Your dog stays and trains
Your dog trains with Aaron full-time and comes home ready for the trail. You get a daily video, so you know exactly what changed and why.
Board & train
Dog training across St. Louis & the Metro EastBetter training.
Happier dogs.
Disabled veteran owned
Board & train
Private lessons
Service dog training
2026 Best Dog Trainer Award Winner
What we do
Training built around your dog and your life.
We specialize in anything behavior related. Aaron has seen it all, and he has a strategy to help with any problem you may be having.
One-on-one at your home
Aaron gives you the blueprint for how he works your dog, showing you exactly what he would do if it were his dog living on your schedule. You start at home, then progress to busier spots like parks and dog-friendly stores.
Private trainingA working dog you can count on
Task training and public-access foundation for handlers who need a dependable service dog, led by a veteran who understands the standard and the stakes.
Service dog training
No shortcuts
Real results
Behavioral science approach
Expert-led
Proven methodology
Meet the trainer
The person who will actually train your dog.
Before he ever trained a family dog, Aaron worked dogs in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, handled search-and-rescue across three teams, and ran working dogs for an executive security firm.
In 2021 he brought his family back home to the St. Louis Metro East and started Marmon Family Dog Training. Today he works with every type of dog on the spectrum, from puppies getting started on the right paw to serious aggression cases and everything in between. He offers board and train, private in-home lessons, and service dog training. One trainer, start to finish, with a daily educational video and a lifelong guarantee on the training that comes with every board and train program.
Why families drive across two states
Most training hands you a dog. The Motivational Method hands you a dog and the know-how.
Two philosophies dominate the dog training industry: Force Free and Balanced Training. Aaron offers a new approach, led by behavioral science. He teaches you how to become your dog’s best friend, so your dog wants to do what you ask. He uses modern technology to motivate your dog, never force to punish.
- 1
Read the engagement
Engagement is the name of the game. Does your dog want to be near you?
- 2
Build the drive
We train in drive, pairing Aaron with what your dog wants most.
- 3
Run the drills
Drills build skills. Come, walk, settle, place, until they’re reflex.
- 4
Prove it’s hard
Then we take it somewhere harder, so the behavior holds when it counts.
- 5
Hand it to you
The recall comes first. Then the leash goes in your hand.
Your dog doesn’t listen to dodge a punishment. It listens because you became its best friend.
Trained where it's hard
Calm at home is easy. Aaron proofs it where it counts.
He tests every behavior one level harder at a time, until it holds anywhere your family actually goes.
QuietMaximum distraction
A dog that holds a settle at Busch Stadium holds it in your living room. It never works the other way around.
How board & train works
Your dog is with Aaron the whole way, and you see every step.
1
Free phone consult
Start with a straight phone call. Tell Aaron your dog’s real problem, his temperament, and what you need out of daily life. You get an honest recommendation and a plain answer on what it costs. No bull.
2
Foundation
Engagement first, then the drills, built one clear step at a time and matched to your dog. On board and train you get a short video every day, so you can watch it come together.
3
Real-world proofing
Aaron takes the training into the real world, one level harder at a time, until it holds under real pressure.
4
Handoff + follow-up
You get a hands-on handoff, your videos to keep, and the follow-up support to keep it solid at home. You walk away the handler, not a spectator.
Real dogs, real families, real results
What families in two states say about Aaron Marmon
Straight from Google and Facebook. Named dogs, named problems, outcomes their owners wrote themselves.
“He is worth every penny and more. The training, care and continued support we received from Aaron over the years has CHANGED OUR LIVES! I could go on and on but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND him for all things dog.”
The Rowland Family · 5★ · Google
Eleanor, rescue Anatolian
Mike TaylorMaggie · Google
★★★★★
Aaron’s training with Maggie was the best investment you can make into our dog, our family, and our sanity!
Alex VillegasRanger · Google
★★★★★
Look at that default down with Ranger! Aaron provided a sigh of relief that no other trainer was able to do. There is nobody else I would want to train our dogs. They absolutely loved him and so did we!
Felecia S.Josey · Google
★★★★★
Aaron did wonders with our Blue Heeler, Josey. She no longer has anxiety, knows her commands, does great on and off leash, and our hikes are so much more enjoyable! He also helped her with socializing.
Proved, not promised
The best training catalog in St. Louis, by a mile.
Most trainers ask you to take their word for it. Aaron films every dog he trains, working real places, and puts it all in the open, so you can watch how a trained dog actually carries itself and set it beside any trainer in the region. It is the deepest, most honest catalog in the St. Louis area, and it is how he proves he can do what he says.
The highlight reel
- Film doesn’t lieA dog’s body language on camera tells you what a testimonial can’t: whether he’s loose and dialed in on his handler, or just getting through it.
- Most trainers show you nothingAt best you get one or two clips of a dog in an empty room, so you have to trust the results hold once the real world gets loud.
- Real places, real distractionAaron doesn’t stay inside a facility, so dogs are filmed at local parks, dog-friendly stores, Busch Stadium, and the Gateway Arch, where the pressure is real.
The recall challenge
Put my off-leash recall next to anyone’s.
The recall is the one skill everything else is built on. In the reel you’ll watch a dog sprint away, turn on a dime, and come back in full drive, and you’ll read it in his body language: he’s next to me because he can’t think of a place he’d rather be, not because he’s avoiding anything.
Find another trainer’s off-leash recall, set it beside mine, and you make the call.
Aaron Marmon, owner & trainer
Where we train
Serving the Metro East and Greater St. Louis, both sides of the river.
In-home and real-world training across the corridor. If you’re near one of these, Aaron can help.
Illinois
Missouri
Straight answers
Common questions
What areas around Fairview Heights do you serve?
Marmon Family Dog Training serves Fairview Heights and the St. Louis Metro East, including Belleville, O’Fallon, Shiloh, Swansea, Collinsville, and Edwardsville. Aaron trains dogs in your home and in real-world public settings across the corridor, so the training holds where your dog actually lives and walks.
What dog training method do you use?
It’s called The Motivational Method, and it’s relationship-first. Aaron teaches you how your dog thinks and how to become someone your dog wants to listen to, so your dog wants to do what you ask instead of being forced into it. Never through fear. Never through force. Then he proofs it in the real world and puts it on video so you can see it hold.
Will my dog be kenneled the whole time during board & train?
No. During board and train your dog lives and works with Aaron, not warehoused in a run. Dogs train in real environments, the home, the neighborhood, and public spaces, and you get a short daily video so you see exactly what your dog is learning and how.
What happens after my dog comes home from training?
When your dog comes home, Aaron walks you through everything the dog learned in a hands-on handoff, and you keep the detailed session videos for reference. You get the handling and the follow-up support to keep the training solid, so the change holds in your day-to-day life.
Do you train service dogs?
Yes. Marmon Family Dog Training trains service dogs, including task training and public-access foundation work, led by a disabled U.S. Army veteran who understands the standard and the stakes. Aaron will tell you straight whether your dog is a good candidate and what the process realistically involves.
Do you work with aggressive or anxious dogs?
Yes. High-energy, high-anxiety, reactive, and aggressive dogs are Aaron’s specialty. He names the real problem, lunging, barking, anxiety around other dogs, pulling, and builds a plan to resolve it, the same way he took Josey the Blue Heeler from anxious to calm and enjoyable on the trail.
How much does dog training cost?
Cost depends on the program and what your dog needs, so Marmon Family Dog Training starts with a free phone consultation and a straight answer: what it will take, how long it runs, and which program fits. No pressure and no sales pitch. If Aaron isn’t the right fit, he’ll tell you.
Disabled veteran owned & operated
Tell us what your dog is doing. We’ll tell you straight.
Start with a free consult. Aaron tells you what it takes, how long it runs, and which program fits. No sales pitch.
★★★★★ 5.0 from 42 Google reviews