Best Dog Trainers in and Near Reno, NV

Off Leash K9 Training of Reno is a local location of the Off Leash K9 company, which says it has more than 130 locations around the country. Its service area runs from Reno and Sparks out to Carson City, Gardnerville, Truckee and South Lake Tahoe.

Training starts with a free phone consultation. Basic Obedience is four private sessions, and Basic and Advanced Obedience is eight private lessons that add advanced commands and distraction work. A Puppy Consultation covers crate training and potty training along with socialization. Board and train runs 14 days, either on leash or off leash, and a longer 21 day stay is called Top Dog. The site says its trainers are well versed in remote collar training, so ask whether a remote collar will be part of your dog's plan. The home page doesn't name a trainer, so ask who will work with your dog.

High Desert Dog Training is Karen Kibbe's business, and it serves Reno, Sparks, Carson City and the towns around them. The site says Karen has competed in dog sports since she was 12.

Board and train is the main program. Puppy Board and Train takes pups from 8 weeks to 6 months, and Adult Dog Board and Train is for dogs older than six months, with some restrictions. Stays include progress updates and follow up lessons once your dog is home. Private lessons go only to dogs that qualify after a consultation, and they don't cover behavior modification cases. Graduates can join group classes and take the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. The site names problems such as leash pulling, barking and potty training. It doesn't describe its methods or post prices, so raise both on the phone consultation.

Run-A-Mutt is Sally Mills's in home training business. She works with owners in Reno and Sparks and also travels to Carson City, Truckee and Lake Tahoe. The About page says she began volunteering at an animal shelter at age 8. She holds an MS in Companion Animal Behavior from ACAS, and her studies included two internships at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. The site describes patient, personalized training built on positive reinforcement.

Packages are named for the problem. The Puppy Starter Kit is for new puppies, and The Boneminimum covers basic leash skills and obedience. The Ultimutt Package is for mild aggression and impulsive behavior, and the Blue Ribbon Package takes on separation anxiety and more serious aggression. Adventure Buddy is four guided sessions of 1.5 hours on off leash basics and safety. Walk n' Train pairs six weekly walks with obedience practice.

Stand Proud Dog Training works with dogs and families across Reno and Northern Nevada. Owner and head trainer Brandon got his start in rescue and rehab after volunteering at the Nevada Humane Society in Reno. Abby, who shares the head trainer role, has six years in the dog industry. The team says it takes on nervous shelter dogs and dogs with serious behavior concerns, and that most of its work is coaching owners.

A weekend Puppy Group is for dogs under one year old and is listed on their site as $45 per class. Private lessons and an obedience board and train are offered, plus separate board and train programs for minor and severe behavior cases such as reactivity and aggression. The site calls its approach balanced and says it may use positive reinforcement and marker training along with prong collars and electronic collars, chosen to fit each dog's temperament.

Fur and Feather Works is a Reno school for dogs that also trains cats and parrots. The team page names owner Joanna Moritz, a CPDT-KA with a psychology degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a charter member of the Pet Professional Guild. Most of the other trainers also hold the CPDT-KA, and Monica Oesterling is a CBCC-KA behavior consultant. The school calls its training science based and force free, using only positive reinforcement.

Group classes run six weeks plus an orientation. Puppy Kindergarten is for puppies under 4 months old at the start, and Basic Manners takes teenage puppies and adult dogs with no aggression toward dogs or people. Both are listed on their site as $390. After Basic Manners you can take three week field trip classes called Walkabout and Rocket Recall. Private training covers aggression, fear, barking, jumping and leash pulling, and the school keeps stimulus dogs for practice around other dogs. Dog sport classes and workshops are offered too.

Ericka Kinsey is a Reno trainer who appears on the team page at Fur and Feather Works, so you can reach her through that school. She holds the CPDT-KA and the PMCT-1, which the team page describes as Pat Miller Certified Trainer Level 1. She is a Fear Free Certified Professional for trainers and a Family Paws Parent Educator, and she has an M.Ed. degree. Our listing also shows her as a Pet Professional Guild member.

Her listed specialties are private training and work with aggression and reactivity. Fur and Feather Works says it uses only positive reinforcement and keeps stimulus dogs on staff, which helps when a reactive dog needs to practice around other dogs. Ask the school whether sessions with Ericka happen at its Reno location or at your home, and how a first behavior visit is set up.

Dogz is listed in Reno under trainer Christina Haxton, who holds the CPDT-KA in our records. That certification takes at least 300 hours of dog training in the past three years plus a 200 question exam. She is also a Pet Professional Guild member, and the Guild says its members discourage using fear, force or pain.

Behavior consulting is on her listing along with private and group training. The Dogz website showed no readable text when we checked, so we couldn't confirm class names, locations or prices. A second trainer, Evey Villacorta in Sparks, is also listed under the Dogz name. Ask on your first call which trainer you'll work with and where classes meet.

Hart 4 Paws Dog Training is Wendy Hart's business in the Reno and Sparks area. Her About page says she is an AKC certified dog trainer with about two decades of obedience teaching and behavior work. She has worked in pet stores and boarding facilities and as a vet tech, and she volunteered at a local shelter helping dogs get ready for adoption. She is also an evaluator for American Therapy Pets, and our listing shows her as a Pet Professional Guild member.

Puppy training covers obedience and socialization in private home sessions or group classes, and packages let you mix the two. Adult training is for newly adopted dogs or dogs that need a refresher. The site names puppy biting and resource guarding among the problems she helps with, and our listing adds separation anxiety plus aggression and reactivity. Prices aren't posted and methods aren't described, so ask how she trains.

Dog Gone Amazing Education Center is a woman owned Reno training business that also runs boarding and daycare. It has operated since 2008, and the site says it has trained more than 1,000 dogs. The team lists study with well known trainers, Tyler Muto and Larry Krohn among them.

You have four training formats. Private lessons are one on one. Turnkey In-Home Training brings lessons to your own house. Board and Train keeps your dog at the center, and DGA Training Camp blends on site and in home lessons with pack socialization. Boarding, daycare, play groups and two hour outdoor hikes run out of a 5,000 square foot building, and the site says those are for member dogs who have gone through training. Service reaches Reno, Sparks, Lake Tahoe and nearby areas. Methods and prices aren't listed, so ask at the evaluation.

Truckee Meadows Dog Training Club is a not for profit, AKC sanctioned obedience club formed in 1971. It teaches classes to the public year round at its club house, and class money goes to club costs such as rent and equipment. All breeds and mixed breeds are welcome.

The course list is long: STAR Puppy, Beginning Obedience, Fun-dations, Competition Obedience, Rally, Agility, Tricks, Scent Work, Carting, Conformation, Therapy Dog and Fit Dog Training, plus a Veterans Program. The club also offers Canine Good Citizen and therapy dog testing. Classes run seven weeks and are listed on their site as $150 for a first time dog and handler team, or $120 for a repeat team. Handlers over 60 and veterans also pay $120. The club describes its training as positive.

Red Rock Dog Training runs from a 40 acre ranch in north Reno, away from the noise of the city. Board and train dogs stay in climate controlled kennels, and the ranch has two play areas plus private training arenas, with walks and hikes on site. The business also offers private lessons and puppy training, and its site mentions classes from basic obedience up to advanced work for dogs of all ages.

The site describes one on one, personalized training built on positive reinforcement, with an emphasis on consistency and patience. It also promises ongoing support after a program ends. Training hours run Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. No trainers are named, and the site doesn't list credentials or prices. Ask who will handle your dog during a stay.

On Command Dogs is a boarding, grooming, daycare and training business in Sparks. Its training page describes a kind yet firm approach that uses voice and praise along with what it calls proper firm corrections. Owners are invited to watch classes any time, and jumping and digging are among the habits it names.

Besides private and group training, it offers Bootcamp On Leash, where your dog stays at On Command for 14, 21, 31 or 45 training days with three follow up lessons. Those stays are listed on their site as $1,795 for 14 days up to $4,995 for 45 days. The site says the 14 day program includes a chain or prong training collar, and longer programs add electronic collars when needed. Dogs that finish a course can get a $25 refresher during a later boarding or daycare stay, and every dog needs proof of full vaccines before booking.

Dog Training by PJ is Susie Jensen's business in Sparks. Our records list her as a Pet Professional Guild member, a group that asks members to use the least aversive and intrusive methods and tools.

Her listing shows private and group lessons along with behavior consults. Separation anxiety is on her specialty list next to aggression and reactivity, which makes her one of three trainers in this guide who list separation anxiety. We couldn't find a website for Dog Training by PJ, so we can't tell you where classes meet or what they cost. Bring up both on your first call, and ask how a behavior consult is set up.

Sit Means Sit Reno is the local location of a franchise that the site says has 157 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The site names Josh Enoh as owner and head trainer and it describes its trainers as certified to the Sit Means Sit national standard. Service reaches Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Spanish Springs, Sun Valley, Incline Village, Fernley and Dayton.

Dogs train by day and go home each night, so there's no board and train. The Dream Dog Daytrain is a custom four week program for obedience and manners, with off leash work built in. The Reactive Rehab Daytrain is a four week program for reactive or fearful dogs, including dogs that show aggression. They're listed on their site as $2,500 and $3,500, and both include in home owner coaching and free group classes for the life of your dog. The site doesn't name its tools, so ask about them during the free evaluation.