Dog Training Raleigh & Cary, NC

Pupsi was started as a training facility right here in downtown Cary in 1993. Founder, Mary Foster has had a passion for dogs her whole life and started her professional dog training journey in Northern Virgina in 1970. After doing in home personal training for customers she opened Pupsi’s first location in 1993.

Owner, Trace Essex learned his training methods from his mother Mary, as a helper/apprentice during her training sessions and then working at Pupsi when not in school since 1993. As an early follower of literature from Leerburg he decided to become a student at the Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers in Santa Rosa California. In 2015 he loaded up an RV with 2 dogs and hit the road to California to work on his craft with world renowned trainer Michael Ellis.

Trainer, Sam Finn started training dogs in 2013 and after joining the Pupsi team in 2016 has continued to learn and expand his skills. Sam’s experience over time have made him an excellent trainer who can draw from a diverse training toolbox to help dog/handler teams achieve their goals.

Pupsi offers a few different options for your obedience training goals, please contact us if you would like to learn more.

Day Training

Day training is when you schedule a day and drop your dog off at Pupsi. Your dog will get a chance to play and exercise during the day but will also be working on training sessions throughout the day. At the end of the day you will have a one on one session with your trainer and dog to go over everything they learned. Day training is ideal for single commands/issues that can be worked on in the course of a day. You can break up your obedience commands over these visits at your own pace. This type of plan is also ideal for customers who may just need some help with one or two issues and feel comfortable working on what they learn at home.

House Call Training

House calls are 1 hour visits where our trainer comes to you. These visits are ideal for customers who are having issues that are more specific to their home/environment and cannot be easily recreated at the facility to work on. Think of greeting visitors, territorial behavior on walks etc. House calls are also used for puppies that are too young to attend training at our facility, but owners need help now! Our puppy management training is very helpful for new dog owners to get started on the right foot. House calls are also how we teach customers to housebreak their pups. We help evaluate your situation and create a plan for you to follow to housebreaking success!

Board and Train Program

Also known as “help! just take my dog and train them!” or Boot Camp etc. Our Board and Train program is just that, ideal for customers who may be taking a trip and want to get their pup trained while they are gone or customers who just do not have the time and energy to do it all themselves. Depending on your goals, you can board and train your dog for a 7, 14 or 21 day program. Most customers want their dog finished with off leash e-collar commands but, you can do any course of study you like such as puppy basics and intermediate leash work.

This program takes advantage of everything Pupsi has to offer, exercise, socialization, training, working around distractions, finished off with a bath/groom before coming home. At your pick up date you will be here for a while learning and going over everything your dog has learned. As this is a lot to digest, we include follow up visits in our programs to make sure you are doing well and to answer any questions that may arise.