Specializing in canine behavior and functional movement
★★★★★on Google

Canine Fitness Austin, TX

Help your dog build the strength, balance, and body awareness to enjoy everyday adventures. Venture combines purposeful movement with coaching tailored to your dog, from family dogs and sport dogs to older dogs.

Dog leaping over a jump bar during canine fitness training in Austin, TX
EXCELLENT
★★★★★
Rated 5.0 from 38 reviews on
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Yessika P
★★★★★

My dog Pedro and I had a great time working with Steven and Hannah. Steven helped my reactive pup calm down. My dog couldn't even look at a toy dog without going crazy for it. Now he can walk by dogs with little to no issues and I can tell my dog is happier. Steven knows his stuff and is great at working with dogs and people as well. There is so much kindness, patience, and education there that is very cool! The knowledge I gained on how to take care of Pedro and help him was also so helpful. I would totally recommend Steven to anyone who has a reactionary doggo that needs some help! Now my dog is able to go out beyond our little neighborhood and hangout with us!

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kaitlyn warren
★★★★★

Steven has been amazing to work with over the past 7 weeks. He didn’t just train my dogs—he taught me how to better understand them and build their confidence. Darci and Trout have both made so much progress, and I’m incredibly grateful for everything we’ve learned. I highly recommend him! Please consider him for any aged pups and don’t be surprised with how fast the progress happens! Services Dog training

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Jacquelyn Llamas
★★★★★

My sweet girl has always had trouble since I got her from the shelter. She struggled with recall, being outside of the house around dogs/small animals, sometimes men, and honestly just listening to me in general. I have noticed milestones that I never would imagine my dog would be able to. I feel like Steven has been so understanding and non judgmental. I was always worried to get into training because I felt like I had no idea how to control my own dog, but he has made this process so nice. It’s been an amazing experience overall and I recommend Steven 1000%!

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Megan Gross
★★★★★

Steven at Venture Dog Training has been an incredible mentor and played a huge role in my growth as a professional dog trainer. He helped me tremendously by deepening my understanding of behavior, structure, and clear communication — not just teaching techniques, but teaching the “why” behind them. His guidance and high standards pushed me to grow in both confidence and skill, and his mentorship contributed greatly to me earning my certification. I’m truly grateful for his leadership and highly recommend him to anyone looking for knowledgeable, structured, results-driven training. Thank you, Steven!!

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Juliana Kiener
★★★★★

We are so impressed with the progress our dog has made after just 8 sessions with Steven from Venture Dog Training! She learned how to sit, stay, lay down, take a breath, and leave it—and she absolutely loves Steven (and so do we)! Steven is not only super knowledgeable and professional, but also incredibly attentive. He’s even helped answer questions outside of our scheduled sessions—which we try not to take advantage of, haha! He’s truly passionate about what he does, and it shows. We especially love that Steven comes to our house, making training so convenient and personalized. He even joined us for a session at our favorite bar to help train our pup in a real-world setting, which was exactly what we needed. Steven is kind, trustworthy, and an all-around great guy. We couldn’t recommend him more!

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Charlie Hackenbruch
★★★★★

I really loved working with Steven! He was a kind, skilled and knowledgable teacher. I'm neurodivergent and can struggle with task switching between processing verbal in person instruction and actually training the dog, but I try to take in person classes as well as online ones because there's so many benefits to training in a controlled environment like a class. In spite of me having a generally harder time with in person instruction, Steven was very patient, encouraging and a joy to work with. He also was always very flexible if I wanted to do something a different way, and was even creative enough to come up with new solutions himself if I preferred training a skill in a different way, which I did not at all expect. I would not hesitate to take a class with Steven again.

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Jennifer Kuvlesky
★★★★★

I hired Steven to help get my corgi Chihuahua mix dog with self control since we are expecting a baby in the family and my daughter moved in with her 2 cats. My dog, Oliver, had selective listening skills prior to training and would hyperventilate and bark constantly around the cats. With Steven’s guidance and consistent training approach we were able to get Oliver to listen, and now he can hang out with the cats without barking at all. At first, it didn’t seem like it was going to work, but with consistent training over a three month period were able to be successful.

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Concelia Cappuccilli
★★★★★

Steven and his team are amazing! They are quick to get you in for a FREE telephone consult and respond to messages with speed. I went with the fitness and nutrition package shortly after my dog was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. My dog is fearful of new people, especially men, but Steven was able to develop a plan to help with her stance, gait, and rear end muscle building, and coach us entirely virtually! I have seen a massive decrease in her pain since working with him!! His nutritionist, Amanda, was also able to develop a diet to help with her IBD. She is extremely knowledgeable on all things dog nutrition! I’d recommend Steven and team to anyone who is looking for expert coaching and a trainer who cares so deeply for the animals in their care.

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D Duncan
★★★★★

"Working with Steven at Venture Dog Training was a fantastic experience. He was so patient and gave me the tools I needed to truly communicate with Marlo. If you're looking for an excellent trainer, look no further!" Services Dog training

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Nicole Vences
★★★★★

Steven is such a great trainer! He helped me learn techniques and tools to help manage my dog's reactivity. My dog loves working with Steven and I have become better equipped to handle my dogs reactivity. Services Dog training

Professional Certifications & Memberships

Steven Tallas, CBCC-KA, Dip.CBST, CSCC — certified in canine behavior consulting, behavior science & technology, and canine sports conditioning.

Canine Fitness

Move With Purpose

Help your dog build the strength, balance, and body awareness to enjoy everyday adventures. Venture combines purposeful movement with coaching tailored to your dog.

Puppy Fitness
$1,020
7 Lessons
Total program price
For puppies up to 4 months old
Adult Fitness
$1,150
7 Lessons
Total program price
For dogs 5 months and older

Purposeful movement tailored to your dog’s life stage and goals.

Also included: weekly check-ins, full phone and email support between lessons, a 10% graduate discount on additional lessons, and an optional virtual follow-up up to one month after your program.

Puppy Fitness focuses on purposeful movement and physical foundations. For everyday manners and common puppy challenges, see Puppy Training, which is a separate program.

Trainer coaching a dog through a controlled spin exercise during canine conditioning in Austin, TX

Who It Is For

Family dogs building a fitness foundation, active dogs working toward sport goals, and older dogs needing appropriately adapted activities.

What We Work On

Strength & Stability

Controlled exercises that develop a steadier foundation.

Balance & Coordination

Body awareness activities that help your dog move with intention.

Everyday Movement

Work on posture, mobility, and movement skills suited to your dog.

Progress at Home

Learn how to practice exercises and build a manageable routine.

Confidence on New Surfaces

Explore different surfaces and equipment at your dog’s pace.

Tailored to Life Stage

Adapt activities for puppies, family dogs, sport dogs, and older dogs.

Memberships & Assessments

Memberships from $59 to $129 monthly. Ongoing structured conditioning after your program: monthly movement clinics, discounted private lessons, and at the Elite tier, nine in-home sessions with equipment-supported conditioning and no owner required. A standalone in-home Canine Movement Assessment is $250.

The Program Austin Knows Us For

Ask around Austin's agility rings, dock diving events and training clubs about canine fitness, and you will hear one name repeatedly. This is our home turf: the discipline Venture was built around, and the expertise that powers everything else we do.

We study the canine body in motion: posture, gait, stability and the entire kinetic chain, to uncover how your dog generates and absorbs force. Dogs are never taught to move sideways, backwards or through different planes of motion. So they compensate. They tighten. They can lose mobility, and with it, comfort and confidence.

Our work addresses that through the Venture Functional Movement Method: a science-driven, posture-first approach blending canine biomechanics, behavior science and functional movement principles, delivered in your home by a trainer certified in canine sports conditioning with a canine fitness credential from NC State College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dog practicing balance and strength skills during canine fitness training in Austin

Respected by the Professionals

Canine fitness is where Venture's community standing shows. Steven teaches the behavior-body connection in workshops alongside fellow certified behavior consultants, coaches warm-ups and conditioning at Austin dock diving events, and is the fitness resource other trainers refer their clients to.

Agility competitors put it plainly: no serious human sport trains only by playing the sport, yet most dogs are asked to do exactly that. Body awareness and conditioning are what let dogs compete, adventure and play hard safely, at any level, at any age.

Whether your goal is a stronger sport season, a calmer household or more good years with a graying muzzle, it starts with one assessment of how your dog actually moves.

Fit, healthy dog running with confidence after canine fitness training in Austin

Related Programs

Everyday skills live in Dog Obedience Training. Group conditioning happens in our Movement Clinics, puppies learn everyday manners in Puppy Training, and the behavior connection lives at Dog Behavior Training.

Canine Fitness Questions

What exactly is canine fitness?

Structured physical conditioning for dogs: strength, balance, flexibility, cardio fitness and body awareness, built through purposeful exercises rather than random exercise. Think of the difference between a human who walks sometimes and one who trains deliberately. Dogs compensate, tighten and lose mobility exactly the way we do, and structured movement is how you change it.

Is this physical therapy or rehab?

No, and the distinction matters. Rehabilitation after injury or surgery belongs with a veterinary rehab professional, and we refer those cases out. Our work is conditioning for healthy dogs: building strength, stability and body awareness. For dogs cleared by their vet after rehab, we are the natural next step.

Which dogs is Canine Fitness for?

Activities are tailored to life stage and goals. Family dogs build a fitness foundation, active dogs work toward sport goals, and older dogs get appropriately adapted activities. Puppies up to 4 months old have their own option, Puppy Fitness, with age-appropriate work.

What do programs cost?

Canine Fitness, Move With Purpose, has two options. Puppy Fitness is $1,020 for 7 lessons, for puppies up to 4 months old. Adult Fitness is $1,150 for 7 lessons, for dogs 5 months and older. Every program also includes weekly check-ins, full phone and email support between lessons, a 10% graduate discount on additional lessons, and an optional virtual follow-up up to one month after your program. A standalone Canine Movement Assessment is $250, memberships run $59 to $129 monthly, and drop-in group clinics at Epic Canine are $70 after a $100 placement assessment.

Can fitness really change behavior?

Movement is part of how we train. Dogs carrying tension, weakness or compensation patterns can live closer to their stress threshold. Purposeful movement supports body awareness and confidence, which is why we include it alongside reward-based training and behavior work. Austin dog sport competitors also know us as the warm-up and conditioning coaches at local events.

Let’s Find the Right Next Step

Book a free consultation and tell us about your dog. We’ll talk through your dog’s needs and find the right training program.