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Monday 8am - 6pm Tuesday 8am - 6pm Wednesday 8am - 6pm Thursday 8am - 6pm Friday 8am - 6pm

Ruff Life Dog Training Services

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Asheville, NC
Ruff Life Dog Training Services

Bring your chihuahuas and your Great Danes and everything in between to see how a little training ca

I'm Tessa Sternbach and I have been providing dog training services in WNC since 2014. I can help you address any behavior concerns by providing in home or community 1:1 training, 1-4 week bootcamps, daily exercise and socialization, and more. I believe in using positive training techniques first and replacing problem behaviors with acceptable alternatives to create a happy owner and pup alike. Tr

aining Areas:
- basic obedience
- leash walking
- people and dog aggression
- separation anxiety
- crate and house training
- therapy dogs- AKC Canine Good Citizen Tests
- new puppy or adoption
- special requests

Please give me a call with any questions or to set up an appointment.

08/28/2025

We are VERY excited to be able to bring y'all TWO Nutrition Seminars next month. These seminars will be hosted by Andrea Demmons, the owner of The Tailgait Market, who is an expert in the field of dog nutrition.

You can sign up for one or both seminars. The cost is $50 per person for one seminar or $90 per person for both seminars. This cost includes the seminar and free samples.

If you would be interested in signing up, please email us at [email protected].

Thanks and we look forward to seeing y'all there!

08/12/2025

Hey y'all!

We are excited to announce our next round of group classes starting in September.

We will be offering our 7-week Ruff Starters course starting Sunday, September 14th 10am-11am. This class will meet 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, and 10/26. The cost for this course is $280 for all 7 weeks.

We will also be offering our 4-week Leash Walking course starting Sunday, September 14th 12pm-1pm. This class will meet 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, and 10/5.

Finally, we will be offering a two-part nutrition seminar (no dogs) on Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th 2pm-3pm. This will be $50 per seminar per person or $90 per person for both. You'll notice that this seminar is NOT mentioned in this post... so keep an eye out for more information on that seminar.

To sign up for ANY of these offerings (including the nutrition seminar), please email us at [email protected]. Thanks!

07/12/2025

Join us for this hour and a half seminar on July 27th 11:30am-1pm where we will be discussing everything to do with enrichment!

In this engaging seminar, you'll discover practical, hands-on strategies to create a well-rounded enrichment routine tailored to your dog’s needs and personality. From puzzle games to scent work, interactive play, and creative ways to use everyday household items, we’ll explore how to keep your dog mentally and physically engaged, reducing problem behaviors and strengthening the bond between you and your furry companion.

Please email us at [email protected] to sign up.

07/11/2025

Check out the coolest kids on the block, even in all this heat!

Jupiter and Faith and their trainers are going above and beyond. Just 3 weeks in and these pups are SUPER smart as they are already working on advanced skills and they have started going on some field trips to work on their real world skills.

We are so excited to keep working with these pups to have them reach their full potential.

These pups are UP FOR ADOPTION through Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue.

07/01/2025

With July 4th coming up, it is incredibly important to ensure you and your pup are adequately prepared to get through it safely and comfortably.

Some options include:

Discuss possible medication options with your vet to help your pup get through the holiday.

We recommend creating a safe space for your pup to go to when they are feeling afraid and we also encourage you to exercise your pup prior to the start of the festivities so their energy isn't being exclusively channeled into being afraid of the holiday events. We also recommend preparing lick mats or other enrichment toys as entertainment options.

If you didn't know this, it is also important to mention that July 4th sets the record of dogs lost so if you must take your pup outside, we highly encourage utilizing tools to ensure they cannot escape (i.e., leash, harness, martingale, etc) and to not allow them to be outside unsupervised.

06/28/2025

We are so honored to be featured on today. Today is the 9 month anniversary of Helene. As time has passed we have made a great recovery but coverage like this one is so important to remind us of all we have been through and to continue to celebrate our own and WNC’s resilience. We will never be able to fully express all our gratitude for the support we have received these last 9 months. And thank you for taking our story on.

06/27/2025

We are so excited to officially bring back our monthly pack walks post-Helene.

If you are a current training clients (including clients who worked with us pre-hurricane) and you would like to join us for this pack walk, please email us at [email protected] to get signed up.

We hope to see you at one of our future Wags!

06/17/2025

Hey y'all!

We're excited to bring to you a VERY special collaboration.

Mary Beth (owner and founder of Auntie M Pet Care), Megan Thrasher (Auntie M Pet Care professional dog trainer), and Tessa Sternbach (owner and head trainer of Ruff Life) will be talking about what it really means to support dogs in the modern world.

We will be dying into a topic that affects every dog and human relationship:
🐾 How does the modern human world impact our dogs?
🐾 Understanding the gap between our dog's natural instincts and our human expectations
🐾 And how we can better support them through empathy, structure, and understanding

Whether you live with a dog, work with dogs, or just want to deepen your connection with the dogs around you -- this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

So mark your calendars for Thursday, June 19th starting at 6:30pm and hop on Instagram live with us!

04/02/2025

Hey y'all! We're SO excited to be back and to be able to offer some new group classes just in time for summer!

Whether you are looking for a refresher to get your pup summer ready or you just want to do something new/fun with your pup to bond, check out some of our upcoming classes.

"HELP! I NEED to work on some manners with my pup."

Then look no further than one of our obedience classes. If you are looking for something that covers a bit of everything basic obedience related, there's our 7-week Ruff Starters course. Or maybe you know you want to specifically work on Leash Walking or Recall & Engagement, in which case we also got you covered with our 4-week Leash Walking and our 4-week Recall & Engagement course.

"But wait!" You say. "I got a reactive pup and I need help with her reactivity in new places" or just... "I really want to take my dog to breweries this summer, but... it's a STRUGGLE."

Well, we would say... check out our 3-week Leash Reactivity course or our 4-week Patio Pups course! The 3-week Leash Reactivity course is the PERFECT opportunity to work your human or dog reactive pup in new environments and get them to a better mindset. And our 4-week Patio Pups course is designed to get your pup ready to go for all of your brewery hoppin' or restaurant chillin' days.

"Okay, okay, okay. That's all fine and great, but I want to do something FUN with my dog," you grumble.

Absolutely get that! Why don't you check out our 4-week Tricks class OR our 4-week Patio Pups class. Our 4-week Tricks class is all about doing something fun and low stress with your dog and building upon the bond you already have.

If you haven't already, swipe the post to see more detailed information about these courses. And if you are interested in a course, email us at [email protected] to sign up or if you have additional questions.

We hope to see you and your pup in one of our classes this summer!

03/22/2025

Meet Benny! He is looking for a foster or his furever home. He is currently staying with us for a week to assess him to figure out what his needs will be for his future home. Kozy Kritters Inn & Doggie Day Care is his current foster and who rescued him off the road in Marion, North Carolina. He is around 2 years old but still acts like a puppy. He will need an experienced and active owner. This boy loves to play and train! We are still testing him with other dogs, but so far he’s got some manners to learn or can be very neutral. He is house broken and very well crate trained. A new foster in a home will be crucial for his next steps with training. Please reach out for more information or please share to help out this handsome boy!

01/13/2025

Introducing the 2nd Annual Ruff Life Dog Calendar for 2025!

Get ready to smile every day of the year with 12 months of fun, heartwarming photos featuring the beloved furry friends of Ruff Life!

Important Details:

Pickup Location: At Tessa's house. Exact address provided via email after payment.

Proceeds: All sales go toward recovery efforts and keeping Ruff Life a haven for pups.
Order now and make 2025 a year full of tail-wagging joy, one paw-some month at a time!

https://square.link/u/AvfP723E

11/08/2024

Hey everyone! I so appreciate everyone wanting to come help clean up. At this time we are pretty much done salvaging all we want/can. The rest of the cleaning will most likely be done with heavy machinery. Where I am needing support now is finding a place to sanitize the items. I was thinking a car wash but that will probably be tedious having to refill the money machine every time the power washer shuts off. The most ideal is an area with little foot traffic and no animals. Ex could be somewhere with drainage or a big concrete slab! If you have any ideas or a place to offer please direct message or email [email protected]. Thanks so much!

Address

95 Thompson Street
Asheville, NC
28803

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm

Telephone

+18283658244

Website

http://Rufflifeavl.com/

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#RufflifeAVL

I'm Tessa Sternbach and I have been providing dog training services in WNC since 2014. I can help you address any behavior concerns by providing in home or community 1:1 training, group classes, 1-4 week bootcamps, daily exercise and socialization, and more. I believe in using positive training techniques and replacing problem behaviors with acceptable alternatives to create a happy owner and pup alike. Training Areas: - basic obedience - leash walking - people and dog aggression - separation anxiety - crate and house training - therapy dogs- AKC Canine Good Citizen Tests - new puppy or adoption - special requests Please give me a call with any questions or to set up an appointment.