Best Dog Trainers in and Near Tampa, FL

This Tampa branch of a multi location training company centers on a structured two week board and train. Your dog stays at the facility and works with trainers every day. Private lessons at your home or at their building are offered too, and so is overnight boarding.

The site names puppies and reactive dogs among the dogs they take. It also lists Florida modules for alligator and snake encounters and for hurricane anxiety. Graduates get lifetime support with refreshers. Prices aren't posted, and financing through Affirm is available.

Andria Gibbon runs With a Heart Canine Care LLC in Largo, on the Pinellas side of the bay. Our listing shows her as a Certified Canine Training and Behavior Specialist and a Certified Advanced Canine Training Professional. She's also a member of the Pet Professional Guild.

Her website blocked our check during this review, so this entry comes from our directory data only. On the first call, ask whether she teaches private lessons or classes and which tools she uses. Ask too what kinds of behavior cases she takes on.

Courteous Canine in Lutz is listed with us under Angelica Steinker, a CDBC and PCBC-A and a Pet Professional Guild member. The site calls its methods humane and science based, and it says the team specializes in aggression. A group class called My Dog Has Issues serves reactive dogs.

Group classes start with AKC STAR Puppy kindergarten and basic manners. The sport list runs from agility and dog parkour to disc dog and dock jumping. Private sessions add snake avoidance and mantrailing, and board and train is offered along with boarding.

Animal House Academy Dog Training is based in St. Petersburg. Its site says positive reinforcement only, science based and force free, with a focus on your dog's emotional wellbeing. Lessons cover loose leash walking and calm greetings.

Our listing shows puppy foundations and manners, plus reactive dog training for barking and lunging. Private training happens at your home, and virtual sessions reach owners outside St. Pete. Group classes and workshops appear on the site too. An in home consultation is listed on their site as $75, credited toward a training plan bought within 14 days.

Bark Busters Pinellas County is owned by Sharon Kondash, who has been with Bark Busters since 2007 and has owned this location since 2019. Training happens one on one at your home, with no group classes and no kenneling.

The site says the method relies on body language and voice tone, with no treats needed and no harsh methods. Common work includes separation anxiety and reactivity, along with puppy problems. The Life of Dog Support Guarantee adds in home support for your dog's life with no added training fees. Service runs from Tarpon Springs to St Pete Beach.

Bark Busters Tampa is run by Jef Evans, a Tampa native. The site lists him as a certified Bark Busters trainer and shows an Association of Professional Dog Trainers member badge. He trains at your home first, then out in your neighborhood around real distractions.

His service area covers Carrollwood and Lutz to the north and reaches east to Brandon and Plant City. Services include puppy training and obedience, plus help with barking and separation anxiety. Under the Life of Dog Support Guarantee, the site says Jef will always be a call away at no added cost.

Bayshore Dog Training is Ashley Parker's Tampa business, and the site says she has well over a decade of experience. Every program starts with an in home consultation. She uses reward based training and desensitization, paced to each dog.

Behavior work covers leash reactivity and fear of strangers, plus aggression between dogs in the same house. Separation anxiety has its own program. A puppy program handles potty training and early manners, and Cribs and Canines helps a dog adjust to a new baby. She teaches private lessons at home and group classes.

Canine Dimensions Tampa, St. Pete serves both sides of the bay, from Tampa over to Clearwater. The trainer, Matthew Guida, CDBA, is the regional training director and a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals.

Programs include in home Puppy GoodStart and in home obedience. Board and train is offered, and fear and aggression programs are listed separately. The site says his focus is household behavior problems and fearful dogs. Prices aren't posted, and a free phone consultation is the first step.

Deborah Norris runs My Pet Nanny University, the training side of My Pet Nanny, and she names Lutz and Wesley Chapel in her service area. She is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer. Our listing also shows her as an AKC evaluator and a Pet Professional Guild member.

Puppy Etiquette Training covers potty and crate training along with bite inhibition. Basic Manners starts at 6 months. Private lessons at your home handle leash reactivity and resource guarding. Separation anxiety work begins with an assessment, and a free review of your needs comes first.

The Dog Training Club of St. Petersburg is a volunteer run club that has taught Tampa Bay dogs since 1955. Classes use positive methods and range from STAR Puppy through obedience at every level, up to Utility.

Sport classes cover agility and rally, and flyball and scent work are on the schedule too. Therapy dog classes are offered as well. You can stop by Monday through Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, or Tuesday mornings from 10:00 to 11:30, to watch a class and take a tour. Prices aren't posted.

The Dog Training Club of Tampa is a nonprofit club with 501(c)(3) status. Puppy and obedience classes sit beside agility and rally, and scent work and trick dog classes fill out the list.

Some classes are hard to find elsewhere on this list, such as barn hunt and Animal Actors. The club runs therapy dog classes and holds Canine Good Citizen testing on Mondays at 6 pm. It also hosts AKC trials, so you can watch a sport before you sign up for it.

KETCH, the K-9 Educational Training Center of Hillsborough, is a Tampa boarding, daycare and training center with more than 6,000 square feet of air conditioned space. It's the only trainer on this list that teaches herding, and the site names duck and sheep work.

Training also covers obedience and agility in group and private formats, and all breeds are welcome. Monthly private lessons cover obedience and housebreaking. The office shares the group schedule and prices, and it's open on weekdays, with weekends by appointment.

Sit Means Sit St. Petersburg is owned by Mark Nowak, who is also the head trainer. In the Day and Train program you drop your dog off for one on one sessions during the day. Private training includes you in every session, and Puppy Management covers the first 20 weeks with trainers the site calls AKC Puppy STAR certified.

Behavior work covers reactive and fearful dogs, along with off leash control. The St. Petersburg page doesn't describe its tools, so ask about them at the free evaluation.

Wet Nose University is Martha C Bernal's Tampa training business, and our listing shows her as a CPDT-KA and a Pet Professional Guild member. The site calls its training force free. Our listing adds private training and behavior consulting, with aggression and reactivity named as focus areas.

Classes move up through levels named Freshman and Sophomore, then Junior. There's a Canine Good Citizen class, and behavior modification has its own track. An Assistance Dogs program covers service dog training, including scent work. Class times and tuition sit on separate pages.

Sit Means Sit North Tampa serves Wesley Chapel and the north side of the bay. Megan McKenzie leads the team and brings about 19 years in animal care, including shelter management.

Day and Train ends with a lesson for you, and Board and Train keeps your dog in the trainer's home with daily field trips. Private lessons happen at your home, with evening and weekend times, and puppies start full training at 12 weeks. The system uses a remote electronic collar paired with rewards. Graduates can join group classes around Wesley Chapel.

Off Leash K9 Training Tampa is part of a national network and serves Tampa and St. Petersburg plus towns such as Brandon and Dunedin. The site says its handlers come from military and veterinary technician backgrounds, among others.

Basic Obedience is four private lessons, and Basic and Advanced doubles that to eight. The two week board and train covers off leash obedience and behavior change. Dogs under 5 months start with a puppy consultation. The Aggressive Dog Package is eight lessons, and Therapy Dog Development is eight lessons of prep for certification.

Paul Coughlin is listed with us as a NADOI Certified Instructor, the group's higher level, which takes years of teaching and an exam. Our listing connects him to Companion Pet Services in Pinellas Park, which has served Pinellas County since 1998 and trains you and your dog at home.

Lessons run from basic obedience to competition obedience and ring handling. Puppy work covers potty and crate training. The company is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator and prepares therapy dog teams. The site says reward and recognition work, and punishment doesn't.

Project PUP, whose tagline is Pets Uplifting People, is an all volunteer nonprofit in the Pinellas area. It trains handlers and dogs for therapy visits at places like nursing homes and schools.

Therapy dog certification runs monthly, and dogs are evaluated on temperament and behavior. Your dog should already know basic obedience, and a Canine Good Citizen title is encouraged. The group also lists STAR Puppy and basic obedience classes, plus a five hour pet first aid and CPR class for owners.

Ridgeside K9 Tampa is run by Brent and Carleigh Hedge, a husband and wife team who both train. Most programs are board and train, with off leash work for recall. Most adult board and train programs are listed on their site as $2,800 to $3,300.

Behavior programs for reactivity or aggression run three to six weeks. Puppy University is a two week program listed at $2,000. The 10 week Service Dog Task Program is listed at $10,500, and therapy dog training is offered too. Every program ends with handoff lessons, and financing is offered.

Sit Happens Dog Training Tampa has taught dogs in clients' homes since 2011. The team includes Jenna Cofer and Kendra Roop, plus manager Ken Wille, an Army veteran. Sessions are one on one at your home and around your neighborhood, any day from 9 am to 7 pm.

They cover puppy training and obedience, plus potty training. Behavior work includes separation anxiety and reactivity. The method is positive reinforcement, and you get practice exercises between sessions. The first consultation is free.

The Canine Professor is Christie Mault's training business in St. Petersburg. Her site calls her a certified trainer. She starts by calming the dog's mind before working on behavior, aiming for a dog that listens around distractions with no treat in sight.

Services include leash aggression and behavior work. She trains in person around St. Pete and Central Florida, and her virtual programs reach owners farther away. Service dog and therapy dog programs are listed too. A free consultation comes first, and prices aren't posted.

The Dog Wizard Tampa trains from a Tampa facility, by appointment on weekdays. Deirdre Wols is a former Marine who trained through The Dog Wizard Academy. Amado Bonilla holds Animal Behavior College certifications and works with reactive and anxious dogs.

Options include board and train and day training, plus private lessons at your home and group classes. Behavior programs cover aggression and separation anxiety. The site calls its method balanced and says trainers use food and remote collars, at the lowest level that gets the dog's attention. Obedience graduates can join ongoing group sessions. Programs are listed on their site as starting at $250.

Upper Suncoast Dog Training Club is an all breed club in Clearwater that says it has helped dog owners for more than 60 years. It describes its approach as positive training and education, with classes for every dog from puppies to seniors.

Classes start with puppy and obedience and continue into rally and agility. Trick classes with canine freestyle are offered, along with conformation and therapy dog training. The club's AKC Ambassador pages cover therapy dogs and trick dogs, plus a reading program. Class prices aren't posted, though new students get $5 off a session booked online.

Vernon Dog Training is a veteran owned Tampa business that Ben Vernon founded in January 2021. He has appeared as a canine behavior expert on an NBC Tampa daytime show. The site describes balanced methods with owner education.

The main program is a three week board and train in a trainer's home, covering advanced obedience and off leash control, with free lifetime follow up lessons. Private lessons in your living room handle problems like leash pulling. Puppy and aggressive dog training are offered too. Service covers greater Tampa Bay south to Sarasota, and the first consultation is free.

Zoom Room St. Petersburg is an indoor dog training gym where you train alongside your dog. Classes cover puppy training and obedience, and the gym also runs agility and scent work. Playgroups and gym time add socialization.

Training uses positive reinforcement only. A free 30 minute orientation, without your dog, explains the method and clicker basics. A 30 minute evaluation with your dog helps a trainer suggest where to start, and private training is offered. Classes run at many times of the week without a fixed six week commitment, and you book ahead.