POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT | FRISCO, TX
Dog training in Dallas, TX
Trainers who live and work in Dallas.
Training a dog in Dallas is not the same as training one in the suburbs. Your dog doesn't have a fenced yard to decompress in. They meet three strangers before the elevator reaches the lobby. Their potty break is a shared strip of grass where twenty other dogs have already been. The bike lane, the patio dogs at every restaurant, the delivery drivers, White Rock on a Saturday — your dog is handling more social pressure before 9am than a suburban dog handles in a week.
That's not a complaint about Dallas. It's the reason generic training advice keeps not working for you.
What we do
We're certified behavior consultants and professional dog trainers. We work in your home, your building, your block — because that's where the problems are.
Puppies. Socialization done properly in a dense city, which mostly means fewer encounters of better quality, not more. Housetraining without a yard. Elevator manners. Sleeping through a neighbor's TV.
Everyday manners. Loose-leash walking on a real Dallas sidewalk. Greeting people without jumping. Settling when the patio next door gets loud. Recall that works with squirrels involved.
Behavior concerns. Fear, leash reactivity, aggression, resource guarding, separation anxiety, conflict between dogs in the same household. This is our specialty, and we take cases other trainers turn down.
Cooperative care. Nail trims, brushing, ear cleaning, vet exams. Teaching your dog to willingly participate in their own care rather than being restrained through it — which changes what's possible at the vet for the rest of their life.
Reactive or aggressive dog? Start here → Reactivity | Fear, Aggression
Why apartment and urban living changes the plan
Most training advice assumes a yard, a quiet street, and the ability to control who your dog meets. In Dallas, you have none of that. Practical consequences:
You can't avoid triggers, so management has to be smarter. Route planning, timing your walks, choosing which exit to use — these aren't workarounds, they're part of the plan.
Distance is expensive. In a suburb you cross the street. In a hallway you have eight feet. We build skills that hold up at short distances, and we teach you which situations to simply skip.
Neighbors are a factor. Barking has consequences when it comes through a shared wall. We treat noise as a real constraint, not an afterthought.
Your dog gets less recovery time. Constant low-level exposure means a lot of Dallas dogs are running at a higher baseline than their owners realize. Sometimes the first thing we change isn't training at all — it's rest.
How it works
1. Free Q&A call. Fifteen minutes, no charge. Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit and roughly what it will take.
2. Consultation or first session. For behavior concerns, a full in-home assessment with a safety and management plan you can use that day. For puppies and manners, we start building skills immediately.
3. The work. In your home and neighborhood, at your dog's pace, with you doing the handling — because you're the one who has to live with the result.
Pricing. $155/hour for Jenny, Emily and Fable. Initial consults usually run 1.5 hours — $232.50 — and include the full history, assessment, and a written plan. Follow-up visits are an hour.
A travel fee may apply depending on where you are in Dallas. We'll tell you before you book, never after. Full pricing →
What we don't use
We're Fear Free Certified professionals. No e-collars, shock collars, prong collars, choke chains or slip leads.
If you've already tried a trainer who used them and things got worse — that's common, and it's not your fault. Suppressing a behavior isn't the same as changing how a dog feels. A lot of our Dallas cases are second attempts.
Your Dallas team
Jenny Kraus, BBA, CTC, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, NAVC PNCC, FPPE is our Dallas-based canine behavior consultant. She holds the CBCC-KA (Certified Behavior Consultant Canine) and CPDT-KA through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, a Certificate in Training and Counseling from the Academy for Dog Trainers, and is a Family Paws Parent Educator. She works puppies, manners, reactivity, and conflict between dogs in the same household.
"Jenny was incredibly attentive and helpful in navigating the intrahousehold aggression situation that arose when we adopted a new dog. Our dogs are friends now, which I truly never thought was a possibility."
Emily Delaney, MS, FFCP teaches our group classes at Highland Park Animal Hospital and takes private Dallas cases in manners and reactivity. She spent twelve years in the animal industry — starting as a veterinary technician — and holds a Master's in Biology. She's a Fear Free Certified Professional, certified in Pet First Aid and CPR, and is currently accruing hours toward her CPDT certification.
Her specialty is cooperative care: teaching dogs to genuinely participate in nail trims, brushing, ear cleaning and veterinary handling instead of being held down for them. She learned why it matters from the other side of the exam table.
Fable Gay, IAABC-ADT, FDM is an Accredited Dog Trainer through the IAABC and a Certified Family Dog Mediator. They completed Michael Shikashio's Aggression in Dogs Master Course and have worked with dogs professionally since 2012 — grooming, shelters and daycare before moving to training full time. The barky, lungy dogs are their favorite cases.
Between them, Jenny, Emily and Fable take the difficult cases in Dallas — the ones other trainers decline. You won't be handed off to someone less qualified when things get complicated.
Please verify our credentials. Choosing the right professional for your dog is a genuinely important decision, and we'd rather you check.
Meet Jenny → · Meet Emily → · Meet Fable → · Full team →
Where we work in Dallas
We provide in-home training across Lake Highlands, Lakewood, University Park, Highland Park and North Dallas.
Our trainers live all over the Metroplex, so the person coming to your home is usually someone who knows your neighborhood — the parks, the busy corners, the apartment complexes with the tricky elevator.
Our Dallas group classes are held at Highland Park Animal Hospital, 5075 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75205. See the current class schedule →
Also serving Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Richardson, Carrollton, Addison and the greater Metroplex. Virtual consultations available anywhere.
Common questions
Where are your Dallas group classes held?
At Highland Park Animal Hospital, 5075 McKinney Ave in Dallas, taught by Emily. Working inside a veterinary clinic means your dog builds positive associations with the place most dogs learn to dread — which matters if you ever need a real exam done without sedation. Current schedule and pricing →
Do you come to my apartment?
Yes. Most of our Dallas work is in-home, and that includes apartments and condos. Hallways, elevators, balconies and shared entries are where a lot of the behavior actually happens, so that's where we want to be.
My dog has to be sedated for vet visits. Can that change?
Often, yes. Cooperative care teaches a dog to participate in handling rather than tolerate it — nail trims, ear cleaning, exams, injections. It takes patience and it works on a lot of dogs written off as impossible. Our Dallas classes are held inside a veterinary clinic partly for this reason.
My building doesn't allow trainers on site. Now what?
We work nearby instead. Usually a neighborhood park, or a mostly empty parking lot when we need a lot of room — which is often exactly what a reactive dog needs anyway. Plenty of good training happens outside the building, and for some dogs starting away from home is the better call regardless.
How do I socialize a puppy in a city?
Carefully, and less than you think. Urban puppies get plenty of exposure by default; what they usually lack is good exposure. The goal is a puppy who notices a skateboard and carries on, not a puppy who has met four hundred people. We'll build a plan around what your building and block actually offer.
What's a behavior consultant, and is that different from a trainer?
A trainer teaches skills. A behavior consultant works on emotional and behavioral problems — fear, aggression, anxiety — and holds credentials specific to that work. Certifications like CDBC and CBCC-KA require documented case hours, exams, and continuing education. We have both trainers and consultants, and we match you to whichever your dog actually needs.
How much does it cost?
$155/hour with any of our Dallas trainers. Initial consults run about 1.5 hours — $232.50 — including a full assessment and a written plan. Follow-ups are an hour. A travel fee may apply depending on your location, and we'll always tell you before you book. Start with the free Q&A call and we'll tell you roughly what your dog's situation is likely to take before you commit to anything.
Do you use a shock or prong collar if nothing else works?
No. Ever.
Ready when you are
Schedule Free Q&A Call | Call · Email · Serving Dallas and the greater Metroplex
