Best Dog Trainers in and Near Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Dog Training Club is a nonprofit AKC member club that has trained dogs and owners since 1938. Classes meet in a gym on the St. Aloysius Academy campus in Bryn Mawr, and all breeds and mixes are welcome. Puppy Kindergarten covers socialization and foundation skills. Beginner class works on recall and leash manners, Intermediate prepares your dog for the AKC Canine Good Citizen test, and Advanced moves on to AKC Community Canine skills. Rally builds teamwork through signs and short courses. The club also runs a Reactive Dogs class, but its site says none will run until spring 2027.

Elisa Segal runs Squirrel Dog Training, and her site says she's a former physician. Our records list her with the CPDT-KA, and she's Fear Free certified. She covers Fairmount and Logan Circle near the Art Museum, plus Center City, and trains anywhere over Zoom. Sessions happen in your home or online, and she teaches group classes too. Her focus includes puppy training and adult dog behavior, along with fearful and reactive dogs. She also works with rescue dogs. Positive reinforcement is the main method, and a free 15 minute phone call comes first.

Larry Stevenson runs Gentle Approach Dog Training from Roxborough, and his site says he began training dogs professionally in 2006. He's a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the IAABC and holds the CPDT-KA. He's also a licensed Family Paws educator. Training is force free, and the site says he doesn't use shock or prong collars. Behavior work covers aggression and fear, including noise sensitivity and separation anxiety. He serves Germantown and Mount Airy out to Conshohocken, and live video sessions are open to anyone.

This team trains dogs in Philadelphia and South Jersey, and its site cites more than 35 years of combined trainer experience. Drop in classes let you train on the weeks that work for you instead of signing up for a fixed series. Day school gives your dog a structured day of play mixed with training, and the board and train program keeps your dog with the trainers for daily sessions. The site describes positive reinforcement training. Two team members who write its blog, Jessica Lempert and Cassi Bee, are listed with the CPDT-KA.

Egghead Canine Education is a Philadelphia trainer that teaches with positive reinforcement. Its site lists three class tracks. Pup Scout covers the basics for puppies and newly adopted dogs, and Manners Camp works on everyday skills for modern life. Behavior Trail Guide is for dogs with behavior concerns. Our records also list loose leash walking, AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy and Canine Good Citizen classes. The site also lists behavior help for anxious, fearful or leash reactive dogs. Class ages and trainer credentials aren't posted, so ask about both when you call.

Ingrid Faber trains dogs in Philadelphia through Grey Dog Alliance, and our records list her as an associate member of NADOI, the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. The Grey Dog Alliance site lists in home lessons and immersive day training. Consultations are offered, and the site also lists continued education options. Its stated goal is helping owners feel better aligned with their dogs. The site doesn't name a specific method or post class schedules, so ask how she handles mistakes when you call.

Instinct Dog Behavior & Training has nine locations, each locally owned, and its Philadelphia location is in Center City's 19102 ZIP code. Across the company, services include private coaching and camp based board and train, plus a puppy camp and group learning. The company calls its approach Nature Driven Nurture and says it's rooted in behavioral health science. Its site shows IAABC and CCPDT logos. The site doesn't say which services run from the Philadelphia location, so ask what's offered locally when you call.

Off Leash K9 Training is a national company, and its Philadelphia team serves the city plus towns such as Glenside and Jenkintown, with Camden across the river. Obedience comes as packages of eight private lessons, and the two week board and train camp works on off leash obedience and behavior. Owners of puppies under 5 months can book a puppy consultation. An eight lesson aggressive dog package covers aggression and reactivity, and there's a therapy dog program. The page we read doesn't name the training tools the team uses, so ask before you book.

Always Faithful Dog Training is a national company with more than 130 locations, and this listing is its Philadelphia team. Our records list obedience from beginner to pro, plus board and train. Therapy and service dog training are listed too. On the company site, the Beginner program covers loose leash walking and recall, plus potty training. Intermediate adds off leash work, and Pro adds high distraction training. Behavior help includes aggression and separation anxiety. The company says it uses no treats or shock collars and describes its method as leadership based. Services vary by location, so ask what the Philadelphia team offers.

Steve Agocs is the Bark Busters trainer for Oxford Valley and Philadelphia, working from Bensalem. His area includes Langhorne and Levittown, plus Philadelphia itself, and it crosses the river to Trenton. Lessons are one on one at your home, and later sessions move out to your street. He works with puppies and older dogs, and the behavior list covers aggression and biting along with separation anxiety. The site says the method uses no bribes or punishment, and he looks for the cause of a behavior first. The Life of Dog support guarantee covers phone help after training.

Pete Marciano leads this Bark Busters team, and the site says he has more than 13 years as a dog trainer and behavioral therapist. The service area covers about 70 towns in Bucks and Montgomery counties, from Doylestown to Willow Grove, and it reaches into Philadelphia. Training is one on one in your home, then moves out to your neighborhood. The site lists puppy training and help for aggression and separation anxiety, along with fights between dogs in the same house. You learn to guide your dog with body language and tone of voice. The Life of Dog support guarantee lets you call Pete for help later at no added cost.

Jeri Wagner runs this Bark Busters territory from Audubon. Her site lists her as a Bark Busters behavioral therapist and master trainer, and she's also an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator. In home training covers Collegeville and Norristown, out to Pottstown, across western Montgomery and northern Chester counties. Behavior help includes aggression and separation anxiety, plus housebreaking and jumping. The site says she uses methods that don't rely on food, with no shock collars, choke collars or clickers, and she teaches you to use body language and voice tone. Plan on about 20 minutes of practice a day for five weeks.

Suburban Dog Training Club is a nonprofit in eastern Montgomery County that started in 1969. In March 2026 its classes moved to a new space on County Line Road in Huntingdon Valley, which the club says is easy to reach from Philadelphia. Lessons are open to members and nonmembers. New owners start with Puppy Kindergarten or a Beginner manners class. From there you can move into nosework and rally, or AKC competition obedience from Novice through Utility. Intro to Agility and Canine Good Citizen testing are offered as well.

Y2K9s Dog Sports & Training Club has trained dogs in Willow Grove since 1994. Our records describe agility classes that start at puppy and foundation levels and go up through competition coursework. The club's site also lists manners classes for everyday behavior. Beyond agility, you'll find nose work and flyball, plus workshops and recorded webinars you can watch at home. Kids aged 8 to 17 can apply for the yearly Junior Handler Scholarship. The site doesn't describe a training method, so ask about that on your first call.

High Octane Agility & Dog Training opened in Colmar in 2006 and serves owners in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Agility is the core of the program. Our records also list obedience and puppy classes for a better behaved pet, along with a Canine Good Citizen prep course. Nose work and FitDog conditioning have their own tracks, and private training and seminars are listed too. The site says trainers find what motivates each dog, such as treats, praise or play, and build rewards around it.

Tail Waggers Academy has trained dogs in Bucks County since 2007, and our records list Jennifer Senechal as its trainer, based in Newtown, with a CCPDT certification. The site offers private lessons and group classes, with obedience training from puppies through senior dogs. Behavior work covers aggression and fears, and a virtual lesson option is listed. Tail Waggers also runs the Tail Wagging Platoon, which sends therapy dogs to visit fire stations with the Philadelphia Fire Department. Our records add assistance animal training, which the site doesn't mention, so confirm it if you need it.

Nicole McBride owns Woofs of Wisdom in Harleysville, and her site says she has trained dogs and consulted on behavior professionally since 1995. Our records list her as a NADOI Certified Instructor. Group classes meet around Montgomery County and cover puppy and obedience work, along with parkour and nosework. Fit Dog pack walks are offered too. Private sessions run in Pennsylvania as well as Delaware and Maryland, and there are virtual options. The site describes a blend of positive reinforcement and the Volhard Motivational Method, with rewards paired with corrective feedback when it fits.

Suzette Nicolini teaches at The Dog Training Center of Chester County, and our records list her as a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant with the CPDT-KA. The center has trained dogs since 1974 from Exton and serves Chester County and nearby counties. It runs more than 45 classes a week, and its site describes positive reinforcement training that's family oriented. Instructors are professionally certified, according to the site. The center's site doesn't list her by name, so ask for her when you call if you want help with fear or reactivity.

Judith Murray of Media is listed in our records as a NADOI Certified Instructor, and her website is Canine Workout. Canine Workout calls itself Your Neighborhood Dog Trainers, and its trainers page lists Judy Murray as an obedience trainer and dates the group to 1986. NADOI is the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. Its certified members need at least five years as a full charge instructor and at least 100 dog and handler teams behind them, and they have to pass an exam. The pages we read don't list class types or methods, so ask which classes run near Media.

Nicolas Bardon-Desegonzac is listed in our records as a NADOI Certified Instructor based in Wayne. His website, Pine Street Dogs, uses the name One on One Dog Training and Walking Services and places the business in Philadelphia. The site describes pet training and potty training, plus basic and advanced obedience, and it also lists service dog training and dog walking. The page we read doesn't show class formats or methods. Ask whether he comes to your home and how many sessions he plans.

Sit Means Sit Philadelphia is a franchise run by owners Zephyr Dippel and Nia Stevens from a training center in King of Prussia. It serves Montgomery and Chester counties, plus Bucks, with Philadelphia on its town list. Board and train has a minimum stay of five days, and day care training lets your dog train at the center and sleep at home. Private lessons and group classes are for clients who've finished one of those programs. Behavior work includes aggressive and reactive dogs. The site doesn't name the training tools the team uses, so ask before you book.

Animal Welfare Association is an animal shelter in Voorhees, and it runs dog training on site. Group classes come as four week series, with time to practice at home between sessions, or as single sessions that target one behavior. Two social classes, Well Mannered Dog and Pub Ready Pooch, work on manners in pet friendly public places. Private lessons are one on one and can cover a behavior problem or a new skill. The site lists them at $60 for 30 minutes and $120 for an hour. Behavior Assistant Abby Gee holds the CPDT-KA.

Waggin' Train is a private training service in Medford, and our records list Audrey Arturo there with the CPDT-KA and a Pet Professional Guild membership. The website names Bob Levine as its author, so ask who will be your trainer. Training starts with a short phone interview, then an in home assessment if needed, and lessons happen in your home across Burlington and Camden counties. The site describes positive reinforcement only and says shock and prong collars are never used. Dogs of any breed or age are welcome, and appointments run six days a week.

K9 Basics Dog Training sits on 24 acres in Marlton and is owned by Lisa and Brian Berg. Training options include day training and group classes, plus board and train. The site lists aggressive dog work under its behavior services, and Puppy Preschool is listed too. Training focuses on off leash control and on social skills around people and other dogs, practiced in busy settings. The site says training is unlimited and self paced, so ask what that means for your dog.

Lisa Baumann owns House Bairon Canine Fitness Training in Franklinville. Her site says she's a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer through the University of Tennessee and has competed in many dog sports. Fitness training works on strength and balance, and it gives active dogs a mental workout too. Obedience programs run from puppies through adult dogs and cover manners and leash walking, plus off leash goals. For board and train, your dog stays in her home to work on house manners and potty training, and you get resources to keep going afterward.