What kinds of dog training problems do you help with?

We work with a pretty wide range of dogs, from puppies learning how to live in the world to adult dogs whose habits have become a little harder to live with.

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Common concerns include leash pulling, barking, jumping, poor recall, overexcitement, difficulty settling, reactivity, fearfulness, crate struggles, greeting manners and general household chaos.

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But we don’t just look at the behavior you want to stop. We look at the whole picture: your dog’s routine, enrichment, arousal level, skill set, communication and relationship with you.

We've found that sometimes the behavior is the problem. Sometimes it’s the symptom.

Usually, it’s a combination. So if we can address the problem, the symptoms go away. 

Can you help with a reactive dog?

Yes. Reactivity is one of the most common reasons families reach out to us.

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Dogs can become reactive for a lot of different reasons, including fear, frustration, overexcitement, social pressure or simply spending too much time operating at a high level of arousal.

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We don’t believe in throwing dogs into overwhelming situations just to see what happens. We build skills, improve communication, work on regulation and gradually increase difficulty as your dog is ready.

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You also don’t need to recreate your dog’s worst behavior before asking for help. We can learn a lot by looking at the patterns surrounding it. To read more about how we work with reactivity, click here. 

Is my dog too old for training?

No.

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Dogs can learn at any age, and we regularly work with adult and even senior dogs.

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Training may look different depending on your dog’s age, history, health and previous experiences, but there is no expiration date on improving communication, building new habits or making everyday life easier.

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That said, the longer a pattern has been practiced, the more repetition (and time) it may take to change it. Progress is still possible,  we just try to be realistic about what that process looks like.

Do you train the dog for me, or do I need to be involved?

Depending on the program, we can absolutely do a lot of the initial hands-on training with your dog, but owner coaching is a required part of every training program.

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Dogs don’t live with their trainers. They live with you. And no dog comes home from training “completely trained” with nothing left for their family to work on.

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We can build skills, create better patterns and give you a really strong head start, but those skills still have to transfer into your home, your routines and your relationship with your dog. That’s where those in-home lessons matter.

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We’ll teach you how to communicate clearly, reinforce the skills your dog has learned and handle the real-life situations that come up after training. Because ultimately, training isn’t something that happens for a few weeks and then ends, it becomes part of how you live with your dog.

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Our goal isn’t to hand you back a robot. It’s to help you and your dog understand each other better and give you the tools to keep building on the work we started together.

How do I know which dog training program is right for us?

There isn’t one perfect program for every dog or every family.

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Some people want private lessons so they can be involved in every step. Others need more hands-on help because life is busy, the behavior is more complicated, or they simply want a trainer doing more of the initial work. 

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We offer private lessons, Day School, Stay & Train and ongoing graduate services so we can meet different dogs and families where they are.

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When we recommend a program, we look at your goals, your dog’s behavior, your schedule and how much support will realistically help you succeed.

We’re not interested in putting you into the biggest package just because we can. We want to help you choose the option that actually makes sense. If you aren't sure which program is the best fit, use the buttons below to let us help you figure it out.