Best Dog Trainers in and Near Huntsville, AL

ACE K9 Training works out of a Hazel Green facility that its site says is set up to train no matter the weather. Owner Renja Schmitt started training dogs professionally in Germany in 1997, and trainers Neena McCay and Jim Boyd are on the team. Group classes take no more than four dogs. Basic Obedience runs six weeks at one hour a week, opens with a meeting on pack animal psychology and covers sit, down, come and leash walking without pulling. It's listed on their site as $295. The puppy class uses positive reinforcement and adds potty and crate guidance plus a puppy obstacle course. You'll also find agility with jumps and weave poles, along with AKC Canine Good Citizen, trick and scent work classes. Personal Training is one on one with no other dogs present, two one hour sessions a week, and the site says it helps dogs with reactive problems. Those packages are listed on their site at $450 to $550 a month, depending on length.

The Huntsville Obedience Training Club is an all volunteer club, and its history page traces it to a 1963 obedience course announced in The Huntsville Times. Members voted in 1964 to incorporate as a nonprofit, and instructors teach without pay. Obedience classes meet for 50 minutes a week over eight weeks, with 8 to 10 dogs per class and one assistant for every three dogs. Training is reward based, and some classes use a clicker. Puppy class takes dogs 8 to 18 weeks old on the first night, and Manners 101 works with older dogs on sit, down, stay, recalls and loose leash walking. Beyond Manners adds distractions and Canine Good Citizen test practice. The club also lists rally, freestyle, scent work, agility, conformation and flyball, and it hosts agility, obedience, Fast CAT and Farm Dog trials. Two upper obedience classes are for members only, and nonmembers need beginner obedience before agility Foundations.

Alex and Jessica Scofield own Sit Means Sit North Alabama, a location of the Sit Means Sit franchise, and Alex lists service in the U.S. Army before he became a pilot. Training uses the Sit Means Sit Collar, a remote electronic collar the site describes as an adjustable tap, paired with high value rewards. The most popular option is Day Train. You drop your dog off for a day of training and play, then review the work at pickup and get home assignments. The Ultimate Package adds two one on one lessons after a Day Train. Every package includes lifetime group classes for existing clients, and a separate puppy program covers management and early training. The site lists jumping, leash pulling, barking and aggression among the problems it works on. Everything starts with a free demonstration and consultation, and prices are set after that visit. The service area centers on Madison County, with Madison and Decatur named too.

Local Army veteran Ryan Greenawalt owns this Huntsville location, which our database lists as a certified location of its national K9 training network. The location page says the program trains you along with your dog on a communication system, and it teaches owners three training principles, starting with timing. Pet obedience and foundation training sit next to behavior modification on the service list. Ryan also takes on service dog and protection dog work, and the company lists police and military K9 training and protection dog sales. Our database lists board and train for this location. The page doesn't post prices or program lengths, so ask about both on your first call, along with which tools he uses. The company also has an app in the Google and Apple stores for its clients.

Dale Buchanan trains dogs around Huntsville and comes to your home for private, one on one lessons, with socialization field trips set up near where you live. His puppy program works on obedience and on heading off unwanted habits early, and his obedience programs take dogs of any age or breed, with or without past training. The specialty list covers behavior modification, leash reactivity, multi dog households, therapy dog training and AKC Canine Good Citizen preparation. He also runs advanced group classes built around socialization. The site names Huntsville, Madison, Harvest, Athens, Hampton Cove and Owens Cross Roads as his service area. Prices aren't posted, and the site offers a free phone consultation with a rate quote instead. Ask about his methods and tools on that call, and ask how many sessions a typical in home program includes.

Rick Markum founded Impactful Canine Training in Huntsville. He's an active search and rescue K9 handler and holds a NASAR certification for Live Find Area Search with his dog Nika. The site calls its training science based and says Rick uses more than one method, and if you want force free only training, he'll work with you that way. Private sessions happen in your home, at the Huntsville facility or in public after an evaluation, and they cover obedience, puppies, fear and reactive dogs. Group classes cap at four dogs, and Basic group obedience is listed on their site starting at $375 for eight one hour sessions. Group options also include AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, an Urban Canine Good Citizen class held in public, tracking and nosework. Board and train runs two to five weeks in a trainer's home with a weekly one on one session for you. It's for obedience work only, and reactive or aggressive dogs need a private evaluation instead.

Lindsey and Blake Hill founded Off Leash K9 Training of North Alabama in 2018. It's part of the Off Leash K9 national network and based in Somerville, and the service area reaches from Athens and Decatur to Huntsville, Hazel Green and Toney. The site describes a balanced approach with rewards, clear markers and low level electronic collar conditioning where appropriate, and it says the team never uses harsh corrections or prong only training. Basic obedience includes four private lessons, with the electronic collar and leash included. The two week board and train adds outings to parks and stores, then a one hour handoff with you and two free refresher sessions. Puppy training takes puppies from around 8 weeks old, with six private 30 minute sessions on potty and crate work and bite inhibition. An eight lesson behavior program covers leash reactivity and resource guarding, among other problems, after an evaluation and muzzle conditioning. Prices are listed on their site from $500 to $4,650.

Tennessee Valley K9 is in Taft, Tennessee, and trainer Lee lists over a decade of experience with certification from Highland K9 School for Dog Training and National K9 Training School. Dogs are dropped off for set programs, and the site describes a balanced approach with a limited number of dogs at a time. Mannered K9 is a two week puppy course for dogs 12 weeks to 6 months old, listed on their site at $1,800. Model K9 covers basic obedience in two weeks. Mighty K9 and Master K9 add off leash work over three and four weeks, and both require an electronic collar bought separately. Motivated K9 starts with a $100 consultation and covers aggression, resource guarding, tracking and scent training, protection, and service or therapy dog work. Private lessons are listed at $80 for a single session. Each training program ends with a review lesson of one to two hours so you learn the commands your dog now knows.