​An important part of the puppy training process, and in some cases, for adult dogs who need a refresher, is finding the right trainer. Being in an urban area, St. Louis area dog owners are lucky to have a variety of choices. Slick marketing and added-convenience features can make some trainers seem wonderful, but our veterinarians strongly recommend that you spend some time learning more about the trainers and their methods before enrolling your dog. We recommend you choose trainers who only employee positive reinforcement training techniques, and avoid shock collars, pinch/prong collars, or other forms of negative correction.
 
We’ve compiled a list of trainers that are recommended by Dr. Colleen Koch, a St. Louis area veterinary behaviorist (that’s a veterinarian who has done an ADDITIONAL several years of exclusive behavior-only residency, research and training after graduating as a general practice veterinarian), as well as trainers who as of September 2018 were certified as Fear Free trainers. This list is not all-inclusive, and there may be other great trainers in the area that we haven’t learned about yet, so if you’ve found another trainer you’d like to work with, check out this article on what questions to ask to learn more about their methods!
 
Download our Recommended Trainer List here!