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  • Adolescent Dog Manners & Life Skills

Transform Chaos Into Cooperation: Life Skills for Adolescent Dogs

  • SERVICES

Your Adolescent Dog Isn’t “Being Bad” — They’re Growing, Changing, and
Needing Guidance

Raise a Thoughtful, Confident Adult Dog — Starting Now

One day your puppy was soft, sweet, and eager to please. The next, it feels like they’ve forgotten every skill you ever taught them. They pull on leash. They ignore you. They act impulsively. They bark, lunge, or melt down over things that never bothered them before. They play too roughly. They seem uncooperative. They may even run away from you when you call.

You’re not imagining it — adolescence is one of the most challenging stages of a dog’s life.

And it can leave even the most dedicated owners feeling overwhelmed, confused, or at their wit’s end.

But here’s the good news:

This stage is incredibly important — and with the right support, it becomes the foundation for a lifetime of cooperation, confidence, and connection.


As a certified professional dog trainer and canine behavior consultant with more than 15 years of experience, I help adolescent dogs and their humans rebuild communication, restore trust, and rediscover joy in living together.



This class is where your dog learns how to be a thoughtful, responsive adult — and where you learn how to guide them there.

  • ABOUT THE CLASS

Life Skills & Manners for Adolescent Dogs

6-week small-group class in Newcomb, NY — Sundays at the Fire Hall
This class teaches your adolescent dog the skills they need to be a cooperative, well-mannered member of your family — and teaches you how to communicate clearly, kindly, and effectively.
You’ll learn how to:
  • Elicit cooperation instead of conflict
  • Teach your dog to want to work with you
  • Build calm behavior around distractions
  • Support your dog’s big feelings with compassion
  • Understand what’s happening in their developing brain
  • Create a relationship based on trust, not tension
Your dog will learn:
  • Leash walking manners
  • House manners
  • Polite greetings
  • How to stay calm around strangers, dogs, and delivery people
  • How to make good choices even when excited or overwhelmed
By the end,

you’ll both have more skills, more confidence, and a deeper understanding of each other.
  • what’s included

A Complete Support System for You and Your Dog

8 weekly in-person classes
Sunday afternoons in Newcomb
Mid-week Zoom call
For questions, troubleshooting, and personalized support.
Written materials &
video library
To guide your practice at home.
Science-based,
compassionate training
Tailored to your dog’s developmental stage.
Small class size
For individualized attention.
Optional private sessions
If your dog needs help preparing for a group environment.
  • Why This Class Works

When Humans Know Better, Dogs Do Better

Benefits for You

  • Relief from frustration and confusion
  • Clear communication strategies
  • Practical tools you can use immediately
  • A deeper understanding of your dog’s behavior
  • Renewed confidence in your ability to guide your dog

Benefits for Your Dog

  • Improved manners and impulse control
  • Better coping skills around distractions
  • Increased confidence and emotional resilience
  • A stronger bond with you
  • A smoother transition into adulthood
  • Client Stories

Real Words From Real Dog Owners

“Doreen is deeply knowledgeable. I have a better relationship with my dog and I am so grateful for this. My dog’s behavior has improved a significant amount. I leave this class with hope and an improved relationship with my dog. I also take with me multiple tools to help my anxious dog feel safe.”
Darci
Lake Placid
“Doreen is knowledgeable and helpful. I received a huge amount of useful, practical, and applicable information. Her explanations were always thorough, and my questions always satisfactorily answered. She provided great simple concepts to apply in a non-confusing way. It was most helpful to learn my dog’s signals of stress, attention, fear, and joy. Over the last eight weeks I have watched my dog change before my eyes! I love her more than ever.”
Liz
Lake Placid
“Doreen’s knowledge base astounds me during every class. I never leave with questions unanswered, and she has directed me to great resources to continue my learning. Amazing one-on-one work that allowed me to ask questions, practice, learn, and work with my dog. This class addressed specific issues I was having with my dog, and in an even deeper way than I expected. This class improved my dog’s behavior a lot. She is a different dog now! Easier to communicate with, observe, and understand. I would take this class over and over again. My connection with my dog has grown so much, and I’ve learned more about her and myself than I thought I would.”
Anna
Lake Placid
“Doreen Alessi-Holmes has been our trusted guide to happy and healthy pups for many years. Her knowledge of dog behavior and critical observation skills paired with her compassion and respect for animals helped us navigate through some difficult times raising our 2 pups. Doreen helped us understand that what we thought was aggression in one of our pups was much more complex and rooted in anxiety. Doreen patiently observed and educated us, provided us with the necessary tools and then helped us work through how we could help our pup enjoy her life with us in a more relaxed way. With Doreen’s help we have a happy and healthy furry family. “
Deb
Lake Placid
“Working with Doreen has been deeply enriching and transformative for the whole family. She is funny, insightful, and a pleasure to learn from! Her expansive knowledge as a canine behavioral specialist allows her to answer all of our questions thoroughly and with a thoughtful approach that takes into consideration our unique pup, our learning style, and our goals. When we adopted Misty, our Brittany Spaniel/Border Collie Mix, we were surprised to see some reactive tendencies in her. We found Doreen at the perfect time to begin learning how to truly understand our dog. Instead of only feeling despair and telling Misty, “No, don’t do that!” we now know how to say, “Hey pup, what’s going on?” and help to redirect her attention to create a safe and understanding environment. Doreen taught us how to live almost entirely frustration-free with a high-energy, protective pup that loves her people as much as we love her. The ability to dive deeply into understanding dogs with Doreen has been a gift and a pleasure and we recommend her every chance we get!”
Anna, Lori, & Mystic
Lake Placid
“I approached Doreen for help with our 3 month old puppy (littermate to her pup!) when we started struggling with emotional dysregulation leading to very intense behaviors and (over)reactions to the “big feels”. Our pup was very difficult to manage at times, and I was in tears and totally overwhelmed. Doreen helped me by using a two-pronged approach based on what our puppy was going through both physically (GI parasites and skin infection), emotionally, and developmentally. She shared science-based information on what was going on with his brain/body, as well as advice, suggestions and hacks that I could immediately put into practice – which I did! I’ll never forget the look on my family’s faces when “Karl” showed up in a huge box at our doorstep. Doreen’s passion for helping people and their pups is very clear. We had several consults, and she continues to follow up, genuinely wanting to hear how things are going. I really appreciate her support and encouragement, and she reminds me to recognize even the smallest wins throughout the puppy-raising journey. Our pup is one and a half years old now, and while we still have our challenging moments with our active and reactive adolescent, I am grateful to better understand our pup and my part in raising him with that understanding in mind. Thank you, Doreen!”
Carrie
Lake Placid
“I met Doreen at a puppy obedience class in the Adirondacks. She visited the class a couple of times to offer her expertise in relational human/dog training. I immediately recognized she had something special to offer. She was able to identify subtle body language between my puppy, Shadow, and I, and offer constructive feedback that resulted in surprising positive changes. I was so impressed with her keen insight and extensive knowledge of canine behavior, I decided to stay in touch when we returned to NYC and eventually hire her to help with the very challenging period I had transitioning Shadow to the city. Over the course of 2 months of virtual training with near daily in-depth communication, in addition to an abundance of training resources, we overcame many of the most difficult challenges of raising a puppy in a city environment. With Doreen’s help and her genuine care and devotion, Shadow and I were able to develop core behavioral and communication skills that continue to influence our growth and thriving life together.”
Julieve
Lake Placid

“Doreen has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful with my 8 month old puppy. The contents of the lessons targeted the problems we have been having with my puppy’s behavior. The homework and handouts are very helpful. Doreen has been able to diagnose the problems I’ve been having and provides great suggestions to help with them. I feel I’m improving as an owner/handler after working with Doreen. I think I have a better relationship with my puppy, too.

The course has helped improve my puppy’s behavior. Doreen has given me helpful suggestions and tools to train my puppy, Doreen’s knowledge of dogs’ behavior and physiology have been very helpful. Individualized suggestions that address my concerns are always done in a professional manner. She doesn’t judge and takes you from where you are to help you grow. Doreen is very friendly and easy to be working with. I would recommend her to anyone who needs help with their dogs.”

Beth
Lake Placid

“After working with Doreen, there are definite improvements in my relationship with my dog. She seeks me out in the house more, leans into me more, looks to engage with me more. She’s getting calmer when greeting people. She is now ignoring other dogs on our walks when they are reactive.

I feel like I’ve been given tools to continue to help with my dog. It was helpful to learn about foraging, playing games, and puzzles for enrichment. The most helpful information for me was connecting on our walks to reduce pulling. I would highly recommend working with Doreen!”

Jim
Lake Placid
“I had an adult high anxiety dog and a mastiff puppy I got from a shelter. Needless to say, I had my hands full. Doreen was absolutely amazing, a wealth of knowledge and support. I can honestly say I couldn’t have gotten to where we are today without her!!!”
Cindy
Lake Placid
“Doreen worked with my dog Faith and I in a small class that dealt with aggressive dogs. My dog had been attacked unprovoked 3x . After these events I was at a loss to control her defensiveness and aggression when she met with other dogs. She really helped me how to communicate better w Faith and how to cope with her Big feelings. We are definitely more of a team now! “
Alice
Lake Placid

“Doreen is the absolute best! For 4 months my giant pup had stressed induced colitis and I didn’t get him socialized. BIG MISTAKE! When I met Doreen I was at my wits’ end. I couldn’t get Puck trained, I would only walk him at night because there’s less distraction—lowering the odds of him accidentally hurting me again. After a few weeks of one-on-one training with Doreen, I had a new understanding of Puck and his “big feelings”. By summers end I was walking him in daylight around people and animals without going face-skiing or getting my arm yanked out. I EVEN TOOK HIM TO A RALLY!!

Doreen probably saved his life and definitely prevented another trip to the ER for me.”

Christine
Lake Placid
From Frustration to Cooperation:
Teach Your Teen Dog to Work With You
Get Started
  • HOW TO BOOK

Ready to Help Your Adolescent Dog Thrive?

  • Call, text, or email me to let me know you’re interested.
  • I’ll send you a short questionnaire about your dog and your training goals.
  • We’ll build skills, confidence, and cooperation — together.
  • FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Puppy’s Brain Is Ready to Learn. Let’s Teach Them Together.
Won’t my dog just grow out of it?
Adolescence is a critical learning period. Dogs don’t automatically grow into good manners — they grow into whatever habits they practice. This class ensures they learn the social and emotional skills they need for adulthood.
  • contact us

Your dog isn’t giving you a hard time — they’re having a hard time.

Reach out today to reserve your spot.
Let’s help them grow into the thoughtful, cooperative adult you know they can be. Your future with your dog gets easier from here.
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