Dog Obedience Training in Austin, TX
Walks you both enjoy, a recall that works, and a dog who settles when guests arrive. We get there with food, play and patience — never a prong, choke or shock collar.
Training For Every Stage Of A Dog's Life
Start wherever your dog is today. Every program begins with the same free assessment so we recommend the right one rather than the longest one.
Not sure which one? The free assessment sorts it in about forty minutes — call (512) 555-0146 or send the form below.
Fourteen Years, One Method, No Shortcuts
Kestrelwood started in 2012 with a long line, a treat pouch and a stubborn belief that dogs learn faster when they are not afraid. We are CPDT-KA certified and Pet First Aid and CPR trained, we keep classes small enough to know every dog by name, and we will tell you honestly when six weeks is not going to be enough. Most of our clients come from a neighbor who stopped being dragged down the sidewalk.
- ✓Certified trainers — CPDT-KA #KW-4417
- ✓Small classes, six dogs maximum
- ✓Written plan and homework after every session
- ✓Honest advice, including when to see a veterinary behaviorist
From First Call To A Dog You Can Take Anywhere
Four steps, no mystery, and you can stop after any of them.
Free Assessment
Forty minutes at your home or our Zilker field. We watch your dog, ask about your week, and tell you plainly what is going on and what it will take.
Your Written Plan
Within two days you get the plan: the program we recommend, the order we will work in, the likely timeline and the price. Nothing starts until you say yes.
Weekly Sessions
Six to eight weeks of hands-on work, you holding the leash, with short homework between. We adjust as your dog progresses — the plan is a map, not a contract.
Proofing And Follow-Up
We take the skills out to the places that are hard — the trail, the patio, the front door — and you get a check-in session three months later at no charge.
Start With The Free Assessment
Bring the problem you are actually living with — the pulling, the barking, the counter-surfing. Forty minutes and you will know whether we can help and roughly how long it takes.
Dogs We Have Worked With Around Austin
Backyards, sidewalks and living rooms — the places the training actually has to hold.
What Every Program Includes
The free assessment
Forty minutes before you commit to anything.
A written plan
Scope, order, timeline and price, in your inbox within two days.
Homework you can do
Five to ten minutes a day, not an hour you do not have.
Messaging between sessions
Send a video when it goes wrong and get a real answer back.
A three-month check-in
One follow-up session after the program ends, at no charge.
Honest referrals
If your dog needs a veterinary behaviorist or a medical work-up, we say so.
What Austin Owners Say
Our shepherd used to drag me down the block and lunge at every bike on the trail. Six weeks in we walked the whole Lady Bird loop on a loose leash. I cried a bit, honestly.
They started with what our puppy could already do instead of what she couldn't. No shouting, no yanking, and she learned to settle on her mat while we ate dinner.
We had tried two other trainers who told us our rescue was stubborn. Kestrelwood watched him for ten minutes and said he was frightened, not stubborn. Everything changed after that.
If It Is Not Working, We Say So
Some dogs need longer. Some need a veterinarian before they need a trainer. We would rather tell you that in week two than sell you another six weeks and hope. If we are not the right fit for your dog, we will tell you who is — there are good people in this city and we know most of them.
- ✓Reassessment at week three, included
- ✓Switch programs at no extra cost if we picked wrong
- ✓Referral to a veterinary behaviorist when that is the honest answer
Before You Book
How much does dog training in Austin cost?
Group programs in Austin generally run $250–$600 for a six-week course, and private in-home sessions $120–$200 an hour. Our written plan after the free assessment gives you the exact number for your dog before you commit to anything.
My dog is three years old. Is it too late?
No. Puppies learn faster, but adult dogs learn perfectly well — they just have more practice at the habit you want to change. Most of the dogs we work with are between one and five years old.
Do you use treats forever?
No. Food is how we teach a new behavior quickly; once it is reliable we fade the food and keep it on an occasional schedule, the same way you would not pay a salary every hour. Your dog ends up working for you, not for the pouch.
What does force-free actually mean?
We do not use prong, choke or shock collars, leash corrections or intimidation. We change what the dog is doing by changing what pays and how the dog feels, which takes a little longer at the start and holds up far better under stress.
Will you come to my house?
Yes — private sessions happen at your home anywhere inside Loop 1 and out to Cedar Park and Round Rock. Group programs run at our fenced field in Zilker.
My dog is reactive. Can he join a group class?
Usually not at first. Reactive dogs start privately, where we can keep them under threshold, and many graduate into a small group later. The free assessment tells us which it is.
Ask A Trainer A Question
Send one sentence about what your dog is doing. You will get a straight answer from a trainer, not a sales sequence.
Book Your Free Assessment
Tell us about your dog and what is going wrong. We will call you back within one business day to book the assessment.
- Visit usAustin, TX 78704
- Call us(512) 555-0146
- Email ushello@kestrelwooddogtraining.com