All dogs need some type of training in order to behave and take certain orders, and many pet parents find that the best way to accomplish this is to enroll the dog in some type of official training class. Usually, this type of training consists of a set of classes, but you can also find people who will train your pet on a one-on-one basis.

As a general rule, training classes cost around $30-50 per session for group training, but obedience training can cost $500 per week or more. The type of class you choose and whether they are individual or group classes all affect the price.

How Much Is Dog Training Per Hour?

Before we get into the average cost of dog training, let’s take a look at the classes or sessions themselves. There are actually several types of classes for dogs, and they include the following:

1. Private Classes

Private classes take place between your dog and the instructor, so they are naturally a little more expensive than the others. The classes can be held either at your home or at the instructor’s facility, and one of the biggest advantages of these types of classes is that they can be personalized to meet your pet’s needs, which means the dog will get individualized attention.

You can choose obedience training, basic dog commands, or even a class that takes care of the dog’s behavioral problems. Normally, these types of classes cost anywhere from $90 to $400 an hour. A lot of factors affect the individual prices of these classes.

2. Board-and-Train Classes

As you can guess, these are classes where the dog is boarded at the facility while the classes are happening. The classes can be several days long or several weeks, depending on the type of training they offer. If your dog has severe behavioral or other types of problems, this can be a good option, but if you’re not sure about your own dog, you should talk to the instructor of the class before it starts.

Board-and-train classes are generally expensive, usually costing from $1,000 to $2,500 for a two-week program. Since they offer a very extensive type of training that gives the dog a jump start on learning desirable behavior, they tend to cost a lot. You’ll also have to continue teaching and working with your pet after the class ends.

3. Group Classes

Group classes are very popular both because they are effective and because they are not usually very expensive. The classes are usually small at six to ten dogs per class, which is one of the reasons they are so good at training the animals. They are also a good way for your dog to socialize with other dogs, which is a part of the training process. The type of class offered can vary depending on the dogs’ needs.

Group classes are usually offered by well-known national pet stores and the like, which usually cost around $125 for a six-week session; or by any number of private facilities, which can cost $150-300 for a four- to six-week class.

4. Specialized Classes

With this type of class, the dogs are taught specialized skills. This can include training them to be a guide dog for people with certain disabilities, training to be a therapy dog that helps people in hospitals and schools, and even training for search-and-rescue dogs. As you can imagine, these classes are a little on the expensive side simply because not all trainers are qualified to teach them.

For specialized classes, you can expect to pay around $25,000 for a service dog, but there’s a lot of training included in this price. For training just one therapy dog, it can cost $250-300. These classes are almost always taught at private training schools for dogs.

5. Online Dog-Training Classes

Online training usually involves a combination of textbook reading and videos that allow the instructors to interact with the dogs. The training usually includes one of three types of training: participating in online forums, auditing, and participating in a working spot. The latter is where you videotape your dog and submit the tape to an instructor, who will then give you feedback.

More often than not, online dog-training classes are geared towards teaching one specific skill. This means that if you have a puppy that you’d like to teach a variety of basic skills, online training probably won’t work for you. You can expect to pay anywhere from $90 to $350 for each online class that you take.

Making the Most of the Training

If you want to make sure you make the most of the training you provide for your dog, pay attention to the following tips:

• Remember that the class your dog takes is only the beginning. To make sure it doesn’t forget anything and it continues to learn, you’ll have to keep teaching it and repeat what it learned while it was in school.
• Before you enroll your pet in any type of school, make sure you have specific goals in mind for it so that you and the instructor can work together to achieve those goals.
• All classes are set up differently. With some of them, there are group lessons that last one week at a time. For others, they insist on you boarding the dog for several weeks at a time, especially if they offer intensive classes.

The smartest thing you can do is decide what type of training you want your dog to be involved in, then check around your area for different trainers and see what information they provide to you. This is the best way to find something that works for your dog.

Conclusion

Dog training includes all types of classes, but the two most common classes are obedience classes and classes that teach basic dog commands. The prices vary depending on whether they are one-on-one or group classes, how long the class is, and what type of training is offered. Classes can cost $50 or $400 per hour, but you can get more specific information once you find a class and a trainer you want.