Canine Academy is Central Ohio’s best dog trainer.
We specialize in positive experience training methodologies and our programs are designed to improve communication between dog and owner, leading to a happier life for both.
Canine Academy offers Puppy Foundations Training and Basic Obedience Training, which provides your doggo with structure and creates an outlet for excessive energy. Our programs are designed to meet your dog’s needs and match your lifestyle.
Training is a great step in you and your family’s journey to achieve the dog of your dreams, regardless of their age, breed or disposition!
Canine Academy Named World’s Greatest Dog Trainer
Don’t miss the opportunity to work with a world-class trainer right around the corner.
Our Locations
Located in Lancaster, OH, Canine Academy is a premier dog training facility located 30 minutes from Downtown Columbus. We are situated on 7 acres of green landscape. We believe that a core input to an effective training strategy for your dog is regular exercise. With our large, fenced-in play field combined with hiking trails for stimulating walks, our property is the perfect place for your dog to have access to fresh air and exercise while not in training!
Can’t stomach the drive to Lancaster? Our nearest local partner, Barks and Rec, is just a 10 min drive from Downtown Columbus!
Our Training Packages
We have programs designed for every dog and to meet your family’s goals. From puppy classes and small group obedience work, to board and train programs with lifetime support, and anything in between – Canine Academy has a program that’s right for your pet. Check out our full service offering here, or view some highlights below.
- Board and Train – An intensive program that includes daily time with a dedicated trainer, intentional leisure and socialization with our talented care team, and 90-days of follow-up support to ensure a smooth transition home. We achieve better results than other trainers in a shorter time, because we use all 24 hours in your pet’s day to the fullest. Graduates of the board and train program receive our lifetime commitment of support.
- Small Group Basic Obedience – Over the course of 5 weeks, you and your dog will master basic obedience under distraction. We optimize the training group size to ensure 1:1 attention from your trainer, and distractions in a controlled environment to build reliability. Canine Academy offers this service at our main campus, and at select doggy daycare locations in Columbus.
- Build Your Own Program – Your dog and goals are unique, and our team of dedicated trainers is standing by to help you master basic obedience together and eliminate nuisance behaviors in the format that makes the most sense to you. We’ll help you design a program that ensures you’ll have a usable set of skills to communicate with your canine companion for life.
- Puppy Training – It’s never too early to start building the habits and relationship you want with your puppy! We are focused on developmentally appropriate training. For puppies under 5 months that means focusing on socialization, treat training, avoiding bad habits, managing excess energy, housebreaking and crate training. With options from stay and train programs to small group learning, you’ll get started on the right paw with Canine Academy.
Canine Academy’s Results:
Even the most energetic, distracted, or stubborn dog can show a dramatic improvement in behavior in as little as one week with professional obedience training. Following your pup’s training with us, our dedicated team of trainers will work with you to ensure that your results stick. Canine Academy graduates stand out in a crowd based on their patience, attentiveness to owner, reliable off-leash behavior, and eagerness to follow commands. During training, our trainers consistently seek out distractions for your dog, so that you get a reliable, obedient dog no matter where you go.
We focus on functional obedience, so you and your dog will be able to navigate life together with a few simple cues: sit, down, place, come, walk, off, and release. All of our cues include a stay, so sit means sit…and stay!
Our Dog Training Methods:
Our dog behaviorist trainers spend a lot of time getting to know what makes your dog tick. Positive experience dog training is about providing consistent reward. Without treats in your pocket, motivating your dog by play and praise – issued the way your dog wants it – makes dog obedience training stick for life.
Beyond identifying the most effective reward for positive reinforcement, our dog trainers also use e collars to provide a very low level stimulus during both commands and praise. Our proprietary Positive E Collar methodology enhances the communication between dog and owner. This enhanced communication builds trust and produces effective training outcomes. We believe that you can teach a dog obedience training without causing the dog any physical pain through an e collar.
Along with your leash, your voice and your nonverbal cues, your e collar is just another tool in your toolbox. But your e collar allows you to communicate with your dog at even longer distances. With your new tool and our dog obedience training methods, you’ll access a level of freedom in nature and in public access.
Not sure where to start?
Take our behavioral assessment and a member of our team will reach out to discuss how to achieve your specific training goals
The Best In-Home Dog Trainer Should Be Able to Proudly Answer:
Not all in-home dog trainers are created equally. Here are some questions that you should ask your in-home obedience training provider.
Our current trainers have graduated over 1000 dogs from Canine Academy in the last 3 years alone. They’ve each worked across all breads and dispositions and have proven results across the spectrum. Additionally, our proprietary Positive E Collar Training Method was developed over 30 years of dog training experience – across all breeds and temperaments. There’s not a behavioral concern that we haven’t seen.
Canine Academy’s philosophy is that while training is lifelong the e collar is not. Our trainers will teach you a simple collection of basic obedience commands. Then, they will teach you how to use those commands together to lead your dog through any situation. With diligent training habits over 90 days, your dog will be able to “graduate” from daily use of the collar. Instead you’ll use it only as you would a leash – in high distraction situations.
There’s no doubt that a good dog behaviorist can teach your dogs new commands and even consistency. But all of that work is no good to you as a dog owner if you don’t know how to communicate with your dog. At Canine Academy, your dedicated trainer will work with you for the full 90 day new-habit adoption period. This allows you to become a confident dog handler, and helps you to address any new situations that might come up over those months.
If you’re still not confident after 90 days, we also offer a lifetime of support. Join our free group classes to learn new skills and refresh on old ones. Or give your trainer a call during office hours to troubleshoot new challenges. It’s all included in the tuition.
It can be a challenge to safely interact with new dogs via in-home private lesson training. Our trainers can arrange to hold one or more lessons at your favorite nearby park. There, they can coach you through safe dog-dog interactions. Additionally, because our group classes are free for all graduates to attend, you have a built-in opportunity for additional support.
In the span of a few short weeks, you could never experience all of the tests that you and your dog will encounter. So how do you make sure you get all of your questions answered? Our private lesson program is built with that in mind. We schedule follow up appointments with you during a full 90 day period, so that our dog trainers can help you troubleshoot new behaviors. Also, we host weekly group classes at the farm. They are free for all graduates to attend – for the life of your pet! You’ll always be welcome back to learn a few new tricks or brush up on the old.
The Best Board and Train Providers Should Be Able to Proudly Answer:
Not all board & train dog trainers are created equally. Here are some questions that you should ask your board & train obedience training provider.
Many board and train providers do excellent work to train your dog in basic obedience. Many hours are invested into each dog to make sure that they successfully perform commands. But all of those hours are wasted if you, the dog owner, don’t know how to communicate with your dog like a professional trainer.
Our trainers are committed to teaching you how to become a master dog handler. When you come to pick your dog up from its stay at our campus, you’ll have a lesson with your trainer to teach you how to use the collars and commands. Then, you’ll have a follow-up lesson 7-10 days after you go home, to give you an opportunity to ask plenty of questions and troubleshoot your transition back to the home environment.
Finally, our support doesn’t stop there. Included in tuition are several additional telephone follow-ups during the course of your 90-day new-habit formation period. And from there you’ll have access to our group classes or trainer office hours – for the life of your pet.
Canine Academy’s philosophy is that – while training is lifelong – the e collar is not. Our trainers will teach you a simple collection of basic obedience commands, and how to use those commands together to lead your dog through any situation. With diligent training habits over 90 days, your dog will be able to “graduate” from daily use of the collar, and instead use it only as you would a leash – in high distraction situations.
Your dog’s board and train experience is about far more than the time they spend in the classroom. Proper exercise and affection are also critical components of your dog’s learning and wellbeing. We work around the clock to ensure the safety of your dog, and our Team has a passion for making every dog’s day fulfilling and fun!
Morning
7:30 AM: Breakfast! Our dedicated care team arrives bright and early to feed each dog their preferred food, dispense any required medications, and start everyone’s day right with their morning constitutional.
8:00 AM: Hit the trails. Each dog on our campus gets an individual morning walk through our private nature trails. Hot sniffs and doggy curiosity abound when our Care Team is at the other end of the leash.
9:00 AM: Play time! For dogs that can’t wait to see their doggy friends, a nice long opportunity to run free and chase toys is as fun as any day at the dog park. For dogs that have a more solo style, individual enrichment and extra ear scratches are on the menu.
10:00 AM: Time for work. Your dog will form a strong bond with their trainer as they work together to learn to communicate and gain confidence from our praise-driven methodology. While your dog works hard, so does our Care Team; each kennel is fully cleaned each day, and dogs are provided with fresh food and water bowls.
Afternoon
11:15 AM: Nap time. All that mental work is exhausting for your dog! Our kennels provide a nice quiet place to get some R&R and ready their brain and body for more afternoon learning.
1:30: Play time! Another walk or playgroup is just the thing to wake your doggo back up, get their blood moving, and energize them for another round of class.
3:00 PM: Afternoon training. Whether in our fields, on the trails (now trying to resist those same new friends and hot sniffs), or at your local hardware store, our Training Team works to make sure that your dog is accustomed to expectations in many environments.
Evening
4:30 PM: Another opportunity to snooze and let their new skills marinate!
6:00 PM: Dinner is served, along with any required medications or supplements and plenty of time for a potty break.
7:30 PM: An admittedly lower-key affair, evening field time on the farm includes more sniffing and exploring than running and chasing.
10:00 PM: Time to get tucked in. Potty breaks and plenty of bedtime belly rubs before our Care Team leaves our sleeping dogs in the hands of our on-site manager each night.
While dog play groups are a party for some, other dogs prefer the company of humans or even solitude. Our Care Team can accommodate any preference. If play group’s not your thing, a nature walk on our private trails or a game of fetch is on the menu!
Starting from the day you leave your dog on our campus, you’ll get updates from our Care Team every day. There’s too much fun at the farm not to share – you can expect a picture and a message about how your dog spent playtime.
Additionally, our training team is committed to keeping you abreast of your dog’s progress toward training goals. You can expect to hear from them every 2 days during your dog’s stay.