Best Dog Trainers in and Near Cincinnati, OH

Lisa Desatnik runs So Much PETential and trains dogs and puppies, and she also consults on parrot behavior. Her site lists her as a CPDT-KA and a Certified Fear Free Professional, and she is a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, which suits a family getting ready for a baby with a dog in the house. Services include puppy and dog training, behavior help and virtual training. Client stories describe home visits and Zoom check ins. She calls her approach humane and science based. She serves Cincinnati neighborhoods such as Hyde Park and Madeira, and the site lists no prices.

Vicky Horton owns Walk This Way Canine Training and worked for years as a registered veterinary technician. Her site says she is certified through CATCH Canine Trainers Academy as a positive reinforcement trainer, and our listing shows her as a Pet Professional Guild member. Her Mind Your Manners obedience packages are stay and train, and each week ends with a transfer session so you learn the cues too. Prices are listed on their site as $850 for morning or afternoon sessions, $1,500 for day sessions and $2,200 for two weeks with overnight boarding. She is based in Colerain Township and serves towns such as Harrison and Fairfield, plus West Chester.

Underdog K-9 Academy is a Cincinnati business founded by Darah, whom the site calls a dog behaviorist. Its focus is reactive and aggressive dogs, and the program list also covers puppy classes, obedience, off leash work and behavior modification. You can train in your home, at the studio or outdoors. The site says training centers on leadership and clear communication. It lists no certifications and doesn't say which tools the trainers use, so ask on your first call. Prices aren't on the home page.

Cheryl Kocher owns Raise The Bar Dog Training and leads its Cincinnati side, while Mark Jones heads training in Kentucky. Most lessons happen one on one in your home and cover obedience, leash walking, reactivity and separation anxiety, plus puppy and service dog training. Group classes meet in Springboro and Hamilton. The site describes reward based training and says its trainers are certified, without naming the certifying body. It serves towns from Batavia to West Chester, plus Covington and Florence in Kentucky. No prices are listed, but the site says you won't pay more if training runs longer than planned.

Rachel Witzel is a Cincinnati dog trainer listed in our directory as an Associate Member of NADOI, a professional group for dog obedience instructors. Her listing doesn't include a website, so we couldn't confirm which services she offers, whether she teaches classes or private lessons, or which methods she uses. A trainer named Rachel Williamson-Witzel appears on The Dog Wizard West Chester staff page, so you can ask whether that is her. On a first call, ask what kinds of dogs and problems she works with most and where lessons take place.

Puppy Prep School has trained dogs from Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood since 2008. It works with new puppies and newly adopted rescue dogs, and with older family dogs that need to drop a habit. Each plan is built around your puppy and your daily life, according to the site, using methods it calls fun and fair. It doesn't name techniques or trainer certifications. The business also offers pet sitting in Northside and nearby neighborhoods. Group classes and board and train aren't mentioned, and prices aren't posted.

Cincinnati Dog Training Academy lets you choose between group classes, private lessons and board and train. Group classes, including a Canine Manners course, work on listening skills around other dogs. Private sessions come to you at flexible times. Board and train keeps your dog at the academy's Blue Ash facility for two to three weeks of daily work. The site describes a positivity based curriculum, claims more than twenty years of experience and names Rickey Kinley. No certifications or prices are listed, and parts of the site look dated, so confirm the current schedule when you call.

Mark Gomer's American Success Dog Training covers both family dogs and working dogs. Besides puppy and obedience training, it offers protection training and weapon detection, and it trains school dogs. The site says the team has raised and trained puppies for over 30 years and names partnership and positive reinforcement as its guiding principles. It lists no certifications and doesn't say whether lessons are private or group. Board and train appears in the page title but isn't described, so ask how a program would run. The first step is a free evaluation.

The Dog Wizard West Chester is a franchise location with a facility in West Chester Township, and it also trains in your home in neighborhoods such as Hyde Park and Oakley. Staff include lead trainer Cranston Blanks and Rachel Williamson-Witzel, whose bio lists CPDT-KA certification through the CCPDT. The menu covers board and train, group classes, private lessons and AKC training, plus help with aggression and rescue dogs. The site describes balanced training and says e-collars, prong collars or slip leads may be used depending on the dog. Evaluations are free, and prices aren't posted. Boarding here is care only, with no training.

Allison Camp founded this Cincinnati business and focuses on private training in your home, where problem behaviors happen. Trainer Amber Duntz teaches evening and weekend group classes for puppies and adult beginners. Both graduated from Animal Behavior College, and the site lists Amber as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer. Methods are force free and built on positive reinforcement, and the program takes on reactive dogs and mild separation anxiety. The site says it has trained dogs since 2017 across the Tri State area, and prices aren't listed.

Bulletproof Dog Training, led by master trainer Bill Thomas, is built around board and train. Four tiers run 12, 20, 25 and 30 days, and the 30 day Platinum program is with Bill himself. The site also lists puppy training and e-collar training. Owners who finish a program are expected to keep using the e-collar at home, and the trainers show you how. Group classes and private lessons aren't described, and the site doesn't list trainer certifications. Prices aren't on the main page. If you'd rather not use an e-collar, raise that before you book.

Smart Paws is in Cleves, on the far west side of the metro, and its site says it has been family owned for more than ten years. Training is positive and praise based. The site lists problems it works on, from play biting and jumping up to leash reactivity and separation anxiety. Puppy classes appear in the menu without details. Boarding and daycare happen on the same property, and grooming is offered in the evening. The site doesn't say whether training is private or group, and it lists no prices.

Northern Kentucky K9 is based in Erlanger, which makes it the one trainer on this list with its home base in Kentucky. Its site says it has served the Tri State area for more than 20 years and holds evaluations and residency programs, its term for board and train, at Erlanger Pet Resort. Evaluations are free, according to the site, and our listing also names puppy programs and classes. The home page doesn't name the trainers or describe methods, tools or certifications, and it lists no prices. On your first call, ask how long a residency stay lasts and which training tools the team uses.

Grey Wolf K-9 Academy opened in Goshen in 2010 and is run by Patty and Brian Reynolds, who list more than 50 years of combined training experience. The academy trains for Schutzhund and search and rescue, and both owners have titled dogs in competition. Pet owners have options too: one on one sessions for pet training and behavior modification, plus circus tricks. The method is motivational and positive, with dogs learning through play. Group classes and board and train aren't mentioned. Booking starts with a meet and greet.

Toinette Sergent is a dog trainer in Hamilton, listed in our directory as a NADOI Certified Instructor. NADOI is a professional group for dog obedience instructors. Her listing doesn't include a website, so we couldn't check whether she teaches group classes or private lessons, or which methods she uses. Open her AnimalTrainerPro profile for the details she has shared. Then ask on a first call where she teaches and which dogs she works with most. Hamilton Dog Training Club is in the same city if you want a class setting.

Hamilton Dog Training Club is a training club in Hamilton that marked its 70th anniversary in 2024. Classes cover pet and competition obedience. The club also teaches agility and rally, and it offers conformation and therapy dog classes. Its motto is that the club trains you to train your dog, so you handle your own dog in class. The club has its own building, with classes four or five nights a week. The home page doesn't list puppy classes by name or class prices, so check the current schedule before you sign up.

Off Leash K9 Training Cincinnati is a franchise owned since January 2025 by Tim Kisner, a 19 year Air Force military police veteran who was a certified DoD K9 trainer. Cara O'Leary is head trainer. The site says it specializes in e-collar and positive reinforcement training through private lessons or board and train, and its Basic Marker Mastery option uses no e-collar or prong collar. Lessons happen at its Loveland or Ft. Mitchell, KY sites, and some programs come to your home. Prices are listed on their site, for example $625 for four lessons at the facility and $2,900 for two weeks of board and train.

Debbe Weissbuch of Happy Tails Training does all her work in your home. Puppy lessons cover potty and crate training plus nipping and jumping, and adult lessons cover coming when called and leash manners. Behavior modification covers leash reactivity and resource guarding, along with shy dogs. A single puppy or rescue prep session of 60 to 90 minutes helps you set up your home before a new dog arrives. She uses positive reinforcement and writes the Dog Talk newspaper column, according to her site. She is based in Maineville and serves Mason, Lebanon and dozens of other towns.

Owner and trainer Mary Jo Gentile runs Cincinnati Canine Companion Center, now also called Mary Jo's Cinti K9, and her bio lists more than 40 years of teaching experience. Classes start with a puppy class and climb through obedience levels from Beginner to advanced work such as scent discrimination. The class page adds agility and two sports, flyball and dock diving, while the home page lists tracking and private lessons. The home page gives a Milford address while the class page mentions Loveland, and the posted schedule dates from 2019, so confirm where and when classes meet. The home page lists no prices.

Krueger Canine offers one program: a three week boarding and training camp on 7.5 fenced acres in New Richmond, about 30 minutes east of downtown Cincinnati. Week one builds food motivation and an obedience foundation with positive reinforcement. Week two names the commands and adds leash pressure, and you learn leash handling. Week three practices the commands around new people and other dogs. The camp is listed on their site as $3,500, and the site says that price won't change if pickup runs a few days late. Trainer credentials, private lessons and group classes aren't mentioned.

Training Tracks has trained Cincinnati dogs since 1998 and runs training centers in West Chester and Oxford, where group classes meet on a published schedule. The owners lead a team of six trainers. Puppy programs are for dogs under five months, with separate programs for older dogs. Options include training camps, a day school, educational daycare and private sessions in your home for problems such as aggression or separation anxiety. Exercises are built to be family and kid friendly, with real world off leash skills as a goal. Consultations are free by phone or video, and prices aren't listed.