Raleigh/Durham dog training recommendations

Training your dog for sports is a great way to bond with them and utilize their natural instincts. This is especially important for intelligent high-energy dogs bred to be hunting companions or work stock.

Local recommendations

• Teamworks (Youngsville) — my personal favorite! largest variety of sports/activities (more competition-oriented, although plenty of people take classes for fun)
• Carolina Ranch (Garner) — basic obedience, rally, and agility for fun
• All Dogs Allowed (Cary) — basic obedience and agility for fun

For all three, I'd suggest starting out by taking a Canine Good Citizen (basic obedience) class. You'll learn how to work with your dog and the basics of clicker training.

Sports I've sampled

• Trick Dog — just what it sounds like: tricks! beginner friendly, can be done virtually (send video to evaluator). after CGC, you only need five tricks to get a novice trick title.
• Fetch — exactly what it sounds like.
• Rally Obedience — heelwork and tricks on a preset course, beginner friendly, offers virtual titles (send video to be scored).
• Scent Work — sniff out essential oils!
• Barn Hunt — find live rats (hidden in tubes; no rats are harmed).
• Fast CAT — absolute easiest sport to get into: chase after a plastic bag on a string for 100 yards; courses are fenced-in, one dog at a time.
• Treibball — push exercise balls back to the handler in order.
• Agility — this one is the "flashiest" (and most fun for me, haha), but it also takes the most commitment/time to train and learn.

Online option

If you don't mind some self-guided study, Fenzi Dog Sports Academy offers a lot of awesome classes online. They're usually $65 to audit a 6-week course, more if you want instructor feedback.

Published June 20, 2025