Private training
Is private dog training worth it?
Worth it is a question about fit, not price. A private session costs $150 + GST, and a modest price is only good value if what you take home is something you can actually use. So the useful questions are what the hour is built to give you, how to tell whether it did, and what to ask at the consultation before you decide it is the right format for your dog.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026
What the hour gives
An hour of coaching, a plan you can follow, and a straight answer.
Private Training is one-on-one, and the hour goes on troubleshooting the behaviour that brought you in, building the obedience underneath it, and educating you, since the plan only works if you understand it. You leave with a written weekly plan customized to your home. That plan is where the value sits or does not. It should name the exercises, fit the shape of your day, and read as clearly on Thursday as it did while it was being explained.
The other thing to weigh is what you learn. A session that leaves you able to explain why the dog does the thing, and what you will do differently on tomorrow's walk, has done its job on its own terms. Whatever format you choose, practice at home is part of it, so the plan has to fit a busy household and a person who is not a trainer. If you cannot see yourself running it, say so at the consultation.
- One hour, $150 + GST
- A plan you can actually run
- You leave understanding more
- Honest guidance on fit
Before you decide
Questions for the consultation, and a test for the plan.
The consultation is where fit gets sorted, so use it. Tell us plainly what the problem is, how often it happens and how much practice time the household honestly has. Ask what a session would work on for your dog and what the weekly plan would look like. There are other formats, Day Training and board and train, and some dogs and households suit them better; which one is recommended follows from meeting your dog, and the smaller option is recommended when it is enough.
Afterwards, test the plan, not the dog. Can you say what to do the next time the mail arrives, without rereading it? Does it fit into the day you actually have? Did the session change how you read your dog? Those are the marks of an hour well spent. A behaviour can flare when the rules change; if it keeps up or escalates, come back and reassess rather than pushing on alone.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Is private dog training worth it?
For an owner who wants to do the training themselves, with a professional troubleshooting alongside, it can be. A session is one hour at $150 + GST and ends with a written weekly plan for your home and honest guidance on whether a different program would fit better. Its value is in how usable that plan is and how much you understand afterwards.
Are private dog training lessons worth the money compared to a program?
That depends on the dog, the goal and the household, and no honest answer ranks formats from a distance. Private Training is built for hands-on owners who want to do the training themselves with a professional guiding them; Day Training and board and train are built for other situations. The consultation is where that gets decided, and the answer can be the smaller program.
Is a private dog trainer worth it after trying on your own?
Often, yes. Owners who have tried on their own tend to arrive with good habits and a few specific questions, and a professional troubleshooting the behaviour with you can spot what a book cannot. The written plan then builds on what you already do rather than starting from scratch.
When is private dog training not worth it?
When the household honestly cannot fit the practice in, since the plan and what you learned are what you take home. It may also not be the recommended format for some dogs and goals: Behaviour Rehab is the program built for anxiety, reactivity and aggression, planned and priced after a full assessment, and the consultation will say plainly if that or another format fits your dog better.
Keep reading
Ask before you spend.
Book a consultation. We will say plainly whether an hour and a plan fits your dog and your week, or something else does.
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