School of Bork
A crowdsourced list of Indian canine trainers and behaviourists
Finding the right trainer/ behaviourist for your dog is key to training your dog well. Even if you take the task on your shoulders, you still need a reliable professional to refer to from time to time.
Before training Bailey, I had no idea about rewards and reinforcements. All I knew was the orthodox method of aversive training without a single thought about the dog in question — just beat the poor thing into submission. That’s what trainers in small cities like the one I came from did, and I saw a more palatable variation of that on this show with dogs and whispers (you know which one). Based on this idea of training, I did not like training at all. It seemed like this circus-animal thing you did to your dog, and it didn’t seem right to me.
However, having puppy Bailey in my house soon challenged that notion, and I realised that we (both dog and human) definitely needed training in our lives. So, I did what I do for most things dog-related — I turned to the almighty internet. And I found Zak George and positive reinforcement training.
Much to my joy, the landscape of Indian training has changed significantly since that time. Balanced trainers are available across the country, and even aversive or particularly positive trainers are paying attention to the kind of dogs their methods may apply to. Pet parents are more aware of dog behaviour, training methods, rewards, etc. (if you aren’t one of them, here are blogs on dog behaviour, training methods and rewards, and trainer + pet parent red and green flags).
However, this has led to an overflow of information, some of which is (unfortunately) fluff. So, to cut through the noise, here’s a list of trainers/ behaviourists that I sourced from my lovely community on Instagram (you can follow me here):
Aishani Mathur
City: Gurugram
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewizardofdogs/
Aishwarya Ray
City: Thane
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_paws.play_/
Astha Pathak
City: Hyderabad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petpamps/
Ekta Bakhle
City: Pune
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ektabakhle/
Garima Tomar
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garimatomar/
Karthik Ramasubramaniam
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dattatreyadivinedogs/
Nidhi Sanghrajka Mehta
City: Ahmedabad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogspectivebynidhi/
Nitika Ahalwat
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegoldengrey/
Pavithra Sunder
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dogswag.2021/
Poulomi Dhar
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poulomi_dhar/
Pradnya
City: Mumbai
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prady58/
Priti Chauhan
City: Pune
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k9companionsindia/
Sayli Rajadhyasksha
City: Online (they’re in Canada)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pawsrusindia/
Tara James
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollarclubblr/
Tailspin
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tailspin.in/
Upendra
City: Kolkata
Phone number: +91 9831–731–930
Vaibhav Mungole
City: Bengaluru
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vaibhavmungole/
The above list has been crowdsourced and is, therefore, non-exhaustive. If you have a trainer/behaviourist whom you have worked with and would like to recommend, please leave their name, city and IG/website/phone number in the comments or DM these details on Instagram.
Training is subjective, and a trainer who has worked brilliantly for one dog may not work for another. Furthermore, this list has a mix of various types of trainers. I cannot guarantee training success, even with the trainers I have personally worked with, just because someone was recommended. Please ensure the trainer suits your dog’s needs and benefits your dog (and by extension, you). Happy training!
