How much does dog training cost?
It depends almost entirely on whether somebody else does the training or you do. A group class where you handle your own dog runs $149 for six weeks at PetSmart and $220 for six weeks at Oregon Humane Society. Sending the dog away to live with a trainer runs $2,200 for two weeks at Off Leash K9 Training Nashville and $5,800 for four. That is the same problem at two prices that are not in the same range, because in one case you are buying the trainer hours and in the other you are spending your own. The cheapest published figure on this page is $25 for a single drop-in puppy session at Oregon Humane Society, puppy classes.
$149
one six-week group class at a national chain, any level
$220
one six-week group class at a nonprofit, the rate from 1 September 2026
$2,200 to $5,800
board and train, two to four weeks with the dog living at the trainer
Cost breakdown
Each table below comes from one source, named underneath it, with the date that source last revised the figures. Everything is a United States figure in USD.
PetSmart, published class and package prices
| What | Price | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy Training | $149 | Six-week introductory class, 10 weeks to 5 months old |
| Beginner Training | $149 | Six-week class, 5 months and up |
| Intermediate Training | $149 | Six weeks, requires Puppy or Beginner first |
| Advanced Training | $149 | Six weeks, requires Intermediate first |
| Fundamental Package | $249 | Two classes over 12 weeks. Stated retail value $298, saving $49 |
| Advanced Package | $249 | Two classes over 12 weeks. Stated retail value $298, saving $49 |
| Premium Package | $355 | Three classes over 18 weeks. Stated retail value $447, saving $92 |
| Any six-week class, promotional rate | $129 | An offer running to 27 September 2026 |
| Consultation | Free | 15 minutes with a trainer |
Off Leash K9 Training Nashville, published programs
| Program | Price | What it buys |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy Training Consultation | $100.00 | A consultation |
| AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Package | $400.00 | Six lessons |
| Basic and Marker Mastery | $500.00 | Four hourly sessions, no e-collar |
| Basic Obedience | $650.00 | Four private lessons over four weeks |
| Basic and Advanced Training | $1,000.00 | Eight-week programme |
| Therapy Dog Preparation | $1,000.00 | Eight sessions, preparing for therapy dog testing |
| Aggression, Basic and Advanced | $1,100.00 | Curriculum for aggression cases |
| Basic Board and Train | $2,200.00 | Two weeks living with a trainer, four guaranteed commands |
| Board and Train with Lifetime Refresher | $2,900.00 | Two weeks, plus lifetime refresher |
| Aggression or Anxiety Board and Train | $3,500.00 | Two weeks |
| Aggression Board and Train | $4,350.00 | Three weeks |
| Elite Board and Train | $5,800.00 | Four weeks, plus lifetime refresher |
Oregon Humane Society, published class prices for dogs of six to eighteen months
| Class | Price | From 1 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Adolescent Manners, Portland | $200 for 6 weeks | $220 for 6 weeks |
| Reactive Adolescence, Portland | $250 for 6 weeks | $275 for 6 weeks |
| Adolescent Manners, Salem | $165 for 5 weeks | $185 for 5 weeks |
| Adolescent Playtime, Salem | $25 per session, or $100 for five | Not stated |
Oregon Humane Society, published class prices for puppies under six months
| Class | Price | From 1 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy Romps, Portland | $25 per session, or $100 for five | Not stated |
| Puppy Preschool, Portland | $200 for 6 weeks | $220 for 6 weeks |
| Puppy Kindergarten, Portland | $200 for 6 weeks | $220 for 6 weeks |
| Puppy Playtime, Salem | $25 per session, or $100 for five | Not stated |
| Puppy Preschool, Salem | $165 for 5 weeks | $185 for 5 weeks |
| Puppy Kindergarten, Salem | $165 for 5 weeks | $185 for 5 weeks |
A bar for each row of the table above, 8 of them, drawn to the same scale so the spread is visible at a glance. The figure beside each bar is the one the table prints.
What changes the price
- Whether you are buying the trainer time or your own
- This is the whole spread, and everything else is detail. In a group class you are taught to train your dog, and PetSmart charges $149 for six weeks of that. In board and train the dog leaves home and a professional does the work, and Off Leash K9 Training Nashville charges $2,200 for two weeks of it. Neither is a worse deal than the other; they are different purchases.
- Group or one to one
- A class splits the trainer across a room of dogs, which is what makes it cheap, and it means the instruction is not aimed at your dog specifically. Off Leash K9 Training Nashville charges $650 for four private lessons, against $149 at PetSmart for six group sessions, so private lessons cost several times more per hour and there is no other dog in the room.
- What the dog needs it for
- Ordinary manners and a specific behaviour problem are priced apart. Off Leash K9 Training Nashville publishes $2,200 for a basic two-week board and train and $3,500 for the two-week aggression and anxiety programme. Oregon Humane Society charges $250 for its Portland reactive adolescence class against $200 for ordinary adolescent manners.
- Which campus, even at the same provider
- The same organisation can charge two prices for the same class. Oregon Humane Society publishes $200 for six weeks of adolescent manners in Portland and $165 for five weeks in Salem, and the Salem course is a week shorter as well as cheaper, so the gap per session is smaller than the headline suggests.
- Whether you buy classes singly or bundled
- Chains price the bundle below the sum of its parts and publish the arithmetic. PetSmart lists its three-class Premium Package at $355 against a stated retail value of $447, a saving of $92, and its two-class packages at $249 against $298.
- When you book
- A published price is a price on a date, and training prices move. Oregon Humane Society published a rise from $200 to $220 on its six-week Portland classes with the date it took effect, and PetSmart was running any six-week class at $129 rather than $149 when this page was written.
How to pay less
- Start with a class and only escalate if it fails
- The gap between the two approaches is large enough that a class is worth trying first for ordinary manners. Six weeks at PetSmart is $149, which is a fraction of the $2,200 that two weeks of board and train costs at Off Leash K9 Training Nashville, and it also teaches the handler.
- Look at the shelter before the specialist
- A humane society runs classes as part of keeping animals in homes rather than as its main trade. Oregon Humane Society publishes $165 for a five-week adolescent class at its Salem campus, and $25 for a single drop-in session.
- Buy the bundle if you already know you want the sequence
- Where the classes are sequential and you intend to do all of them, the package is cheaper and the provider says by how much. PetSmart publishes a $92 saving on the three-class package and $49 on each two-class package.
- Ask what a package guarantees before paying for the guarantee
- Two board and train programmes at the same trainer differ by the follow-up rather than the training. Off Leash K9 Training Nashville charges $2,200 for two weeks and $2,900 for the same two weeks with a lifetime refresher, so the refresher is $700 and is worth pricing on its own.
- Check the campus and the course length together
- A cheaper course can be a shorter course. Oregon Humane Society charges $165 for five weeks in Salem and $200 for six weeks in Portland, which is much closer per session than the two headline numbers look.
Questions
Why is board and train so much more expensive than a class?
Because you are buying a professional to do the work instead of being taught to do it yourself, plus boarding for the dog while they do. Off Leash K9 Training Nashville charges $2,200 for two weeks of that. A six-week group class at PetSmart is $149, and in it you handle your own dog.
Is a cheap class worse than an expensive one?
Not necessarily, because the cheap ones are often subsidised rather than cut down. Oregon Humane Society is a nonprofit that runs classes to keep animals in their homes, and publishes $220 for a six-week course taught by its own trainers.
How much is a single session?
The cheapest published on this page is $25 for one drop-in puppy socialisation session at Oregon Humane Society, puppy classes, or $100 for five of them. That is socialisation rather than obedience instruction, which is why it is so much less than a course.
Does an aggressive or reactive dog cost more?
Yes, at both ends of the market. Oregon Humane Society charges $250 for its Portland reactive class against $200 for ordinary adolescent manners, and Off Leash K9 Training Nashville charges $3,500 for a two-week aggression and anxiety board and train against $2,200 for the basic one.
Do prices change during the year?
They do, and the better price lists say so in advance. Oregon Humane Society published its rise from $200 to $220 with the date it started, and PetSmart was advertising any six-week class at $129 instead of $149 on a promotion ending 27 September 2026.
Are these the prices I will pay?
Only at these providers, in Nashville, Portland, Salem, or a PetSmart store. They are published prices rather than a national average, which is the point of quoting them, and it also means an independent trainer in your town sets their own and may be nowhere near these.
Where these figures come from
Every figure here is a price published by the provider named beside it, in US dollars, for training a dog in the United States. Three of the four pages carry a modification date. The PetSmart page carries none, so it is a supporting row rather than the only one, and it did carry promotional offers running to 27 September 2026, which shows it was current when read. All four were read on 23 September 2026. Training prices move, as two of these providers demonstrate on their own pages, so follow the link before relying on a number. A published price is also not a quote: assessments, prerequisites and age limits are set by each provider and are on their own pages.