Group Classes or Private Lessons: Which Does Your Dog Need?

We offer both group classes and private sessions, and owners often ask which is better. It is the wrong question. They are good at different things, and plenty of dogs benefit from both.

Group classes are for practice around distraction

A group class gives you something no private session can manufacture: other real dogs, at a managed distance, with handlers all working on the same thing. If your dog knows a behavior at home but falls apart in public, that gap is exactly what a class fixes.

Classes are also the natural setting for socialization work, which is less about greeting other dogs than about learning to stay relaxed near them.

Private lessons are for your dog’s specific problem

Private sessions provide individual attention and a plan built around your goals. If the issue is particular to your household, your dog’s history, or a behavior that needs careful handling, a class is the wrong environment to work it out in.

Private lessons run one to two hours, include video and PDF guides so you are not guessing at home, and come with phone support between sessions. They are $150 per session with a three-session minimum.

How to choose

As a rough rule: if your dog can think clearly around other dogs, a class will stretch them usefully. If they cannot, a class will overwhelm them and private work should come first. The free evaluation exists to answer exactly this, and it is the honest way to decide rather than guessing from a description.