Confident Puppies Grow Into Confident Dogs
Positive Puppy Training in Beaver & the Greater Pittsburgh Area
Set your puppy up for a lifetime of good behavior with positive, science-backed training during their most important learning stage.
Start Strong—Because Puppyhood Doesn’t Last Forever
Your puppy is soaking up the world like a sponge—and that can be both exciting and overwhelming. The habits you build now can prevent future problems and create a confident, well-adjusted adult dog. Our puppy training is reward-based, age-appropriate, and designed to guide your pup through key developmental stages with clarity and kindness.
Why Start Early?
Puppies are learning every day — whether we’re teaching them intentionally or not. Early training builds confidence, communication, and positive habits before unwanted behaviors and habits develop. The first weeks and months of your puppy’s life are a powerful learning window, shaping how they feel about the world, new people, and everyday experiences. At Happy Feet Dog Training, using positive reinforcement (R+), we focus on building confidence, communication, and trust from day one — so your puppy grows into a calm, resilient, and well-adjusted companion. It’s never too early to start training with your puppy, and the skills you build now create a lifetime of happier days together.
What We Work On
Custom Training for Real Life with Your Puppy
🐾 House training & crate confidence
🐾 Cooperative care
🐾 Socialization to people, dogs, and environments
🐾 Gentle leash walking foundations
🐾 Redirection for biting & chewing
🐾 Name recognition & recall basics
🐾 Introducing cues like sit, down, wait, stay, touch, and more
🐾 Confidence building in new places
🐾 Handling & grooming preparation
Note: We’ll tailor every session to your puppy’s needs and your lifestyle. No one-size-fits-all programs here.
First Step – Initial Consultation
All New Clients Start with a 90-Minute Consultation
Before jumping into lessons, we’ll start with a one-on-one consultation designed to assess your puppy, understand your goals, and get you started with a clear training plan. You’ll also get homework tailored to your needs so you can start making progress right away.
✔️ 90-minute private session
✔️ In-depth discussion of goals & concerns
✔️ Introduction to clicker training
✔️ Puppy behavior assessment
✔️ Homework and training plan
✔️ Required before booking additional lessons
A Note About Consultations
We believe in clear, honest pricing and hands-on progress from day one. Your first puppy lesson is a working session where we discuss your goals, evaluate your puppy’s behavior, and begin training together.
Our prices are based on the time we spend with you — not on how challenging your puppy might be, or how many puppies you have in your household. When working with multiple dogs during one session, that time is simply shared among them. The focus stays on building skills and confidence for everyone involved, without extra fees or sales pressure.
Flexible Locations to Fit Your Puppy’s Needs
We train wherever works best for you and your pup — often beginning at home, where learning is easiest and most comfortable, but always guided by your goals. Some families start right away in public or real-world settings when that better fits what they’re working on.
No matter where we begin, our focus is on helping both you and your dog build skills together — and confidently generalize those skills to wherever you need them in real life.
Together, we’ll choose the right setting for each stage of training — whether that’s your home, a park, a pet-friendly store, or another safe space — to support goals like potty training, building confidence in new places, and staying connected around real-life distractions.
Serving Beaver, PA, Pittsburgh, and surrounding areas including Cranberry, Moon Township, Sewickley, and more.
🐾 Puppy Training Rates & Packages
Puppyhood is all about setting your dog up for lifelong success. Our pricing is simple and transparent — you’re paying for our time, not the “difficulty” of the dog or how many puppies you have in your household. All new clients begin with a 90-minute Initial Consultation, followed by ongoing lessons as needed.
Most puppy families complete between 3 and 6 sessions over 2 to 4 months, with schedules that flex around your puppy’s pace and your family’s life.
Initial Consultation – $170 (90 minutes)
Your first session includes a full puppy behavior assessment, discussion of goals, introduction to clicker training, and a personalized training plan with take-home homework.
Puppy Training Session – $115 (60 minutes)
Focused, age-appropriate training to continue progress on your goals. Perfect for refining manners, building confidence, and improving communication.
6-Lesson Puppy Package – $630 total
Save $10 per session by booking a six-lesson package. Great for families who want steady progress and consistent results.
We Can’t Wait to Meet You and Your Puppy!
Positive, reward-based training during puppyhood sets the stage for a lifetime of good choices — and we’d truly love to meet you and your puppy and learn what matters most to your family. From your first lesson, we take time to listen, get to know your puppy as an individual, and understand the everyday challenges you’re facing. Together, we’ll build a practical, low-pressure training plan that supports real life, strengthens your connection, and helps you and your puppy feel more confident moving forward — one step at a time.
FAQ
When should I start training my puppy?
You can start training your puppy the day you bring them home, and the earlier the better. Puppies begin learning about the world the moment they arrive, whether we’re teaching them intentionally or not, so the habits they build in those first weeks and months shape how they approach everything later. Early, positive training helps prevent common behavior problems before they start and builds the confidence, focus, and communication that make everything easier down the road. There’s no need to wait until your puppy is older or “knows the basics,” we’ll meet them right where they are.
Can you train puppies before they're fully vaccinated?
Yes. Because we offer private training in your home and in carefully chosen settings, we can safely start well before your puppy has finished their vaccine series. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior strongly recommends beginning socialization and training during this early window, since waiting can actually create more problems than it prevents. If your puppy is actively unwell or your veterinarian has specific concerns, reach out and we’ll talk through whether training is the right fit at that moment.
What is socialization and why does everyone talk about it?
Socialization is one of the most important and most misunderstood parts of puppyhood. It’s often described as “meeting lots of people and dogs,” but it’s really about helping your puppy become comfortable and confident existing in the everyday world. That includes new people and dogs, yes, but also new sounds, surfaces, environments, handling, vehicles, household objects, and the general rhythm of daily life. The goal isn’t exposure for its own sake, it’s creating positive, low-pressure experiences that shape how your puppy feels about the world for life. This window is most open between roughly 3 and 16 weeks of age, which is why so many trainers emphasize it, and why we help you approach it thoughtfully rather than just racking up meetings.
My puppy bites constantly, is that normal?
Yes, puppy biting is completely normal. Puppies explore the world with their mouths and use biting as part of play, learning, and even stress relief during teething. The good news is there’s a lot we can do to help, including teaching bite inhibition, redirecting to appropriate outlets, and shaping calmer greetings. With consistent, positive guidance, most puppies grow out of the intensity quickly, and we’ll give you practical tools to manage it in the meantime.
How long does house training take?
House training timelines vary from puppy to puppy, but most puppies are reliably house trained within a few weeks to a few months, depending on age, consistency, and the owner’s commitment to routine. The single biggest factor in success is routine: predictable feeding, potty breaks, and supervision. We’ll help you set up a schedule that fits your household and troubleshoot the setbacks that almost always come up along the way.
Do you recommend crate training?
Yes, we recommend crate training for most puppies. A crate gives your puppy a safe, personal space to rest, supports house training by leveraging your puppy’s natural instinct to keep their sleeping area clean, and keeps them out of trouble when you can’t supervise. Done well, crate training is positive and low-stress, and the crate becomes somewhere your puppy genuinely wants to be. We’ll show you how to introduce the crate in a way that builds comfort rather than resistance.
What's the difference between puppy classes and private puppy training?
Puppy classes and private puppy training both have value, but they serve different needs. Group classes typically follow a set curriculum focused on basic obedience, socialization with other puppies, and building confidence in a busier environment. Private puppy training, which is what we specialize in, is fully personalized: we work on your specific goals, your puppy’s individual needs, and the real-life situations you actually face at home. For puppies who find group settings overwhelming, or for families who want more targeted help with specific challenges, private training often produces faster, more tailored results. We don’t currently offer group classes, but we’re happy to help you decide whether a group class elsewhere might be a good complement.
Is my puppy too young to start?
No puppy is too young to begin training with us. Training doesn’t mean formal obedience drills, it means using every interaction to shape the behaviors and confidence your puppy will rely on for life. Even very young puppies can learn their name, start building positive associations with handling, crate time, and new experiences, and begin the foundations of cues like sit and come. Whatever stage your puppy is in, we’ll build on what’s already working and guide you through what comes next.