Best Dog Trainers in South Carolina

Coastal Canine Academy is Jill Lundgrin's business in Charleston, and her site says she teaches with positive reinforcement and clicker training. Private lessons happen at your home anywhere in the tri county area. They're listed on her site as starting at $110 per 2 hour lesson, even with more than one dog. Group classes are offered too. Our listing adds AKC Canine Good Citizen instructor and tester and Pet Professional Guild member, and it names separation anxiety as a specialty.

Chambers K9 Training works across the Charleston area, and its service towns run from Moncks Corner and Goose Creek to Kiawah and West Ashley. Puppy Training is for puppies under 6 months. Signature Training runs from home manners up to reliable off leash control, and Board and Train has a trainer do the work first, then coach you to keep it up. Behavior help goes from leash pulling and lunging to anxiety and aggression. Every program includes lifetime access to the Chambers K9 Community, with group classes and pack walks. Training starts with a free evaluation in your home.

K9 Control Training has a Charleston location and a second one in Greer. The site says the founder came from a law enforcement Special Operations K9 Division and has more than 20 years of training experience. Everything starts with the Introductory Board and Training program, where dogs stay and learn obedience on and off leash. Graduates get 3 follow up private lessons and group classes twice a month for the life of the dog. The site calls its method motivational and mentions tools without naming them, so ask.

Dog Ops LLC is a veteran owned, mobile business that works from Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island across to West Ashley and Summerville. It lists puppy and obedience training, behavior work for problems like reactivity and resource guarding, and aggression management. Board and train is listed on their site as $2,500 for 2 weeks and $3,000 for 3 weeks. The site describes balanced training that starts with the least intrusive method and says a properly conditioned electronic collar may be used.

The Charleston Dog Training Club in North Charleston was founded in 1959 and is a nonprofit affiliate of the American Kennel Club. Its site says the club teaches classes for pet dogs and for competitors. Our listing adds run throughs, which let you rehearse a trial routine before the real thing. The home page doesn't post a schedule, prices or whether you must join first. Check the club calendar before you sign up, since class dates can shift week to week.

Key2K9 Dog Training and Behavior is owned by Ali Wadham in Mount Pleasant. Her site says she has worked with a police department in a support and education role. You can book private sessions or small group classes, from Puppy Next Steps up to advanced obedience and AKC Canine Good Citizen prep. Behavior services cover aggression and fearfulness, with virtual or FaceTime consults for those cases. Two services are unusual for this list: daycare reintroduction, and lessons on using a treadmill at home.

Ridgeside K9 Summerville is veteran owned and says it has helped dog owners since 2003. It serves Summerville and towns like Cane Bay and Goose Creek, and it reaches into North Charleston and Charleston. Services include board and train, puppy lessons and private training, plus behavior modification and off leash control. It's the only trainer in this guide that lists protection sports and bite work, and it teaches scent work too. It calls its trainers certified without naming the program, so ask which one.

Canine Revolution Dog Training is listed under Chad Singer and runs board and train on a 20 acre campus in Dorchester. The site says it has served the Lowcountry since 2017, and it lists Citadel alumni status, Navy veteran service and an IACP professional membership. Programs run from on leash manners to off leash freedom, with behavior modification for aggression and fear. A Virtual Training Academy is listed too. The site calls its style balanced training. It promotes a snake aversion clinic, and our listing says it runs each year for copperheads, rattlesnakes and other venomous snakes.

Kabler School for Dogs dates to 1995 and runs training campuses in Columbia and in Asheville, North Carolina. Puppy Preschool takes puppies from about 10 weeks to 6 months in private and group sessions of 45 to 60 minutes. Older dogs move into on and off leash obedience or private day training, and Columbia clients who choose residency board and train go to the Asheville campus. The site describes a positive, reward based approach with counter conditioning for fearful dogs. Dock diving and swim courses are offered, and new clients get a free evaluation.

Good Dog LLC is Gayle Watson's private, in home training business in Columbia. Her site lists her credentials as JD, ABCDT and CPDT-KA, and our listing shows her as a Pet Professional Guild member. She uses force free, reward based training with treats and toys, and a big part of the work is teaching you to train your own dog, including how to fade the treats later. The site says she doesn't use choke, prong or shock collars, and it rules out alpha and dominance methods. Her techniques include counter conditioning.

Greater Columbia Obedience Club was founded in 1968 and is a nonprofit, all volunteer club in Columbia. It teaches obedience classes meant to build a working partnership with your dog, aimed at owners who may want to try competition or dog sports later. The club says it encourages positive reinforcement and reward based training. It's sanctioned by the AKC to hold obedience and agility trials, among other events. The site doesn't say whether you need to be a member to take a class, so ask when you register.

Contented Canines is Colonel Tom Kelly's training business in Columbia, and our listing shows him as a NADOI Associate Member. His site says he trains and rehabilitates challenging dogs and coaches their owners. Private coaching starts with a behavior consultation and a written assessment with training advice, followed by one on one sessions with you and your dog. Group behavior classes use what the site calls a relationship based training model. The problems he lists run from leash pulling, digging and jumping on guests to fearfulness and overreacting to dogs or people.

The Greenville Humane Society offers training to the public. Group classes cover puppies, teen and adult dogs and they're listed on their site as starting at $150. For private training, a trainer meets you at your home or at the shelter, and remote sessions are offered. Private training is listed on their site as $125 for a 90 minute first consult and $95 per 60 minute session. A Certified Dog Behavior Consultant handles fear, anxiety and aggression, listed on their site as $225 for the first 90 minutes and $125 per session after. The site describes humane, reward based methods, and lead trainer Daisy Wise is Fear Free certified.

Foothills Canine Academy in Greenville focuses on scent work and nose work, and it says it's convenient to Spartanburg and Asheville too. Its Foundations Class needs no experience and builds skills for both you and your dog. Private sessions are for dogs that already search for odor, and they include a skills assessment and a custom training plan. The site mentions AKC Scent Work and NACSW K9 Nose Work. It takes a limited number of new clients each year, so reach out early. It doesn't list general obedience or manners classes.

Paw & Order Upstate SC is listed under Drew Brashier. The location's page lists a Mango Dogs Certified Dog Aggression Specialist, an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator and IACP membership among its credentials, without saying which team member holds each, so ask. In home training is the location's most popular package. Stay and train keeps your dog with the team for one on one work, play with other dogs and field trips before the training is handed over to you. Small group obedience classes and CGC testing are offered, and live virtual sessions have limited spots.

The Puppy Nanny in Simpsonville works only with puppies up to 12 months old. Sue, the trainer, can start helping before your puppy comes home and stay with you through the first year. Training follows your puppy's age and temperament, with work on housetraining and chewing and a potty log to track progress. The site also mentions Zoom training sessions, plus weekly drop in nosework classes and private nosework lessons. It says the business started almost 20 years ago and serves Greenville and nearby towns. It doesn't say whether lessons happen at your home, so ask.

Palmetto Obedience Training Club in the Spartanburg area teaches basic obedience and rally classes. It runs AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy classes and evaluations, which suit a young puppy's first course, and Canine Good Citizen classes and evaluations too. The club hosts official AKC obedience and rally trials, and Fast CAT events are listed as well. Its 2027 calendar already shows a spring CGC class and a S.T.A.R. Puppy class, with fall events still to be set. The site has a members only section, so ask whether classes need a membership before you sign up.

VIP Dog Sports in Central is new to the Upstate. Its owners say they bring more than 20 years of training experience and ran a facility in Colorado before. Agility runs from foundation work to master level, and there's trick training with titles plus nosework for dogs of any age. Puppy Foundations builds good habits early, and family dogs with common behavior problems get private lessons. Its K9 Ninjas class uses Ninja Warrior style obstacles. Training is by appointment only, and the business serves Upstate towns such as Clemson and Easley.

Dog Training Anytime is in Myrtle Beach and serves Horry County and beyond. Dr. Julia is described as a certified trainer and behaviorist. Services range from puppy training and obedience classes to board and train and a doggie boot camp. It's the only trainer in this guide that lists service dog training, and it also has an aggression and reactivity program and online training. Private sessions take place at its location or in your home, and behavior consultations are free. The site doesn't describe its methods or tools.

Pawsitive Pup School of MB is Amy DuPre's business in Myrtle Beach, and it offers training, boarding and daycare. The site says it uses only positive reinforcement and is 100% force free. It says it will never use shock, prong or choke collars and doesn't use other punishment. Owners are included in every step of the training. Amy reports more than 10 years in the industry and more than 6 years training alongside force free and Fear Free trainers on the Grand Strand. The site doesn't say whether it runs group classes or comes to your home, so ask.

K9 Learning Academy is based in Conway and serves Horry and Georgetown Counties. Founder Matt Dellaira is listed as a Certified Dog Trainer who trained under Joel Silverman. The Canine Residency runs 2 or 3 weeks, moves from on leash basics to off leash reliability and ends with an owner transfer. A Behavior Change residency is for dogs that react to people or animals, including dogs with a bite history, and adds weekly owner lessons. In home training is offered too. The site describes proven, humane techniques and says it uses no aversive methods. Evaluations at the training center are free.

Off Leash K9 Training Hilton Head Island, SC is an Off Leash K9 franchise in our listing, and its site also uses the name Low Country Dog Trainers. It serves Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, and its service list reaches Beaufort and Savannah. Packages start with Puppy Head Start and Well Behaved Dog. From there you can move to advanced obedience or the combined Rock Star package, and the highest level is the Super Star board and train. The site says trainers teach you to work with your own dog using gentle methods.

Rockin Robin Kennel & Outfitters in Ridgeland is the only trainer in this guide built around hunting dogs. Scott, the trainer, has worked with hunting dogs since he was 13, and the program draws on 19 years of field dog training and upland hunt guiding. Pointing and flushing programs aim for well socialized dogs that find and retrieve birds, and they usually run about 3 months. Basic obedience takes about a month. If you'd like to take part, one on one sessions with you and your dog are billed by the hour.

Bark Busters Bluffton & Savannah is the local Bark Busters franchise run by James and Michelle Rodriguez, and it serves Beaufort, Bluffton, Port Royal and Savannah. The couple have trained since 2008 and are military veterans. Training starts in your home and moves to public places like parks once your dog is listening. Lessons cover obedience and puppy basics such as crate training, and behavior work covers aggression and separation anxiety. The site says it uses humane methods and no electronic collars.