Best Dog Trainers in and Near Raleigh, NC

All Dogs Durham is a dog training and daycare center in Durham. Its site describes the training as reward based and science backed. Group classes cover puppies through adult dogs, and some are offered just for fun. The center also runs day training, where your dog trains during the day and goes home with you at night, plus private training and small dog socials. The site doesn't list prices or trainer credentials, so ask about both. The daycare side helps an owner with a long workday.

All Star Dog Training runs a facility in Apex and serves towns across the Triangle. Board and train comes in one, two and three week sessions, and there's a drop off day train option. Private lessons and puppy classes, including AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, are offered too. Group classes are listed, though the site says they require prior training. It also names programs for reactive dogs and for fear and anxiety, plus therapy dog training. The site doesn't describe methods or tools, so ask about that first.

Always Faithful Dog Training of Raleigh is a local office of a national company that says it has more than 130 locations. Obedience comes in levels. Beginner covers leash walking and household problems like nipping. Intermediate adds off leash work, and Pro adds heavy distraction. The company also lists board and train and behavior modification, and it offers therapy and service dog training. The site calls its method Leadership Dog Training and says it uses no treats or clickers, and no shock collars.

Always Pawsitive Dog Training works in your home around Durham. The site calls its methods science based and force free. Every program is private. Adult dog packages run from three lessons up to eight, and the larger ones add months of support or support for life. Puppy packages follow the same pattern, and the biggest one spans lessons before and after six months of age. The site lists help with reactivity and leash pulling. It says the trainer is certified but doesn't name the trainer or the credential, and it doesn't post prices.

Bark Busters Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill is run by Jerry Hvizdos, who the page says has 18 years of experience and is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator. All training happens in your home, with no group classes or boarding, in towns from Apex to Hillsborough. Behavior problems on the page include barking and separation anxiety. The method relies on body language and voice tone, with treats used sparingly, and the page says it uses no shock or prong collars. No prices are posted.

Best By Farr Dog Training is led by Chris Farr. Our listing places it in Durham, and its site names Raleigh, Wake Forest, Youngsville and Creedmoor as its service area. It offers puppy programs and obedience board and train. Behavior modification and private lessons round out the list. The site says it uses the latest internationally approved methods, aimed at being effective and humane, but it doesn't name methods or tools. Ask Chris on your first call how a board and train stay works and how you'll keep the skills going at home.

Clare Reece-Glore runs YAY Dog, a training business our listing places in Durham. Her listing shows her as a Certified Instructor with the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors. Her About page says she coaches owners on behavior problems and on their bond with their dog. She looks at daily life, such as food and exercise, when she works on a problem. She also uses TBTE strategies developed by Mark McCabe to help dogs calm themselves, and Maryna Ozuna's Movement Markers to check how a dog moves. The site doesn't post prices or a class list, so ask what a first session covers.

Sit Means Sit Raleigh is owned by Colby and Andrea Self, and the site says Colby has owned it for more than 14 years. It serves Wake, Durham, Johnston and Franklin counties. Board and train runs on weekdays for two or three weeks, and day train means one full day a week. Group classes include a Feisty Fido class, and Puppy Kindergarten takes puppies 9 to 18 weeks old. Private lessons can take place in your home. The site describes leash work with food and praise, plus a low level remote collar when the trainers judge it a fit. Prices are listed on their site as $330 for Puppy Kindergarten and from $3,200 for board and train.

Cornerstone K9 is a Raleigh trainer with a service area that reaches Garner, Cary, Wake Forest, Chapel Hill and more. Its puppy board and train covers basics such as recall and leash manners along with socialization. The adult version works on obedience and on behavior problems such as reactivity. Private lessons cover on and off leash obedience, and it runs sport dog training for dogs that compete. The site says it uses positive reinforcement and gentle techniques. Prices aren't posted, but a free consultation is offered.

The Durham Kennel Club is an American Kennel Club member club that says it was founded in 1928. Its class list includes agility and conformation, the handling used at dog shows. Freestyle and tracking are listed too, and obedience and rally share a class track with scent work. Our listing adds puppy and trick dog classes, along with Canine Good Citizen and therapy prep. The page we read doesn't say where classes meet or what they cost, so check the current schedule.

Dynamic Dogs of North Carolina is based in New Hill, on the southwest side of this area. Its one on one training happens in your home, with a lesson plan built for your dog. Group classes stay small, with up to five students, and include puppy classes and AKC Canine Good Citizen prep. Our listing says it runs obedience classes at Harris Lake Park. Its events page lists agility and advanced obedience classes that have already started, so ask when the next round begins. No prices or methods are posted.

Eyes Ears Nose and Paws is a nonprofit that places assistance dogs with people who have disabilities. Its site lists a Hillsborough address. It is an accredited member of Assistance Dogs International. Its two programs train mobility dogs and medical alert dogs that detect medical episodes. The organization teaches incarcerated men to train the dogs, and the site says dogs have been partnered with clients since 2010. It doesn't sell pet obedience lessons, so reach out only if you or a family member may qualify for an assistance dog.

Fly High Agility is an indoor dog sports facility in Knightdale that serves Raleigh and the Triangle. Agility is the core. Group classes last 60 or 90 minutes and take up to six students. The usual path starts with Foundations, then moves to an AKC focused Beginner and Novice track or a Green Dog track aimed at ISC and UKI. Scent work and canine conditioning are on the list, and you can rent the indoor ring. Casey, the only instructor named, teaches a limited number of private lessons.

Kayla Delp runs K&C Canine Life Skills from Clayton and holds the CPDT-KA and CCDT. Her site says she specializes in force free training and behavior intervention, and that she looks at what causes a problem behavior instead of only its symptoms. Our listing names separation anxiety and aggression among her focus areas. Her packages cover puppies and adult dogs, with a separate package for behavior work. Her service area spans Apex and Holly Springs east to Zebulon, plus Raleigh. Prices aren't posted.

Whole Dog Institute is owned by Liz Turpin and Beth Grooms. The site says both are Certified Professional Dog Trainers, Knowledge Assessed, and Pat Miller Certified Trainers. Our listing places the business in Raleigh, while the site lists its training facility in Durham. Services include pet obedience and behavior work, plus nose work and agility for dogs that need a job. Private lessons happen in your home or at the facility, and group classes are described as fun and upbeat. The menu also lists board and train.

Teamworks Dog Training runs a dog training campus in Youngsville, and our listing shows Michele Godlevski with the ACDBC and CC from The Academy. Puppy and manners classes sit next to agility and scent work, plus less common sports like Barn Hunt and Treibball. For behavior problems, there's a Leash Reactive Dogs class along with in home and virtual consults. The site says it uses positive reinforcement and doesn't use harsh physical punishment. It also teaches obedience classes in Spanish.

New Hope Dog Training Center is run by Gene Lonsway, who goes by Mister Obedience. The site says he has trained dogs professionally since 1985. His main program is a guaranteed board and train, where you drop your dog off for training and pick it up at the end. The focus is family pets and homes with more than one dog, with goals such as no jumping on kids. It doesn't post prices or describe methods, so ask about both.

Off Leash K9 Training Raleigh is a local office of a national company that the site says has more than 130 locations. Our listing places it in Durham, and it reaches as far as Rocky Mount. Board and train is listed on their site at $1,500 for one week and $2,800 for two weeks. Private lesson packages are listed from $650, and behavior modification for leash reactivity and fear from $1,200. Puppy training starts with a $100 consultation. Its price page says most obedience and board and train packages include an e-collar, so ask how it's used on the free phone consultation.

Pawlite Pups is a Durham business. Its website blocked our check, so this card comes only from its AnimalTrainerPro listing. The listing describes balanced dog training, so ask on your first call what balanced means in their sessions and which tools they use. The listing also names dog nutrition and canine somatic bodywork, and it mentions wellness guidance. That mix fits an owner who wants training help along with care advice. The listing doesn't give credentials or prices, so ask where sessions take place.

Total Pet Training is Rebecca Gridley's business in Cary. Our listing shows her as a Pet Professional Guild member with the Dynamic Dog Practitioner credential, and her site says she is a licensed Canine Functional Analyst through Dynamic Dogs UK. The site says she spent more than ten years as a veterinary technician and calls her a force free trainer. She assesses problems such as reactivity and resource guarding, then builds a plan around your schedule after a first consultation. She also works with clients remotely. Prices are listed on their site as $125 for a 45 minute initial consultation and $100 for a single session.

RP K9 Academy is a Raleigh trainer founded by B'Angelo White, who the site says holds a B.S. in Animal Sciences and Business. Its four week board and train, the Restructured Blueprint Program, takes place in a home style setting and includes take home videos and follow up sessions. Private training covers leash manners and puppies, plus aggression and separation anxiety. It also trains service dogs for 3 or 4 clients a year and runs protection programs. The site calls its approach balanced and lists prong collars and electronic collars among its tools.

Hearth and Hounds is Susan Spinks's training business in Chapel Hill. Our listing shows her CPDT-KA and her membership in the Pet Professional Guild, and her site shows a CATCH mentor trainer seal. She says she serves Chapel Hill and the area right around it, and her listing names private training. The site describes science based, positive training where the key word is yes and rarely no. Its goal is to teach you to train your own dog, so the two of you share a common language.

Topline K9 Solutions is a Raleigh trainer built around group classes. Our listing names home manners and leash manners classes. It also lists social puppy and public manners classes, plus urban agility and recall. The company matches each dog with a trainer and a venue at no charge, and its service area runs from Lake Gaston down to Smithfield. It says it prefers calm, clear training over shock collars. Trainer names and prices aren't listed, so ask who will teach your class.

Training Your Best Friend is Christie Fernandez's Raleigh business, and the site says she has more than 40 years of experience training dogs. Group classes start with Basic Obedience and Puppy Kindergarten, and Public Manners prepares dogs for the Canine Good Citizen test. For dogs that struggle around others, she runs Reactive Rover and Fearful Fido. She also offers private in home training and virtual training. The site says she uses only positive reinforcement and names desensitization and counter conditioning among her methods.

Gloria Schmidt is a Cary trainer with the CPDT-KA, a credential from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, and she is a member of the Pet Professional Guild. Our records show no website for her, so this card comes from her AnimalTrainerPro listing. The listing names both dogs and cats among the animals she works with. It doesn't name services or prices. On your first call, ask what methods she uses and how she handles a home with a dog and a cat.