Kansas City’s Obedience Dog Training

Training Philosophy

Our obedience training programs are specifically designed for Kansas City’s dogs.

Our Kansas City in-home dog training programs for advanced obedience are as unique as your dog! We specialize solely in private dog training meaning your dog will receive the individualized attention they deserve. After learning all of the details about your dog’s history and behavior from our Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by our CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage, will craft a training program around your training goals and your dog’s individual needs. Then your Kansas City trainer will come directly to your home to implement this training plan. From loose leash training on the Trolley Trail to come when called at Shawnee Mission Park, we can teach your dog any obedience command at any location in Kansas City! Our clients love the luxury of in-home training!

Kansas City has so many dog-friendly things to do and we want you and your dog to fully experience all of them! Have you always dreamed of taking your dog to Bar K or getting BBQ together at the Char Bar or one of Kansas City’s other dog-friendly restaurants? Our pre-training team and our Kansas City behavior consultants are here to make these dreams a reality. The ability to design dog training programs around every dog’s needs comes from our Kansas City team’s unmatched knowledge and experience. Led by Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, we only utilize the latest research in dog behavior in our Kansas City dog training programs. We aim to create a lifelong love of learning for every Kansas City dog we train.

Training Programs

All-Inclusive Dog Obedience Training Program

$3,440
Want your dog to explore all of Kansas City’s dog-friendly hiking trails with you? Or help you entertain in Park Plaza? Our All-Inclusive program was made for you! This is our most intensive Kansas City in-home dog training program.

Our goal is to teach your dog advanced obedience generalized across your neighborhood and the greater Kansas City area including but not limited to:

  • Stopping your dog from pulling on leash around other people, dogs, or other animals
  • Coming when called even around those pesky distractions
  • Performing sit and down-stays in public, such as dog-friendly stores, patios, kids’ sports games
  • Greeting guests appropriately including no jumping and staying on “place”
  • Waiting at doorways to prevent any unwanted bolting
  • Preparing for the Canine Good Citizen test
  • Establishing any other obedience-related training personalized to you and your dog’s lifestyle

Having worked with dogs of various breeds and sizes for over two decades, we’ve honed our expertise in teaching obedience commands to any dog in the most efficient way possible. Our All-Inclusive Training Program adopts a pragmatic approach to dog learning, with each session planned in advance based on decades of dog behavior data. Through our extensive experience, we’ve determined the optimal amount of time and number of trials required for your dog to achieve mastery of any command. After graduating from one of our Kansas City dog training programs, your dog will listen to your commands wherever you go. The latest research in animal behavior strongly suggests that positive reinforcement strategies are more successful than aversive methods as shown in a 2015 study by Protopopova et al. According to our resident CAAB Dr. Echterling-Savage, “Aside from being more ethical than aversive training methods, classical conditioning, and positive reinforcement are also more effective in teaching dogs obedience behaviors and treating problem behaviors.”

Our All-Inclusive Training Program encompasses 20 training sessions across 5 intensive weeks with 2 follow-up sessions spanning a total of 22 training sessions over 8 weeks! This program has been designed to achieve high-level obedience training across a wide variety of Kansas City parks, dog-friendly stores, and wherever else is relevant to achieving your training goals. After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Then, your trainer will put your training plan into action! Your trainer will work with your dog one-on-one for three (1) hour sessions during the week. The fourth session each week is dedicated to your training! After the 5-week-long training program, there are 2 follow-up sessions to support your progress. Each one of our training sessions is preplanned and based on data we have collected across 4 markets and 20+ years of training animals. We maximize your dog’s learning efficiency by running a certain number of trials across a certain speed for each obedience command we teach!

Executive Obedience Training Program

$1,650
Have a dog that is pulling you around your Bryker Woods neighborhood? Does your dog refuse to listen to any of your commands the second they see another dog on Turkey Creek Trail? Our Executive Dog Training Program is here for you!

This Kansas City dog training program is perfect for getting a jump start on obedience training focusing on three to four behaviors at a couple of different Kansas City locations. Your dog can learn:

  • Have polite manners such as no jumping, chewing inappropriate objects, or play-biting
  • Come when called
  • Stop pulling on leash around other dogs and people
  • Have calm behavior around guests
  • Perform basic dog obedience training (sit, down, wait)
  • Stay on place during mealtimes or around heavy distractions

We teach advanced obedience with science-based training methods and will never use shock or other aversive techniques. Your dog’s needs and well-being are at the forefront of what we do. We center our training around ethical training methods involving positive reinforcement. Research by Ziv in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior completed in 2017 supports that positive reinforcement-based training is more effective than aversive training methods. According to our Co-Founder Sean Savage, “We use positive reinforcement to teach dogs desired behavior before trying to eliminate problem behaviors. This method is incredibly effective because once dogs understand what we want them to do, we can easily teach them what not to do.”

We provide on-location training in Kansas City for one hour, three days a week for three to four weeks. After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Then, your trainer will put your training plan into action! Your trainer will work with your dog one-on-one for two sessions each week. The third session will be your training day where we focus on developing your dog training skills! This dog training program is best suited for addressing 2 to 3 obedience commands and doggie manners.

Board and Train Dog Obedience Program

$4,240
Want your dog to experience the Beyond the Dog Training difference but don’t live in Kansas City? Or have a vacation planned and would like to return from it with your dog fully trained? That is where our Kansas City Board and Train program comes in!

Our Kansas City Board and Train program will teach your dog highly advanced obedience skills while receiving an unmatched level of training and attention at your trainer’s home. We want your dog to receive the highest level of obedience training with the lowest amount of effort on your part. Common behaviors we address during the Kansas City Dog Board and Train Program include but are not limited to:

  • Establishing manners such as no jumping and potty training
  • Training advanced dog obedience training in dog-friendly stores, restaurants, and office spaces
  • Teaching coming when called
  • Going to “place” when guests enter or during dinnertime
  • Stopping your dog from pulling on leash toward other people, dogs, and other animals
  • Preparing for the Canine Good Citizen test
  • Establishing any other obedience-related training personalized to you and your dog’s lifestyle

Living in your trainer’s home facilitates the seamless transfer of your dog’s behavior to your own home, a transition not typically achieved in a traditional training facility. Once your dog has mastered obedience in this familiar environment, we shift our focus to similar settings aligned with your training objectives, such as dog-friendly eateries, cafes, and parks. Research underscores the importance of generalizing obedience across diverse environments, as the training environment can spark specific behaviors (Cooper et al., 2020). Excelling in recall within a training facility doesn’t guarantee the same response in your yard. This is where our board and train program stands out. Our trainers practice obedience with your dog all around Kansas City, equipping both you and your dog with the necessary skills for advanced obedience anywhere and everywhere. According to our Co-Founder Sean Savage, “Our clients notice incredible shifts in their dogs’ behavior after graduating from our Board and Train Program. The amount of attention and time training your dog will receive during their program is truly unmatched and is what separates us from our competitors.”

This unique Board and Train Program allows your dog to live in their trainer’s home for three to four weeks, providing unmatched training and attention! Your dog will join their trainer in exploring all Kansas City has to offer while also working on appropriate manners, socializing, and achieving a high level of obedience! After you submit your training contract and Indirect Assessment of Canine Behavior, our pre-training team, led by Dr. Echterling-Savage, uses the information provided to craft your personalized dog training program. Then, your trainer will put your training plan into action! At the conclusion of their Board and Train, there are 4.5 hours of training for you! This program is best suited for addressing high-level obedience training.