Partner Spotlight: a paid placement by a neighborhood business, not editorial coverage.
He spent 15 years helping build a national dog training franchise. Now Cranston Blanks is back home, training one family at a time.
Maya was affectionate with people but struggled around other dogs and had trouble regulating her emotions. The older couple in Columbia, South Carolina, who had adopted her feared they might have to give her up. Cranston Blanks took her into a three-week board-and-train program, worked with the owners through lessons and follow-up, and Maya turned around.
"Their dedication and consistency on the back end is what made my work stick," Blanks says. "They created the relationship and understanding with Maya that allowed her to become a permanent member of their family."
For Blanks, dog training has never been just about teaching dogs to sit, stay or come when called. He says it is about building a stronger relationship between people and their pets.
After several years in careers that did not fulfill him, Blanks decided in 2008 to pursue the work he loved and went into professional dog training. Over the next 15 years, he helped build a local dog training company into a nationwide franchise with more than 100 locations. He trained dogs, coached owners, mentored trainers and managers and helped launch locations across the Southeast and Midwest. Most recently, he spent six years in Cincinnati running the company's top-performing location.
After his mother died earlier this year, Blanks came home to the Charlotte area to be closer to his father and family, and decided to build something of his own. "I wanted to bring my years of experience back home in a much more personal and intimate way," he says.
Today he owns Balanced Life K9, a Matthews-based, appointment-only dog training business built around customized programs rather than one approach for every dog.
Blanks has lived in Charlotte since he was 6 months old. He grew up off Providence Road with his parents and twin sister, attended NC State and graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in health promotion and a minor in psychology. The psychology, he says, has turned out to be surprisingly useful.
"I focus on not only training the dog but also the owners, mostly the owners," he says with a laugh. "I emphasize the human-dog relationship through training to create a balanced, peaceful life regardless of the dog's issues or the family's lifestyle."
Balanced Life K9 works with dogs of all ages and abilities, from basic obedience to harder problems such as reactivity, aggression and reliable off-leash training. Blanks does not believe in quick fixes. The goal is to teach both dog and owner to communicate, so the results last after the lessons end. "Training is a lifestyle that includes work, rest and play," he says. "I can help you achieve all three to get the balanced life you and your dog deserve."
One of his signature offerings is a small, limited-enrollment board-and-train program, in which dogs stay and train with him in his own home, so each dog gets individual attention instead of sharing a commercial facility with many others. Dogs also go on planned outings to learn to stay calm and responsive amid everyday distractions. Lessons with the owners during the program, a full take-home session and follow-up help families keep the progress going, and every client gets free lifetime support.
"Life changes," Blanks says. "Dogs change, families change and new situations come up. I want people to know they always have someone they can call."
Stories like Maya's, he says, are the ones that keep him going.
For now Balanced Life K9 is a one-person business, which Blanks says lets him focus on quality over quantity. He may grow it someday alongside his longtime partner and their two young daughters, while keeping the personal approach that defines the business.
Balanced Life K9 · Personalized dog training, Matthews, by appointment only · Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. · (980) 205-3585 · cranston@balancedlife-k9.com · balancedlife-k9.com · See his partner profile
This Partner Spotlight first appeared in the October 2026 print edition of Stroll Ballantyne Country Club.
This publication is made possible because of our Ballantyne sponsors. When searching for vendors for your home or business, please consider working with these invaluable neighborhood and area establishments.