, more opportunity to raise dogs and our family with purpose and an even deeper commitment to doing this work the right way.

If you’re here, you probably believe your dog deserves more than “sit, stay, good dog.”

You want clarity.
You want structure.
You want a dog that can live in the real world with your family.
And you want to understand them and not just control them.

That’s what we do.

Thanks for being here, We’re just getting started.

Address

San Antonio, TX
78259

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

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