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Ivy League Canine Academy

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San Antonio, TX
Ivy League Canine Academy

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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!

08/22/2026

Obedience is only valuable if it creates freedom. Freedom for you AND freedom for your dog.

This is the kind of moment I think about when people ask why we put so much emphasis on foundational skills. It’s not because I need my dog glued to my leg or because I care what a heel looks like for the sake of looking impressive. It’s because I want to grab the stroller, leash up my dog, walk out the door and have everyone move through the world together without it feeling like a whole production.

A good heel gives me freedom because I can divide my attention. I can focus on my daughter, navigate the stroller, cross a street, talk to someone we pass and trust that my dog understands where to be and what we’re doing. And it gives my dog freedom because the more capable he is of moving through the world with me, the more of that world he gets access to.

That means more walks, outings, places and experiences. Generally more opportunities to just come along and be part of our life.

That’s the point of training for us. Not obedience for obedience’s sake, but building the kind of communication and cooperation that makes life bigger for both ends of the leash.

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.

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.

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!

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

Website

http://ilk9academy.com/

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