What Sirius Dog Training does

Sirius Dog Training (legally Center for Applied Animal Behavior, DBA SIRIUS Puppy Training) is a veterinarian-owned dog training company founded in 1982 by Dr. Ian Dunbar and headquartered in Oakland, California. The company delivers reward-based puppy and dog training through a proprietary age-segmented curriculum and claims to have trained more than 125,000 puppies since inception. It serves puppy and dog owners primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area through 11 physical venues operated in partnership with third-party hosts, and serves a global audience through live online classes.

The business runs a four-product monetization stack: in-person group classes at $249 per five-session package, live online group classes via Zoom at $199 per five-session package, a $20/month Top Dog Academy subscription for ongoing curriculum content, and a standalone $200 Essential Puppy Training Course. Distribution is largely referral-driven through veterinarians, shelters, breeders, and Yelp reviews, with venue partnerships including Pet Food Express, Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center, and American Legion Santa Clara Post #419. The company also operates a sister site at DunbarAcademy.com that cross-promotes the founder's broader online curriculum and instructor certification ecosystem. Headcount is in the 1-10 employee band and the business is privately held with no disclosed funding events or parent company.

Name

Sirius Dog Training

Legal name

Center for Applied Animal Behavior

Website

https://siriuspup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sirius Dog Training is a veterinarian-owned, Oakland-based dog training company founded in 1982 by Dr. Ian Dunbar, offering reward-based puppy and dog classes at 11 Bay Area venues and via live online Zoom sessions to consumer puppy and dog owners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dog Training Services

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Training-Integrated Dog Daycare (Day Training) (HSANAFAE)

Keywords

• Puppy obedience training
• Dog behavior classes
• Reward-based training
• Puppy socialization services
• Online dog training

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland Mills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. In-Person Puppy and Dog Training Classes: Group training classes offered at 11 Bay Area locations. Classes are sold as 5-session packages (5 consecutive weekly 50-minute sessions). Primary revenue driver representing the core business.
2. Live Online Training Classes: Remote instructor-led training via Zoom for customers outside the Bay Area or preferring online format. Sold as 5-session packages at a lower price point than in-person classes.
3. Top Dog Academy Subscription: Online training platform available as standalone subscription ($20/month) or included free with class enrollment. Provides ongoing revenue through monthly subscriptions for customers wanting continued access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sirius Dog Training operates reward-based puppy and dog training classes at 11 San Francisco Bay Area locations and live instructor-led classes via Zoom. Classes are sold as 5-session packages covering Puppy Kindergarten (8-12 weeks), Puppy Training I (12-18 weeks), Puppy Training II, and Dog Training I (19+ weeks). Each enrollment includes complimentary access to the Top Dog Academy online video library and the Essential Puppy Training Course, with instructor support extending beyond scheduled sessions.

Product overview

Sirius Dog Training offers a platform-plus-modules architecture comprising in-person puppy and dog training classes held at multiple San Francisco Bay Area locations, paired with online educational resources. The core class offerings include Puppy Kindergarten (8-12 weeks), Puppy Training I (12-18 weeks), Puppy Training II (graduates of Puppy I), and Dog Training I (available in-person or live online via Zoom). All class enrollments include complimentary access to the Top Dog Academy online platform (hundreds of hours of videos, eBooks, podcasts, worksheets) and the Essential Puppy Training Course (170+ video online curriculum). The Top Dog Academy is also available as a standalone $20/month subscription, and the Essential Puppy Training Course can be purchased separately for $200.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Puppy Kindergarten In-person puppy training class for puppies 8-12 weeks old at the start of the first class, focusing on early socialization, confidence building, housetraining, bite inhibition, and introduction to basic behaviors using lure-reward training. Sold as a 5-session weekly 50-minute package priced at $249; held at select Bay Area locations (Santa Clara, San Ramon, and others).
• Puppy Training I In-person puppy training class for puppies 12-18.5 weeks old at the start of the first class, covering foundation training, off-leash play socialization with unfamiliar people and dogs, and basic command training including Sit, Down, Come. Sold as a 5-session weekly 50-minute package priced at $249 and offered across the full network of 11 Bay Area locations.
• Puppy Training II Advanced in-person puppy training class for graduates of Puppy Training I (dogs 19-35 weeks old), focusing on maintaining socialization, improving off-leash reliability, phasing out food rewards, and verbal instruction reliability. Sold as a 5-session weekly 50-minute package at the standard class price; available at a subset of Bay Area locations.
• Dog Training I Entry-level in-person training for dogs 19 weeks or older that have not previously attended a Sirius class, covering fundamental skills such as body positions (sit, down, stand, stay), controlled walking, polite greetings, and object management. Sold as a 5-session weekly 50-minute package at $249 with no limit on class repeats; available at locations such as Berkeley and Walnut Creek.
• Live Online Dog Training I Remote version of Dog Training I delivered live via Zoom, covering the same foundational obedience curriculum for dogs 18+ weeks with real-time instructor interaction. Sold globally as a 5-session weekly 50-minute package at $199 and includes 6 months of Top Dog Academy access.
• Top Dog Academy Online subscription platform offering hundreds of hours of dog training content, including the Essential Puppy Training Course with 170+ step-by-step videos, plus eBooks, worksheets, podcasts, and webinars. Available standalone at $20/month or included free with class enrollment (3 months for in-person classes, 6 months for Dog Training I).
• Essential Puppy Training Course Comprehensive online puppy training course with 170+ step-by-step videos covering housetraining, socialization, and lure-reward training for at-home practice before, between, and after in-person classes. Available as a standalone purchase for $200 or included free with Puppy Training I enrollment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 125,000+ puppies trained since 1982 with zero infectious disease transmission in classes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DunbarAcademy.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister website operated by Dr. Ian Dunbar offering the Essential Puppy Training Course and Top Dog Academy online training platform. Sirius classes include free access to Top Dog Academy with enrollment. The platforms are cross-promoted and share content/courses.
• Pet Food ExpressminorOthersPet supply retailer provides classroom space for Sirius training classes at their Walnut Creek location. Venue partnership for class delivery.
• Bishop Ranch Vet CenterminorOthersVeterinary hospital provides classroom space for Sirius training classes at their San Ramon location. Venue partnership for class delivery.
• American Legion Santa Clara Post #419minorOthersCommunity organization provides classroom space for Sirius training classes at their Santa Clara location. Venue partnership for class delivery.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Camp Bow Wow: Franchise offering dog daycare, boarding, and training services at physical camps nationwide. Comparable in that training is bundled with broader dog care services, with multi-unit physical operations targeting similar puppy and dog owner segments.
• Dogtopia: Franchise combining dog daycare with structured training and socialization programs at multiple physical locations. Highly comparable model — group services for puppies and dogs with curriculum-based training — though daycare is the primary revenue driver rather than classes.
• Dunbar Academy: Sister platform operated by Dr. Ian Dunbar offering the Essential Puppy Training Course and Top Dog Academy subscription. Operates the same curriculum and content library online that Sirius delivers in-person, with mutual cross-promotion — directly comparable product and overlapping customers.
• Zoom Room Dog Training: Multi-location dog training franchise offering group classes with reward-based methodology at physical venues. Closest direct competitor in structure: scheduled multi-week class packages, multiple sites, and a similar price-to-value positioning for puppy and adult dog owners.

Emerging players

• Puppr: App-based dog training platform with structured lesson plans and video instruction for puppies and adult dogs. Targets the same self-serve puppy training customer at lower price points, representing the digital-native alternative to Sirius's online subscription tier.
• Dogo: Mobile dog training app offering personalized training programs, video lessons, and progress tracking for puppies and dogs. Direct overlap with Top Dog Academy on the digital subscription side, but lighter on live-instructor or in-person service.

Broad incumbents

• Best Friends Pet Hotel: National pet care brand offering boarding, daycare, grooming, and training at multiple physical locations. Overlaps with Sirius on training and group socialization services but is primarily a pet hotel operator rather than a focused training school.
• Petco Dog Training: National pet retailer offering group and private dog training sessions at store locations. Broader incumbent with overlapping group-class format and similar target customer, but operates as an add-on within a large retail chain rather than a focused puppy school.
• PetSmart Dog Training: Largest US pet retailer offers in-store group training classes at hundreds of locations nationwide. Competes with Sirius on curriculum breadth and accessibility but is part of a much broader retail portfolio, not a specialist puppy school.

Others

• Rover: Online marketplace connecting pet owners with sitters, walkers, and boarders. Adjacent rather than direct competitor — overlaps with Sirius on serving dog-owner needs but operates a marketplace model rather than a training curriculum.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sirius-dog-training

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sirius Dog Training