Best Dog Trainers in and Near Albany, NY

Albany Obedience Club trains on Wemple Road in Glenmont and says it began in 1955 with competitive obedience. Today the club also teaches agility, rally, scent work and pet manners, and its site mentions tricks plus CGC preparation at more than one level. Classes are open to people outside the club when space allows. Most meet for an hour once a week in sessions of about six weeks, with four to six sessions a year, and some run 90 minutes. Fees are listed on their site as $100 for a 60 minute class and $125 for a 90 minute class for nonmembers, while members pay $36 and $48. Nonmembers must upload proof of Parvo, DHL and rabies vaccines or titers before class. The instructors are club members who volunteer their time. The club also hosts obedience, rally, agility and scent work trials, along with seminars and AKC Fetch. The pages we opened don't describe training methods, so ask about them when you register.

Catskill Mountain K9 Sports is a dock diving club in Freehold, in the Catskill Mountains southwest of Albany, and its site says it was founded in 2022. If your dog loves water and jumping, this is the one place on the list built around a dock and pool. Private lessons run by appointment Tuesday through Thursday after 5:30 PM and on Saturdays after 1:30 PM. They're listed on their site at $45 for 30 minutes or $65 for an hour, with lower rates for each extra dog. You can also rent the pool without a membership, listed at $25 for 30 minutes or $35 for an hour for the first dog. From May to October the club holds monthly events where dogs can earn United Kennel Club dock jumping titles. The site says it's the only UKC dock in New York State with a UKC Dock Jumping Judge. The pool closes on Mondays. The site doesn't describe obedience or manners training, so plan on a second trainer for those skills.

PowerPuppy Behavior and Training is Glenn Pierce's business, and our directory places him in Albany. He lists the CTC credential after his name, and his site shows the logos of the Academy for Dog Trainers and the Pet Professional Guild. Our directory records him as a Pet Professional Guild member. The services page covers puppy socialization, help choosing a companion animal, introducing new family members and teaching obedience behaviors. Behavior work includes jumping, nipping during play, pulling on the leash, demand barking and stealing food from counters. He also takes dogs that react on leash or at barriers, plus fear and aggression cases, including dogs with a bite history. Our directory lists private training and behavior consulting. The site says he tries to keep rates competitive and works with clients to find plans that fit their budgets, but it doesn't post prices, name the towns he serves or describe his methods. Ask about both on the first call.

Good Choice Dog Training runs a facility on Railroad Avenue in Albany. Owner Becky Hutchins holds the CPDT-KA, and the team page lists four more instructors, two of whom also hold it. The site calls its methods science based and completely force free. The class list is long. Puppy Class and Enrichment takes puppies 6 months or younger, Puppy Too covers 6 to 12 months, and Life Skills is a six week class for dogs a year and older. Help Your Reactive Dog Make Good Choices caps at six dogs and opens with a dog free week and a Zoom check in before four weeks at the facility. Other classes cover scent work, beginner agility, rally, cooperative care, Therapy Dog 101 and CGC prep. Private lessons happen in your home or at the facility after an assessment, and the private training page lists aggression, separation anxiety, fear and housetraining among the problems it takes on. Prices aren't on the pages we opened.

Playful Pups is Katie Roppolo's business in Columbia County. Our directory lists it in Valatie, while the site gives a Hudson business address, a training facility in Ghent and home sessions around Kinderhook and Chatham. That puts it at the south edge of this list, so check the drive. Katie says she started training in 2008. Her site lists CCPDT certification, an Animal Behavior College certification, Fear Free certification and membership in the APDT and the Pet Professional Guild. She's also an evaluator for AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, the Canine Good Citizen test and temperament testing. Training uses positive reinforcement. Group classes run from a Pre K Puppy class for puppies 10 to 20 weeks old through three Family Dog levels and Pro Dog I, which ends with the CGC test. An Out and About class meets at dog friendly places in the community. Most classes are listed on their site at $162, with Pro Dog and Out and About at $175. Private sessions run at the Ghent facility, in your home or online, and cover manners, leash walking and recall plus help for reactive or anxious dogs.

Must Love Pawz in Latham is mainly a daycare and boarding business, and training is one of its services. Group classes run in four and six week blocks. Puppy Kindergarten lasts six weeks and pairs basic training with socialization, and Household Manners and Enrichment is a six week class for dogs that jump on guests and counters. You Lead, They Follow covers loose leash walking in four weeks. Arfs and Crafts is a four week confidence class, and Tricks, Core and Balance runs six weeks. Private lessons include basic obedience, leash reactivity, a guided playdate and household integration. The site also lists board and trains and daytime training while your dog is in daycare or boarding, though you don't need to use either service to sign up. Trainer names, credentials and methods aren't on the pages we opened, and the site asks you to call for the class schedule and pricing.

Off Leash K9 Training Albany is the Capital Region location of a national franchise. Its site lists a wide service area that includes Troy, Schenectady, Saratoga, Clifton Park and Delmar. The main program is a two week board and train that ends with a two hour session for you. Other options include private lessons and behavior consultations, puppy training that covers potty and crate work, and an eight week advanced obedience course. The site also lists an eight class aggression and behavior modification course and an eight class therapy dog course, with certification through Therapy Pets Unlimited. Trainers are described as balanced, using treat and clicker training along with electronic collars, and the advanced program uses a waterproof electronic collar. The site advertises payment plans at 0% interest but doesn't list prices. Its team page wouldn't load for us, so ask who will train your dog and which tools your program uses.

Operation At Ease is a nonprofit that pairs shelter dogs with veterans and first responders and gives them a free guided training program for PTS and mobility service dogs. It also teaches the public, and the site says money from public classes supports that mission. Classes meet at its Rotterdam location, with four to six spots each. The lineup includes Puppy Academy for pups 5 months or younger, Beginner and Intermediate Training, Cautious Canines, Cooperative Care, Loose Leash Legends, Tricks, CGC Prep and Therapy Dog Training. Most classes are listed on their site at $185 or $225, and Therapy Dog Training at $325. Private or semiprivate lessons are listed at $125, or $325 for four, and a 45 minute virtual lesson on Microsoft Teams at $60. Reactive dogs can join a private six week program at $625 or an eight week version at $795. The class pages name positive reinforcement, desensitization and positive muzzle training. Our directory lists it as an Assistance Dogs International candidate program.

Paw It Forward Dog Training is Jeannie Oakley's business in Rotterdam Junction, in Schenectady County, and it sells one program. The 21 day board and train is listed on their site at $2,600, with payment plans through PayPal. The site says the price covers more than 100 hours of training, equipment, owner coaching and ongoing support, with no package upgrades. Work covers heeling, settling, recall and off leash freedom, plus problems like nuisance barking, pulling, reactivity and anxiety. Training happens in real places such as parks, the bike path and the car. You get lessons with your dog during the stay and a take home lesson at the end, then support through group classes, text and phone help and a private online group. The program includes a Mini Educator remote collar, and the site says it isn't a fit for dogs with human aggression. Every family starts with a free compatibility call and a behavior assessment. Overnight boarding is listed at $45 a night for graduates and other compatible dogs.

Human Canine Collaborative is Sharon Vincuilla's business, and its old web address now forwards to a different domain, though the site there still carries the Human Canine Collaborative name. Our directory lists her in Albany, but the site doesn't name a current location, and it says her earlier training business was based in Los Angeles. She lists a doctorate in occupational therapy and a California occupational therapy license. Her site says she held the CPDT-KA from 2011 to 2025 and the IAABC Certified Dog Behavior Consultant title from 2021 to 2024, and that she chose to let both lapse because, in her words, neither group explicitly opposed certain training methods. Her stated specialties are reactivity, anxiety, aggression and trauma rehabilitation. Current services include consulting on dog behavior problems and on adopting an emotional support or assistance dog, coaching for owners, grief guidance, and live and recorded classes. The site describes a consent based approach that pays attention to the nervous systems of both you and your dog. Prices use an income based sliding scale that you pick yourself, and a free first call is offered. Ask whether sessions happen in person near Albany or online.

Zoom Room Clifton Park is an indoor dog training gym on US 9 where you train alongside your dog. The site describes its methods as science backed and positive reinforcement only, and the orientation covers clicker basics. Programs run from puppy training and obedience to agility, tricks and scent work. Socialization gets its own track, with playgroups and parties plus open gym time. Private training and private gym sessions appear in the policies, though the page doesn't describe them. You start with a free 30 minute orientation without your dog or a free 30 minute evaluation with your dog, and you don't need both. Every class has to be booked ahead, and arriving more than 10 minutes late counts as a no show. Group classes, packages and memberships aren't refundable after the first session. Prices sit on a separate page, and trainers aren't named. The gym is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays.