Now helping the DMV Metropolitan area.

There’s a better way

Your relationship with your dog should be rewarding for the both of you. Force Free DC is here to help you learn skills for a successful, engaging life together.

Our Services

  • Private lessons dog training

    Private Lessons

    60-minute sessions for one-on-one work with a trainer to meet goals tailored to your dog

  • specialty consultations Force Free DC

    Specialty Consultations

    Focused sessions for addressing common situations like managing aggression or getting puppy-ready

  • Training Walks with your dog

    Training Walks

    On-the-go training to reinforce good behaviors so walks can be more enjoyable

  • Group dog training classes

    In Person Group Classes

    Once-a-week classes covering manners and life skills, taught in Brookland

  • Small Group Play and Train

    A drop-and-train style class that perfectly mixes playtime with training. Classes available for large dogs, small dogs, and puppies

  • Puppy Social Hour

    This class doubles as brunch! Clients can bring their new puppies for healthy and safe socialization

Learn More

Meet the Trainers

We’re certified dog trainers committed to creating better lives for pets and their people. We use fear-free, force-free, pain-free methods supported by the latest evidence-based research.

Nikita Poe Dog Trainer DC
Ian Kilgore
Joseph Ryan Dog Trainer DC

What Our Clients Say

  • We had a wonderful experience working with Nikita to help us with our recently rescued border collie mix puppy. Nikita gave valuable, practical guidance and clear demonstrations, and always followed up with detailed notes and resources that we've found incredibly helpful to refer back to later. She was so compassionate, kind, and patient -- with us and our puppy -- and we feel much better equipped to handle puppy/adolescent parenthood now!

    — John & Giulia C

  • We really enjoyed how caring and personable Joe was to us and with our rescue. His ability to connect with Paco and allow us to work with his own dogs to help Pack was a big win. Thanks force free dc!

    — Tommy L

  • We just had our initial session (aggression consultation) with Force Free DC for our two reactive dogs. Joe immediately recognized each dog's personality and needs, and provided useful background and readily-applicable training techniques. We're just getting started on our journey, but have already seen improvement the quality of our walks with a few distraction techniques and counter-conditioning exercises. And, our dogs love Joe and his magic meatball recipe!

    — Sarah T

  • Joe and Force Free DC are an absolute dream to work with! Kindness, patience, expertise are all words I would use to describe our experience. Our golden/lab, Huckleberry just adores him and wants to work hard during our sessions. We have accomplished so much in our first round of sessions and Huckleberry is walking on a leash in a way he has never done before. We have full confidence in Joe and fully and highly recommend him.

    — Joshua V

  • Joe and team have been amazing with our rescue dog, Buddy, who is aggressive and reactive toward new people. But Joe is a great trainer — really knowledgeable, patient, and kind.

    — Natalie M

  • Joe has been fantastic working with my anxious dog Sadie. He is kind and understanding to both Sadie and me. Sadie doesn’t have many of the “typical” motivations because of her fear response, and Joe’s ability to identify what does motivate her and how to use it has been a total game changer.

    — Elizabeth S

  • Joe has been great helping my dog Stella learn how to behave under stressful situations! His training exercises are always on point and gives great advice to follow up at home.

    — Maria S

  • Joe and his team are wonderful and have been such a help in training our dog Jones.

    — Jessica F

  • It has been such a great experience working with Force Free DC with our anxious pup. Joe has been kind, clear and super helpful on our training journey. We really appreciate the R+ tactics and positive vibes: our dog has responded so much better to this type of training than others we have tried. Joe is very knowledgeable and you can tell he loves dogs. Thankful to have this team on Molly’s side!

    — Brenna D

  • We’ve worked with Joe in a variety of capacities over the past year, helping train our dog Chai. Our pup, who typically shies away from people at first (and beyond 😊), immediately fell in love with Joe, and is always super excited to see him. This is not a coincidence. Joe is a great, enthusiastic trainer who clearly cares about and connects with each and every dog he meets. That level of care and empathy translates into his commitment to force free and fear free training and has resulted in a very well trained and well behaved dog!

    — Vince P

Contact Us

Ready to book a training session? Need more information?