Private Training:

For help with standard manners behaviors and more serious behavioral issues


Behavior Consults

One on one help for serious behavioral issues

Our experienced, certified trainers offer private behavior consults, both in person and online, for those who want to work on their dogs' more serious behavior issues, including:

  • Reactivity and aggression (including growling, barking, or lunging at other dogs or people)

  • Resource guarding (growling, lunging, snapping, etc over a possession, location, or person)

  • Separation anxiety

  • Major fearful behaviors (including refusing high-value food, hiding, flinching, fleeing, urinating, baring teeth, growling)

    • Fear triggers may include humans, dogs, objects, noises, thunder, sticks, leashes

  • Fence fighting (running along fence line; may include barking)

If you're not sure which category your dog's behavior falls into, email us at info@animalalliances.com.

 

Behavior consults with our staff cost $150/hour. 

Note: For travel of more than 20 minutes from your trainer's home, there is an additional charge of $10 per 10 minutes of travel. We will do our best to match you with a trainer within your travel distance, but it is dependent on schedules and availability. 

Our trainers are based out of: 

  • Northampton (Alex Wise)

  • Northfield (Kristin Neal) - Note: Kristin also offers appointments in the Northampton/Easthampton area. 

  • Northampton/Easthampton (Caroline Moore)

 

What is a private consult like? 

During your first session, your trainer will talk to you about your dog and their behaviors to gather a complete history. The trainer will then create a training plan and suggest changes to your dog's environment and routine to work toward your behavioral goals. They will then spend any remaining time working with you and your dog on the exercises in the training plan. 

During subsequent sessions, the trainer will coach you and your dog through exercises to achieve your behavioral goals for your dog. 

After each session, you will receive a follow-up email from your trainer with a summary of your session and exercises to work on with your dog.  

 

How to register: 

  1. Click here to register online. Choose a Behavior Consult package. Your initial package MUST be at least 3 sessions unless you have permission from the owner to start with 1 session. 

  2. Once you have registered, you will be emailed a link to our online Intake Form. Please fill this out thoroughly to give us as much information about your dog and their behaviors as possible before your session. You will have a chance to request a specific trainer and let us know when you're available for lessons on your Intake Form. 

  3. Once we have received your Intake Form, your assigned trainer will contact you via email to schedule your session. 

 

Policies: 

Lessons expire 6 months after their purchase date. No refunds will be given for expired lessons. 

If you need to cancel or reschedule a lesson, please give your trainer AT LEAST 24 HOURS NOTICE. Cancellations within 24 hours of your scheduled lesson time cannot be rescheduled or refunded. Please be respectful of your trainer’s time - they’ve reserved time in their busy schedules for your lesson and have done all of the preparatory work for it. Cancellations with late notice mean we cannot book another client in that time slot. 

If your dog is fearful of or aggressive toward new people, you MUST let us know in advance of your lesson. This allows us to prepare an appropriate lesson plan and plan for how to enter your home without unduly stressing your dog.


Private Manners Lessons

Our trainers offer private training lessons, both in person and online, for those who want to work on teaching their dogs specific manners behaviors or on resolving standard behavior issues such as:

  • alert or demand barking (for reactive barking or lunging at things, please see the Behavior Consult section above)

  • jumping up on people to greet them

  • puppy and adolescent mouthing/biting (not including aggressive biting or any bites that puncture the skin)

  • house training

  • crate training

  • counter surfing (paws up on tables, countertops, etc)

  • polite leash walking

  • coming when called

  • inappropriate chewing

  • inappropriate digging

Note: For more complex behavior issues such as separation anxiety, reactivity, aggression, and resource guarding, please sign up for a package of behavior consults (see the section above). If you're not sure which category your dog's behavior falls into, email us at info@animalalliances.com.

Private training lessons with our staff cost $100/hour. Buy a package of 3, 4, or 5 sessions and save $5 per session. 

Note: For travel of more than 20 minutes from your trainer's home, there is an additional charge of $10 per 10 minutes of travel. We will do our best to match you with a trainer within your travel distance, but it is dependent on schedules and availability. 

Our trainers are based out of: 

  • Northampton (Alex Wise)

  • Northfield (Kristin Neal) - Note: Kristin also covers the Northampton/Easthampton area on weekends. 

  • New Salem (Eli MacCullagh) - Note: Eli also covers the Northampton/Easthampton area on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

  • Northampton/Easthampton (Caroline Moore)

What is a private training session like? 

During your first session, your trainer will talk to you about your dog and their behaviors to gather a complete history. The trainer will then create a training plan and suggest environmental changes to work toward your behavioral goals. They will then spend any remaining time working with you and your dog on the exercises in the training plan. 

During subsequent sessions, the trainer will coach you and your dog through exercises to achieve your behavioral goals for your dog. 

After each session, you will receive a summary of your session and exercises to work on with your dog from your trainer.  

How to register: 

  1. Click here to register online.Choose one of our Private Manners Lessons packages. 

  2. Once you have registered, you will be emailed a link to our online Intake Form. Please fill this out thoroughly to give us as much information about your dog and their behaviors as possible before your session. You will have a chance to request a specific trainer and let us know when you're available for lessons on your Intake Form. 

  3. Once we have received your Intake Form, a trainer will contact you via email to schedule your session. 

Policies: 

Lessons expire 6 months after their purchase date. No refunds will be given for expired lessons. 

If you need to cancel or reschedule a lesson, please give your trainer AT LEAST 24 HOURS NOTICE. Cancellations within 24 hours of your scheduled lesson time cannot be rescheduled or refunded. Please be respectful of your trainer’s time - they’ve made time in their busy schedules for your lesson and have done all of the preparatory work for it. Cancellations with late notice mean we cannot book another client in that time slot. 

If your dog is fearful of or aggressive toward new people, you MUST let us know in advance of your lesson. This allows us to prepare an appropriate lesson plan and plan for how to enter your home without unduly stressing your dog. 


“Can’t believe it’s been about 6 months since class. We just wanted to send you an update and thank you again for all you taught us. Otto’s reactivity is so infrequent now, maybe <10% of the time, he is actually fun to walk and bring places. He has some doggy friends he loves to play with and even goes to daycare. He does well on a long lead hiking, and always “checks in” when he gets to the end. He is really a different dog than the boy we brought in to class! We use the tools from class in all our training, and when and if he does have a reaction (bunnies running across the street really get him), he is so easily redirected by 1, 2, 3 or two step. 

Thank you again so much, we credit a lot of our job as pet parents to things you taught us, and still talk about class all the time!”

-Ally, Alex and Otto