Dog Training: Personalized to Your Needs

Our certified training expert Andy Defayette excels at helping you with specific goals for your life with your dog. He has spent over 22,000 hours of his career handling puppies and dogs, has an additional 5+ years of Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) experience, and uses that depth of experience to tailor training and reward-based techniques to your needs.

We believe there is no single rigid structure for a “good dog,” and Andy will personalize a training curriculum to meet each client’s house rules and requests.

Our training style and philosophy are easily adaptable for humans and dogs of all ages and temperaments, based in Karen Pryor’s clicker-training techniques and her marker-training successes in human-animal communication.

We do not use pain, fear, annoyance or intimidation to train.   As a result, we do not use – and we discourage all dog owners from using –  shock collars, prong training collars, choke chains, leash communication,  “leash pop” corrections, or body blocking.

After understanding and applying the fundamentals we teach, you’ll be well-equipped to be your dog’s guide for life.

Read more about Andy …

Become your dog’s guide and trainer for life.

You work best when you’re in a good mood, your efforts are appreciated, and results are rewarded, right? Your dog is no different!

Reach your goals with our expert training, whether you have a puppy, or a new rescue entering your family, or an adult with less-than-polite behavior issues to work through, or need to work on any aspect of socialization, home rules, leash walking, or behaviors. Get started today.

Get help with in-your-home puppy training, adult dog obedience, or behavior modification.

We work with you and your dog together in effective communication, confidence-building, and reaching your goals for a happy life with your pup.

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Simply need advice or observation?

Request a starter one-hour consultation & assessment visit at your home (apply that cost to any in-home training package, if you choose a package of training sessions).  We’ll schedule a single meeting with our dog trainer, with no-obligation to continue.

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PRIVATE TRAINING PACKAGES

Get help with in-your-home puppy training, dog obedience, and behavioral consulting. We work on specific tactics and techniques in private lessons with you and your dog together as you communicate, gain confidence, and reach your goals for a happy life with your pup.

Puppy Packages

Starter Training 6-Set Package

$699

The complete formation package.   Optimal training age is 10 weeks to 18 months old.  We’ll cover all the basics you need for a foundation of healthy communication with your pup:  house training, how to structure play, calm down time, house rules, leash walking, how to handle proper and safe exposure and socialization training, behavior modification and prevention training.  Learn to handle the socialization and fear-imprint periods puppies go through during their first two years. Package includes 6 in-home private hourly lessons (1 assessment working session and 5 working sessions), over consecutive weeks. Bundles are prepaid before or at the first session.

Continuing Communications: 4-Set Package

$499

Move up past the elementary basics!   Continue building a foundation of healthy communication while working on intermediate to advanced behavior shaping. Work on reward-teaching techniques within a personalized curriculum to meet your individual house rules and requests.   We’ll show you more tactics and practices to solidify a healthy foundation for your dog behavior in your home, outside, and even visiting the veterinarian.  This curriculum is best following our Starter Puppy basics package, or equivalent young puppy class. Package includes 4 in-home private hourly lessons (1 assessment consultation working session and 3 working sessions), over consecutive weeks. Bundles are prepaid before or at the first session.

Adult Dog Private Training

Adult Dog Training & Personalized Behavior Solutions: 4-Set Package

$499

Have a particular issue to work on?  We’ll create tailored sessions at your home on any topic.  We have helped clients and their adult dogs with improving communication, refreshing or resetting your house rules, loose leash walking, behavior expectations, separation anxiety or other anxiety triggers, adding a dog to your pack, existing pack management, baby homecomings, and other behavioral, obedience and communication solutions for a happy life with your pup. Includes 4 in-home meetings (1 assessment consultation working session and 3 working sessions) of 50 minutes each, over consecutive weeks. Bundles are prepaid before or at the first session.

Request private dog training or sign up for a package today

Yes, Let’s Get Started!

BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT OR  CONSULTATION

 Schedule a single private training session either as a first meeting or as a refresher session long after training.  Andy works to understand your issues and wishes, then works with you on specific goals, identifies areas of miscommunication between you and your dog, and leads you through a tailored plan.   A starter one-hour assessment & evaluation visit alone is $120.00, if you simply want to see if we are a good fit for your dog!  Refresher sessions are really helpful and most welcome, anytime after a training package!

In-home: First Assessment and Work Session

$120

At our first one hour meeting, you’ll help us understand your goals, we’ll assess your situation, evaluate the dog’s temperament, ask you to try a few suggestions, and we’ll discuss a tailored training plan with you. No obligation to continue.

In-home: Post-Package Follow Up Session

$120

Follow-up or refresher in-home session for previous clients, up to 2 years after completing in-home training. Work on refreshing old skills, solving a new issue, or simply get tailored hands-on advice.

Request a first session in-home assessment or an add-on refresher

Yes, Let’s Get Started!

GROUP TRAINING CLASSES

If you want to gather neighbors and friends to have one or more “group” sessions with play dynamics or socialization, let us know.   We don’t offer ongoing group training classes, but we’re happy to work with you and your dog in group environments, at the dog park, or with other dog owners you know.

Request group class registration information

Yes, Let’s Get Started!

Andy, Our Trainer and Behavior Specialist

We’d love for you to meet Andy Defayette, our certified dog trainer and behavior specialist here at Alexandria Pet Care!   Whether you have a new puppy ready for a foundation of good habits, or a rescue new to your family, or an adult dog who needs some new positive training, we’ll help you meet your goals for a happy life with your dog.

Our approach is personalized to help you, your pet, and your household work together in harmony. Andy works to understand your issues and wishes, then works with you toward those specific goals while improving communication between you and your dog.

  • Andy is a CPDT-KA certified dog trainer, which means he was referred by a veterinarian for certification, has 350 verified training hours and has passed an extensive certification exam. In total, Andy has handled over 22,000 puppies and dogs since 2012 and has loved every minute.
  • He uses reward-based training techniques customized to fit many different kinds of dogs (and owners).  Our training involves you and your dog together, working together toward your goals for a happy life.
  • Andy’s training methods draw from marker training methods such as clicker techniques advanced by Karen Pryor, and other techniques referenced by Sirius Dog Training created by Dr Ian Dunbar, BAT by Grisha Stewart, and successes of his close colleague The Glasgow Behaviour Consultant in the UK.

Typical work sessions include opening communication so your dog understands what is expected of them behaviorally, and helping you understand precisely how to teach and how to reinforce those expectations for your dog’s lifetime  — in a positive, practical and consistent way.

Certifications:

CPDT-KA
​Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (includes 350 hours of training experience and professional certification exam. )