The Dog Institute of Williamsburg

We’ve been going to Dog Institute regularly for almost two years with our miniature poodle pup (Coco) for play and train as well as boarding and cannot recommend it enough!! Our normally socially nervous pup LOVES going there and has really bonded with the whole team (both of the Elizabeth’s, Allie, Masami, Maria). Everyone who works there is extremely kind and gentle with all the dogs and you can tell they truly love working with them. You can tell when you drop your pup off by how much they want to be there as well as the many photo and video updates you get (it never gets old when they put the party hats on all the dogs when it’s one of their birthdays 🥰) We also really appreciated too that when Coco was a baby and we’d have issues, Elizabeth would ask a lot of questions to understand the situation before giving advice (for example around crate training, having issues with accidents only when at guest houses, becoming territorial of us) - the result is we have a very happy and sweet pup who is well socialized. They’ve been really amazing and you won’t regret taking your pup there!!

Dog Institute has been such a positive experience for our Barbet puppy Boots. Amazing way to socialize a puppy in a controlled and safe environment, with good natured playmates and professional supervision. Our pup absolutely loves his days at school, the friendly staff, and his puppy friends. We’ve gotten so much out of our sessions with Elizabeth, for first time dog owners we found a lot of benefit in the structure she provided for Boots’ home life (crate, food, schedule, etc.). We’ve seen such positive results from the Puppy curriculum that we’ve enrolled Boots in the adolescent training as well. Highly recommend!

Elizabeth and the team are the best! I got my baby Nova at 8 weeks old and she was a total handful. I've been working with Elizabeth for months now and Nova is such a great puppy. She now sleeps through the night, is potty trained and the sweetest pup. Nova has done board and train with Elizabeth and is a regular at the puppy play class. I literally have to drag her out of there, she would stay all day if she could :) I can't recommend Elizabeth and her team enough!

From Baby to Baddie, How the Dog Doula of Williamsburg Brings Out the Best in Your Dog, and You I’ve had dogs all my life; but never a puppy… (if you’re already laughing at me that’s totally fair). Feeling confident in my experience as a dog owner and trainer I knew I would need some help so I signed up for Puppy Play and Train socialization classes + some remote and in-person training as well. TLDR: Training, boarding, and dog socialization with The Dog Institute is a lifesaver and worth every penny. 10/10 recommend. Dear reader - if I hadn’t done this I would be writing you this review from Bellview as a patient, not the comfort for my clean undamaged living room with my chill little Sheltie laying on the rug happily chewing on a fish skin. While my puppy has been a pretty impressive guy from day 1 he is so much work; and having him in a densely populated city has its own set of challenges and dangers. Thanks to The Dog Institute (TDI) I have a well behaved, happy, healthy, well socialized, potty trained puppy who sleeps through the night (and has been doing so for months). His confidence and curiosity are encouraged, safely, as he learns new skills - which are constantly reinforcement. He walks around town with confidence and gets REALLY disappointed if we are within a couple blocks TDI but that isn’t his destination. He LOVES his puppy friends and all the amazing dog experts at TDI. We have boarded him with great success as well. Every step of the way from what treats and food are best, how to schedule/plan my puppy’s day, knowing what big events he is ready for and how to approach them - I have received spot on guidance and support. My guess is the dogs are actually the easy part of dog training - it’s us humans who over-react, have misguided instincts, lack consistency, etc and we are being trained and educated as much as the puppies themselves. Elizabeth and her team are as patient and caring with us humans as they are with the dogs - despite us likely being more of a challenge. Do yourself and puppy a favor and sign up! If you think “wow puppy daycare and training is expensive” - do the math on what a poorly trained, poorly socialized, dog in the city will cost you. Financially, psychologically, and emotionally.

Elizabeth and her staff are amazing and your puppy will love going here! We purchased the puppy play and train package for our pup, Champ, and he learned so much/made so many friends. He started classes at around 20 weeks, and took them up until 6 months (he loved it so much we had to purchase additional classes after his play and train package finished). Highly recommend going here for help with general puppy training, tips on walking, help with food guarding and puppy socialization!