This is a list of the top dog trainers in Rochester, NY, based on votes from the Sniffspot community and the general public.

Aggressive dog training, Reactive dog training, In home training, Puppy training
Livingston County
I am a relationship based dog trainer teaching humans how to properly communicate with their dogs while building a trusting and respectful relationship from owner to canine.

Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed
Reactive dog training, In home training, Puppy training
Greater Rochester Area, Finger Lakes, and beyond
I received my Bachelor's degree in Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation from Canisius College in 2015. During my time there, I studied the behavior of a captive population of beluga whales. This led to my first professional training position - with marine mammals! After graduating, I moved to a small island in Washington State where I worked for two seasons as a Marine Naturalist for a wh...

CATCH Canine Trainers AcademyCertified in Dog Training Knowledge‚Mark McCabe - Training Between The Ears (TBTE)Resolving Conflict in Human/Canine Relationships‚Ashley Sculac - Canine Resistance Training (CRT)Certified CRT InstructorAmerican Kennel Club (AKC)AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Certified Trainer & EvaluatorAKC Canine Good Citizen Certified Trainer & EvaluatorEmergency Care & Safety Institute Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Course CertifiedKaren Pryor Academy for Animal Training & BehaviorDog Trainer Foundations
Greater Rochester NY Area
My interest in dog training started over 20 years ago when some behavioral issues exhibited by my first two dogs required me to seek out a professional dog trainer. This experience opened the door to the world of dog training for me. I took what I learned from my training experience and sought out a Canine Good Citizen certification with one of those dogs. We passed with flying colors but whe...

Puppy training
My career started in pet dog training under the mentorship of one of Rochester's most talented trainers. In 2009, I was certified through the former DTIP program. I have continued my formal education through workshops and seminars with some of the world's greatest trainers, including Dr. Sophia Yin, Dr. Ian Dunbar, Suzanne Clothier, Sue Sternberg (to name a few). From 2014 to 2016, I lived in M...

Aggressive dog training, In home training, Reactive dog training, Puppy training
Elissa graduated from The Academy for Dog Trainers, earning her CTC in February 2021. She also a Fear Free Certified Professional trainer through the Fear-Free Pets Program. She is a volunteer dog walker for Lollypop Farm and sits on the board of Rochester Area Media Partners (City Newspaper). Elissa's day job is Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Clinical and Translational Science Instit...
“Elissa is amazing! She has helped our family with our new red lab to adjust to our new home by working with us on basic skill training, walking, and more. She is there for you and anything you need. Not only that she just loves and adores your pet as if it were her own. We are blessed to be working with Elissa!!!”
— Cherieann L.

Aggressive dog training, In home training, Reactive dog training, Puppy training
Lisa gained a foundation in animal training through the Karen Pryor Academy in 2013, where she discovered a keen appetite for continued learning. Specifically interested in animal behavior, she went on to study under behavior expert, Jean Donaldson, at the highly acclaimed Academy for Dog Trainers, graduating in February of 2016. She is eternally grateful for such a thorough and stellar academi...

Aggressive dog training, In home training, Reactive dog training, Puppy training
John graduated with Honors from The Academy for Dog Trainers in August 2017, earning his CTC (Certificate in Training and Counseling). Having graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Networking & System Administration, John worked in the tech field for a short while. After several years in the Rochester animal welfare world, co-founding Rescue Pit, and serving as the ...

Aggressive dog training, In home training, Reactive dog training, Puppy training
Allison graduated with honors from The Academy for Dog Trainers in June of 2020, earning her CTC. As of September 2021, Allison also became a Certified Separation Anxiety Pro Trainer through Julie Naismith's program. Throughout all of her dog training career, Allison has been Fear Free Certified. Among all of this, she also works as clinical therapist, and volunteers for Rescue Pit, a local non...

Aggressive dog training, In home training, Reactive dog training
Rich Allen is a certified dog trainer located in Rochester New York who started working with dogs over 27 years ago, working in the protection sports fields along with obedience using a spectrum of different training methods, including physical punishment and fearful methods. Over the years the more education he has received the more he realized the physical and fearful punishment methods were ...

Board and train, In home training, Puppy training
As a passionate dog lover and lifelong student of animal training, I look forward to helping you and your dog build a stronger, more communicative relationship. My approach centers strongly on the bond between dog and handler, and the canine learning theory behind strengthening this connection. Research shows us that animals learn best when motivated by reinforcement under low stress. For this ...

Aggressive dog training, Reactive dog training, Puppy training
Rebecca grew up on a farm in Illinois surrounded by dogs, cats, and cows. She loved following the animals around to study their behavior, scribbling down notes about their habits. Her love of animals was bolstered by time spent in her father's veterinary clinic, and she decided at a young age to work in the field of animal behavior. The pursuit of that dream started at Yale University where she...

Puppy training, Agility training
Mike has been training in agility since 2017. It all started with his Australian Cattle Dog, Bebe. Now with his Border Collie Rush. Mike is a UKI Agility Judge and travels all over to bring challenging courses to those all over the US. Mike has trained along side with Daisy Peel, Susan Garrett, Justine Davenport, and currently Kayl McCann/Jamie Moreau. He travels to Canada often to train and co...

In home training
Let me introduce myself. My name is Glenna Godown and I have lived in the Walworth area for 40 years. My love of animals started at a young age as my family had hunting dogs that were friends of the family. I have owned dogs since I have had my own family.
In 1989 I started grooming dogs and my interests soon spread to the obedience and the good health of our canine friends. During thi...

In home training
Hi! My name is Erin Marie Nelson. Outside of being a dog trainer, I am a wife and a mother to two amazing human girls, some wonderful canines as well as a couple of precious felines too. I am the owner and sole trainer of E-DOT LLC. I got my first dog when I was 9 years old and she was beautifully trained with tricks, off-leash heeling, a solid recall, and more. I was that nine-year old that as...

In home training
My lifelong passion for dog training started with my family's Shi Tzu, Captain, in 4-H, where I competed in county and state fairs. I acquired my first dog, Ekko, who challenged and helped me grow to be the person I am today.
I currently own two Belgian Malinois, Ekko and Rhys, that I compete within French Ring. French Ring is a sport that contains a mix of personal protection, agilit...

Puppy training
For over 45 years, Denali Dog Obedience School has emphasized positive reinforcement when training puppies and dogs of all ages and breeds. We offer four levels of dog and puppy training taught by our AKC Certified instructors.Obedience for the HomeTherapy Dog TrainingTrick Dog TrainingTrackingAKC S.T.A.R. Puppy and AKC Canine Good Citizen TitlesWe take a holistic approach to training by incor...

Puppy training
I received my foundation in positive-reinforcement dog training while working and volunteering at the San Francisco SPCA. While there, I was able to learn from a wide variety of dogs, encompassing basic canine behavior, fear & anxiety as well as other serious behavior issues. I was SF SPCA certified by the in-house Academy for Dog Trainers with instructor Jean Donaldson in 1999. I have continu...

Puppy training
I was born with that horse/dog gene or as my mother would say anything with fur! Life was at its best when horseback riding with my best friend Colleen (bareback of course!) with our dogs in tow. We would gallop up and down 'mountains', through fields and ponds in the beautiful Naples-Cohocton countryside. We thoroughly enjoyed our time outdoors together and our horses and dogs were a huge part...

Puppy training
I grew up in Wayland, NY on lots of acres where my mother raised Labrador Retrievers. It seemed we had as many dogs as acres! Dogs have always been a part of my life and I often connected with them a little differently than the rest of my family...lol!As I grew up and moved on with my life, I couldn't wait till the day I was responsible enough to have my own dog in my own place! It was only a f...
Welcome to Rochester’s list of top dog trainers. The Rochester, New York list is based on 207 votes from the New York Sniffspot community. Only the Rochester dog trainers with the top number of votes made this list. Trainers are ordered by number of votes, with Paige Sande at the top of this list with 118 votes. We also counted 1366 votes for New York, with the remaining trainers listed outside of Rochester.
Our rankings include trainers certified by Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed and CATCH Canine Trainers AcademyCertified in Dog Training Knowledge‚Mark McCabe - Training Between The Ears (TBTE)Resolving Conflict in Human/Canine Relationships‚Ashley Sculac - Canine Resistance Training (CRT)Certified CRT InstructorAmerican Kennel Club (AKC)AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Certified Trainer & EvaluatorAKC Canine Good Citizen Certified Trainer & EvaluatorEmergency Care & Safety Institute Pet First Aid & Disaster Response Course CertifiedKaren Pryor Academy for Animal Training & BehaviorDog Trainer Foundations. They also specialize in Puppy training, In home training amongst other training programs.
Rochester dog trainer services include:
Behind every successful Rochester training session lies a passionate professional. Paige Sande shares why they chose this path: I was inspired to become a dog trainer because of my Pitbull, Zena. When she was a puppy, I struggled with crate and potty training and couldn't afford professional help, so I researched, learned, and did the work myself. That experience opened my eyes, not just to how much I loved working with dogs, but to see how many dogs were struggling simply because no one had ever taught their families how to communicate with them. I knew I could bridge that gap. Over the years I've trained through multiple styles, from positive-only to balanced to psychology-based, and the more time I spent with dogs, the clearer it became that this is what I'm meant to do. Helping dogs transform and watching their owners fall back in love with them never gets old, and my mission is simple: to help families keep their dogs in their homes and give both ends of the leash the confidence they deserve.. All 19 trainers on this Rochester list are committed to positive reinforcement. Trusted Rochester trainer, Alex Ferrente, uses the following methods: We adhere to the humane hierarchy and never use or recommend aversive training techniques. Private training always starts with an initial behavior consultation followed by a written training plan, and the type of follow-up sessions depend on the case. For clients who like to work more independently, we offer more intermittent coaching every few weeks. And for clients who prefer more accelerated, hands on guidance, we offer multiple times per week day training sessions - as well as some hybrid options between those two..
Explore the top dog trainers in Rochester as voted by our community:
Ordered alphabetically, only included cities where there is enough data to compile a list
Listen to your dog, they are always telling you something..
I was inspired by my dog, Zena.. Their passion for helping Rochester dogs shines every day.


















































