Dog Training Cost
The average cost of dog training is $30 to $80 per class with most pet owners spending about $50 per hour. Dog obedience training schools cost $200 to $600 per week, while boot camp kennel training runs $500 to $1,250 per week. Prices average $120 per hour to train a service dog for support, therapy, or protection purposes.
Is your dog jumping up, barking, chewing, digging, and biting? Does s/he have separation anxiety? Would you like your dog to learn some cool tricks or pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test—required in some apartment complexes? Private dog trainers are specialists who use advanced techniques to modify dog behavior positively. This guide covers everything you need to know about dog training.
Dog Training Prices
Dog obedience training is available through private lessons or group classes offered by dog daycare operations and pet stores to take care of most or all behavior issues. Group dog training classes cost $30 to $50 per session, while private training costs $45 to $120 per hour. For boot camps or obedience training schools, expect to spend $35 to $75 per day.
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Decide up front on your end goals for your dog’s behavior and obedience training.
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Training a dog to learn good habits or get rid of bad ones takes time, and everything taught by the dog trainer needs to be repeated at home.
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Some owners prefer to send their dog away for a few weeks to do intensive training, while others prefer to do weekly lessons in a group setting.
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All dogs must be vaccinated before training begins.
Group Dog Training Classes Cost
The average price for group dog training classes is $120 to $600 for a 6 to 8-week package deal or around $20 to $25 per lesson. Most packages lasting a minimum of six weeks are recommended to best train the dog using positive reinforcement and improving communication with your dog.
Group obedience lessons are a better long-term choice if you want to remember all the commands and training tools. Even if you board a dog for training, you and other family members must still be present for a hand-over lesson at the end to learn the commands.
Dog trainers offer different levels of obedience training programs, including puppy classes, basic training, courses for adult dogs, and advanced training. Agility lessons can be great fun for children and their dogs, and it makes for a good summer day camp experience for both.
If you have to miss classes, let your trainer know in advance and ask if you can make up the lost class another time. Try to stick with a full block of sequential lessons so neither you nor the dog forgets the previous one.
Dog Obedience Training Cost
Private dog obedience schools cost $45 to $120 per session, or $1 to $2 per minute for each 45- to 60-minute class. The cost of private dog training depends on the size, age, and breed of dog; the location of the sessions; and the level of habit adjustment needed. Evaluations are given before training starts, sometimes for an additional cost of $75.
Single dog training sessions start at $45 per hour. Because basic obedience training is only successful with consistent effort, it makes sense to buy a package of three to ten sessions up front, which can reduce the cost to $35 to $75 per session.
Most trainers are willing to come to your home for private training sessions at an additional cost. Others will take your dog for day training, and then your dog gets to stay with you at night.
The goal of private dog obedience training can go far beyond basic commands like sit or lie down. A good trainer will observe the dog’s interactions with each member of the family and train him or her to respect them all. Private training can also help with jumping up, separation anxiety, barking, chewing, digging, socialization with other dogs and people, and biting.
Dog Boot Camp Cost
Also known as board and train or kennel and train programs, doggy boot day camp can cost $45 to $75 per day. Your dog can also stay at the dog-training facility for a few weeks for $500 to $1,250 per week. While dog boot camp costs more, your dog will get customized training based wholly on his disobedience issues, which could take longer to fix in group classes.
Professional Dog Training Cost
Petco Dog Training Cost
Petco dog training costs $179 for a 6-week program which teaches the basics such as sit, down, stay, leave it, and heel. Petco regularly offers specials on their classes where you can find deals.
PetSmart Dog Training Cost
PetSmart dog training costs $139 for a 6-week program. PetSmart offers four stages of classes: puppy, adult beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
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Puppy and adult beginner classes teach the basic commands like sit, down, come, shake, stay, and loose leash walking.
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Intermediate covers all the basic commands but with the D’s which are duration, distraction, and distance. This class helps you control your dog from a distance no matter the distractions going on around you.
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Advanced strengthens behaviors to provide faster and more consistent responses and improve reliability.
Service Dog Training Cost
Service dog training costs $120 per hour on average, and in some cases, the recipient gets the dog for free from a nonprofit. Service dogs are taught to support people with anxiety and psychiatric issues, bring objects to a person, recognize low blood sugar, protect people’s heads during an epileptic seizure, and give emotional support during a PTSD episode.
What Do Service Dogs Do?
According to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), a “service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.” As such, they are working animals trained to do specific tasks that help a person with a mental or physical disability.
Some service dog trainers offer specialized training in protection, tracking, diabetic alerts, and emotional support. Some trainers can assess and train dogs as therapy dogs, while others train dogs for movie and TV work.
Therapy Dog Training Cost
Therapy dog training costs $30 per session or $250 for 8 sessions. A therapy dog is different from a service dog in that it reads people’s levels of stress and provides comfort, anxiety relief, and support rather than a set of task-oriented services. Also, many dog therapy classes teach the pet owner how to recognize stress in the dog.
Therapy dogs are used in settings like hospitals or children’s homes. A personal therapy dog will not be given the same access to public property a service dog will.
Cost of Training a Guide Dog
A guide dog is trained to lead blind or visually impaired people. Guide dogs are free to blind or visually impaired individuals, thanks to the generosity of the public and the many volunteers it takes to turn a puppy into a guide dog.
Cost of Training a Hearing Dog
It costs $1,000 to train and place one hearing dog when combined with volunteers’ time, but the recipient gets the dog for free, thanks to grants, donations, and sponsorships. A hearing dog is trained to recognize certain sounds, like doorbells, smoke alarms, or crying children, and to alert the hearing-impaired owner and bring him or her to the source of the noise. Dog owners can also get their current dog trained to be a hearing dog if s/he has the right temperament for the training. It will cost about $6,000 if paying for it yourself.
Protection Dog Training Cost
Protect dog training costs $120 per hour on average. Protection service dogs can aid in diabetic support and can recognize low blood sugar. Also, they protect people’s heads during an epileptic seizure.
Search and Rescue Dog Training Cost
Search and rescue dog training takes about 600 hours and costs $2,500 to $5,000 for basic training and $15,000 to $20,000 for full instruction. Search and rescue dogs are trained to find missing children and adults. Additional training is required for water search, avalanche, and disaster tracking.
“We like to begin training a dog as young as 12 weeks of age, but older dogs are also considered. Wilderness search dogs must be trained and certified in one of three methods: tracking, trailing, air scent, or cadaver.” (Ohio Valley Search & Rescue)
Dog Training Questions & Requirements
What Is The Best Age To Train A Dog?
Puppies can learn basic commands such as “sit” and “drop” as early as seven weeks old, and experts recommend gradually introducing puppies to other dogs and people at that age, too, so they don’t develop bad behavioral habits based on fear.
Puppy classes also help settle biting and barking issues early. Obedience training usually starts at the age of six months and teaches a dog things like immediately coming when called and behaving while off leash.
However, with patience and effort, dogs of any age can be trained to learn good behavior and eliminate bad behavior.
What Vaccinations Does My Dog Need?
Puppies must have at least their first dose of vaccinations before attending socialization classes. They must stay on their vet’s schedule for future vaccinations as well and have their 6-, 12-, and 16-week vaccinations against distemper, measles, parainfluenza, adenovirus, parvovirus, and rabies before starting obedience training.
Optional vaccines are for kennel cough, Lyme disease, coronavirus, and leptospirosis.
If you are bringing an older dog to obedience training, s/he must have a current rabies shot.
Do Trainers Work With Aggressive Behavior Dogs?
You won’t be able to bring your aggressive dog to a group lesson, but most trainers will come to you for private classes, for a higher price of about $125/hour. Evaluations can be done before training starts, sometimes for an additional cost of $45-75.
What Is Reward Vs. Punishment-Based Dog Training?
Know in advance which type of training you’re looking for—rewards based or punishment based. Interview the trainers you’re researching to see which training methods they use with dogs to make sure you are comfortable with their handling of your dog.
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Rewards based – Reward with food, praise, or sounds.
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Punishment based – Choke or shock the dog when bad behavior is chosen.
Do Dog Trainers Need Certification?
While there are no state laws regarding professional standards for dog obedience training, many registers with the Certification Council of Professional Dog Trainers—an organization that highlights the need for ongoing education. Many of the best trainers are those who have been working with dogs for many years with more experienced trainers, or who have taken many courses.
Where Does Dog Training Take Place?
Dog obedience trainers usually have a facility for hosting individual and group classes. They will charge travel fees if they need to come to you at approximately $1 per mile from their location.
Who Should Attend Classes?
It makes no sense only to have one household member at the obedience training classes, as everyone in the house must agree on following the command-and-reward system the dog learns. If not, s/he will fall back into old habits quickly, and the money spent on classes gets wasted.
What Should I Bring?
Bring treats your dog loves to the classes. Most trainers help you train your dog on a rewards-based system, so you’ll need treats that will persuade him/her to do what’s asked to get one. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes.
Dog Training Commands List
According to Inside Dogs World, there are 15 essential commands to teach your dog as seen in this dog training commands list:
