Laura and Leslie have transformed my pup and I couldnt speak more highly of the classes and private training sessions. Starting with Laura - we started virtual training after I had Brodie for a few months and had no idea what I was doing! As a first time dog owner, I was skeptical of virtual training but it was amazing! It was particularly helpful for all of the basic commands, and some tricks - along with follow-up sessions for random things that come up! Laura is so patient and creative with techniques specific to your pup and will always find a solution to anything! She is so much fun to work with and super responsive all the time. If you are questioning virtual training -- I really recommend giving it a try. Turning to Leslie - we signed up for the Canine Good Citizen prep & test class and after the first class I was sure Brodie would fail but wed make the best of it anyway. As the class went on, after a lot of personal attention (for all pups in the class!) Brodie has passed the practice test! Leslie also has so much patience and passion for her job - we had so much fun learning that we signed up for another class with her! Leslie really gets to know each pups needs and personalizes the class to set everyone up for success in different ways. Before I started training with SSDT I viewed training as a burden that I wanted to get through quickly. Now I look forward to seeing Laura and Leslie and learning more with Brodie. Theres always more to learn and improve and I look forward to working with them for a long time to come, both virtually and in person! Thank you so so so much!!!!

Outstanding virtual meeting during which I learned more about puppy behavior and dogs than in multiple sessions with other trainers. Great, positive rewards focused insights and very professional and personable! Highly recommend.

Thank you so much to our trainer Laura for our virtual training session! Our new puppy Pickles had a great time and we learned a whole lot about how to support her as she grows. Laura is so thorough and helpful with all sorts of tips and tricks! Highly recommend!!!

Just overall a great experience. They put on puppy socialization classes and offer private in home lessons. Their whole methodology is great, and they are always willing to help. My puppy has learned a lot from their advice and theyve made life a lot easier!

Weve been working with Emily and she is amazing!! Super knowledgeable and patient, a pleasure to work with and gets results, what more could you ask for? Our very nervous aussie puppy warmed up to her right away, and thats saying a lot ;)

Shelby is fantastic. She is knowledgable, friendly, and has the perfect attitude for dog training. She follows up after class with more information relating to the class to practice during the week. She also responds to emails and questions quickly and efficiently.I have taken my puppy to socialization and obedience classes - and he always has a great time. I would recommend that everybody take their puppy to Shelby!Edit: we are back for round two! Shelby and team are still and incredible resource in NYC that we are blessed to have at our finger tips.

We enrolled our newly adopted dog in an outdoor basic obedience class in Central Park and it was great. The trainer Jenna did a great job teaching us how to teach our dogs. We especially liked how our whole family could attend the classes at no additional cost. Jenna also made sure that the class was fun and safe - especially during this pandemic. Thank you to Jenna and the whole Shelby Semel team for creatively offering these great classes in safe outdoor environments.

Laura Folsom at Shelby Semel Dog training has made all the difference in helping us raise our new puppy. We are first-time puppy parents and Laura has trained as much as she has helped us train our puppy! With her help we’ve navigated potty-training, socializing a very nervous puppy, basic commands, and leash-training. I highly recommend Shelby Semel Dog training and Laura, specifically!

Shelbys team is so positive, responsive and willing to provide virtual training sessions at times that work really well for my schedule. The training is fun, caring, and really puppy-centered. Most of all - it works and makes training a pleasure. Love to be able to work with Shelby and her trainer Laura, and I am so so glad I found them.

Shelby Semel Training has been so wonderful for our dog. We have a rescue pup who has become leash aggressive. Corinne (one of the senior trainers) has helped our dog so much. She is so patient and is constantly answering my many questions. She has acted as support system and we cant thank her enough. She is truly a wonderful trainer whose work has helped our dog improve so much! Thank you, Shelby Semel Training!

I highly recommend Shelby Semel Dog Training! I have been working with Laura from Shelby Semel since February when we brought home our (then) 3.5 month Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. Laura is amazing — within the first session alone, we had made significant progress on crate training and our pup had learned basic commands such as “touch” and “sit”. Over subsequent sessions we were able to tackle housebreaking, leash training, and tons of fun/useful tricks that I can confidently say I would not have been able to master on my own. Laura is super responsive and also provides handy follow-up notes and guides so that we can continue to practice on our own in between sessions.Additionally, mid-way through our training we switched from in-person lessons to virtual lessons due to covid-19. I was a bit skeptical that we would be able to make the same progress via virtual lessons but the transition has been seamless and we have been able to accomplish just as much as we had been through our in-person training sessions. I really can’t recommend Shelby Semel Dog Training, and Laura in particular, highly enough!

I got my puppy Mabel in February and have been working with Shelby since March - shes amazing! Shelby and Mabel have a very special bond - sometimes I even get jealous, haha.Mabel is my first dog and I had worked with another trainer before finding Shelby. I had no idea what I was missing in that trainer until I met Shelby. Shelby sets the bar HIGH and I think youd be hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgeable on dog training or someone who cares more about your dog and trying to make them as happy (and obedient) as possible!We started by going to her puppy socialization classes and they totally changed my dog! She is so social now (with both dogs and people) that my quick walk around the block takes quite a while because she wants to say hi to everyone but still listens to me when we have to keep going (thank you appropriate on-leash greetings class:-) )!We also did some one-on-one training with Shelby at home and then took Shelbys Basic Obedience Class and are currently in Intermediate Obedience. Both classes have been extremely helpful and informative. I am training Mabel to be a Therapy Dog and Shelby and her team have gone above and beyond in class to help me with those skills needed for Mabel to be successful!I have recommended Shelby to many friends that are new dog owners and they have all been thrilled with her and continue to work with her. I highly recommend Shelby and her team! You wont be disappointed :-)

Respectable, patient, dog-loving trainers. Couldnt be any happier with Shelby and her trainers, who truly give all the love and attention to your puppy it deserves. The space is very big, plenty of treats and opportunities for your pup to learn new tricks and run around with some new friends. Dont wait for too, just go straight to Shelby, she changed my puppys behavior from the 2nd class. We will be sorry you didnt come to her earlier.

Would definitely recommend Shelby as she explains in detail certain dog behaviors and how to handle them. Her methods truly work! Within a few minutes, my dog was able to do commands such as: sit, stay, leave it, etc! She also leads a weekly puppy socialization group class on Mondays, which are super helpful to get your puppy accustomed to new sounds, people, surroundings, etc. Ive recommended over 3 friends to use Shelby and theyve all loved her as well!

Shelby is an amazing trainer. I cant say enough about how much we have learned from her. She listened to all of our concerns and gave us great strategies that had an immediate impact. Worth every penny!

Shelby Rocks!!! When I was looking for a dog trainer I called several different people. No one took the time to talk to me and answer my million questions like Shelby did. She was amazing. She was sooooo patient and helpful. She told me exactly what I needed for when I brought my pup home. Our first training session was amazing. She helped me set up my apartment for the pup and went over everything i needed to know at my pace. I didnt feel rushed or overwhelmed at all. I did 5 training sessions with Shelby. She taught my dog all the basics like stay, sit, touch, down etc. She also taught my dog some great tricks!! I did her socialization classes as well at Running Paws which was great for my pup b/c she isnt the most social. Shelby also set up some play dates for my dog in my area and now my pup has a best friend that she plays with every week. My pup recently turned 1 and I had what I like to call a Tune Up session with Shelby. It was great. ShelbyI HIGHLY recommend Shelby to train your dog!!! It is b/c of her my pup is so well behaved.

Can’t say enough good things about the Shelby Training Crew! I signed up for One on One training lessons for my new Frenchie, Beverly. From minute One Shelby was beyond helpful answering all my questions and concerns. Bev and I were teamed up with trainer Leslie R- she is the BEST! Every session is fun and interesting- we learn so much but it never feels like “work.” Little Beverly is doing so well with her commands- and Leslie feels like part of the family! We are customers for life- my dog is happy, healthy, stimulated and truly WELL BEHAVED- all thanks to Leslie, Shelby and crew! 5 Stars & 5 Woofs!

She definitely has passion for what she does and it shows. Ive already seen immense improvement only after a few sessions. Highly recommended!!

Super service! Shelby trained my Frenchie 7 years ago. He still knows all of his ques. Now we have a Frenchie puppy as well and Shelby’s staff had 2 great sessions with him. Prompt, professional service and great people on her team. Prices are fair and even a little more reasonable than some of the competition. Booking appts are easy too and the staff follow up but never pressured us into more sessions that maybe we didn’t need. 🐶

Best Dog Trainer in NYC. No doubt about it. Shelby Semel Dog Training is the finest puppy training provider in the entire city.