Austin Dog Alliance

This place is the best dog training by far. I recommend Elizabeth Smith because she makes the training so much fun for everyone and the dogs learn so fast. My dog absolutely loved her class and so did we. We learned so much and we won’t take our dogs anywhere else.

The newly relocated Austin Dog Alliance is every bit as good, in fact BETTER, than the old one. The new location is gorgeous, with plenty of indoor and outdoor space for people and dogs. There is a cute little shop that sells treats and doggish accessories as well as a kitchen, and many classrooms/​meeting rooms in the main building. The agility field is huge and full of regulation sized agility obstacles better than any other collection I have seen in the Austin area. The Brown Hound and I took several agility classes here and we both got a work out every time we went to class!
All the folks at The Alliance are super friendly and supportive. The SnowBeast and I are a certified Therapy team now, thanks to the excellent instruction and support of Carolyn Hornish (one of the many wonderful instructors at the ADA). Whenever I have questions about our therapy work I can always ask the folks at the ADA and they go to great lengths to provide help or further instruction even though I’m no longer enrolled in a class. If therapy or agility isn’t your thing, check out the long list of other services and classes ADA provides. Maybe you’d like volunteer to train a companion animal for one our returning veterans. Or what about honing your hound’s «sniffy skills» by taking a Nose Work class? How about «bring your dog along summer camp?» A perfect way to get both the dog and the kids out of the house this summer. Are you interested in working with special needs kids and adults? ADA uses dogs to help folks with special needs train for jobs. Maybe you are just looking for a great dog to adopt? All this and much, much more can be found at Austin Dog Alliance. Its truly a one of a kind place full of a bunch of fantastic people and dogs!

Our pup is probably not destined to be a service dog, we’re just a regular family with a high-​energy dog that needed some guidance. I’m so glad we found Austin Dog Alliance (they were one of the organizations recommended by Austin Pets Alive). Morgan just finished Manners I, and after a break over the spring, we’re definitely going back for more classes. We’ve been driving up from central Austin, but it’s been worth it. Carolyn is great, and she’s gone above and beyond in helping us figure out what our growing pup needs and is trying to tell us.

I just finished our third class with Austin Dog Alliance. I would recommend taking classes there and will take more myself in the future.
The first was with Robyn, an agility class. She was an energetic, positive instructor. Their course is fenced in which is cool if you’re just starting out.
Our second class was ‘Fungility’ which is agility for kids. Our 11 year old did it and had a blast. Susan was great with the dogs and the kids. I would totally recommend this for a kid and dog if you want them to bond. Granted, your kid has to have the ability to focus and your dog has to have some training and compliance. Don’t set the kid or the dog up to fail if neither are ready for something like this.
Finally I just did a class that prepares you and your dog for therapy dog certification. This class was great for us to practice being around other dogs without interaction/​reaction. Carolyn taught this class and presented the information in an easy to understand manner. We learned what will be expected of the dogs (and handlers) to pass the test. I think it might have been neat to have someone from the facilities that the therapy dog teams from ADA go to come in to speak with the class. A few more practical exercises would be helpful too. Overall it was a good experience and I feel like I know what to expect.

I got connected with Austin Dog Alliance as I was looking for a place for my recently diagnosed child on the Autism Spectrum to receive social skills/​therapy classes. I were directed by my child’s doctor to find something my daughter loves and get her involved, and they popped up as I was online searching affordable options.
She just started her second session! My daughter loves the classes, the adults involved have clearly been working with ASD children for many years, and they make it obvious that they care for my child. I couldn’t be more pleased with my first experience interacting with an ABA therapist or our first interactions with other families with children on the spectrum.
I highly recommend ADA as a place for ASD/​HFA children needing social skills classes!

I have been taking my 2 dogs there for the past 2 years. One was for pet therapy and one was for training and I loved having Carolyn as my teacher. I am deaf and the cool part was that Carolyn signs!!! I cannot wait for my dog to be a certified pet therapist so I can «volunteer» my dog to be a part of all of their programs.
They moved from their old office on 620 to their own property… talk about a HUGE difference!!! The old one was on a strip mall so there really wasn’t any running areas for the dogs so I was very happy to see the new one open up on New Hope Road in Cedar Park.

I was a foster parent for a bit with The Austin Dog Alliance and it was a beautiful experience. I was honored to see the behind the scenes workings of what dedication looks like! All of them are VOLUNTEERS and put so much of their heart, soul and time into the dog’s lives. .from start to finish.
They are focused on matching up the dogs with the perfect new ‘parents’ to give give them their forever home. They also do alot of work with training dogs to be service dogs to kids with disabilities.
They are an amazing group of people… and the dogs are just as amazing too! :o)
~If we all make a difference for one dog, we’ll end up collectively making a difference for many~

Strong point: potty and house training. I’m sure it’s much easier to find a home for a house-​trained dog, and crate trained is a plus.
Weak point 1. screening process. We were highly scrutinized by the Dog Alliance because we are not home all day. Who is? Parents of small children that need all their attention? Elderly people who can’t play with a young dog?
Weak point 2: knowledge of the dog and breed. We asked for a medium activity dog. The «foster mom» described our dog as a «couch potato.» The dog we adopted is half Rhodesian Ridgeback, a very high energy dog. We didn’t know until weeks after we took her home. The Dog Alliance didn’t know or disclose this breed — only hound mix. We love our dog to pieces and we are thrilled to have her, but we don’t always have time for the vigorous exercize she needs.
In the end these folks are good-​hearted, well-​intentioned, and they care about dogs. But we felt like first we weren’t good enough for them, then they matched us with a dog that probably should have been adopted to someone with a ranch or huge yard so she could run all the time.
We do our best to make sure she gets to run. My suggestion is to make sure you know the breed and temperament before you make your decision.

Love this non profit! Adopted my first dog Ginger from Debi! They are very careful on who they let adopt, to make sure the dogs have the best home possible. They take care of all health problems, if any, and make sure the dogs are vaccinated and really to go to their new families. Each dog spends time with a foster before hand to make sure they now how to match the right dog with the right family. I’m very happy with my experience. When we are ready for another dog, I know where to go!

5 stars to Ms. Debi Krakar and Austin Dog Alliance (ADA) because they helped me and my husband to overcome our nervousness around dogs and adopt a calm German Shepherd mix.
Me and my husband love dogs, but we are nervous around dogs or scared of dogs. So, we contacted Ms. Debi Krakar, Executive Director and Trainer of ADA, for help. She suggested us taking private training sessions with her Golden, Riley to overcome our issues with dogs. In these private training sessions, Debi made us comfortable around dogs and taught us feeding, brushing, leash walking and taking dogs for car rides. She also helped us to learn some aspects of dog behavior. In addition to training, Debi helped us select a right dog for us. She selected Annie, a German Shepherd mix, for us. During the adoption process, Debi and Jennie (Annie’s foster mom) answered all my questions about Annie. Thus, Debi and ADA made our experience with the adoption process very comfortable. In addition to adopting Annie, we also attended basic obedience dog training with Debi. She is a wonderful trainer. She broke each command into small steps that were easier to follow. She also helped me to teach leash walking to Annie. So, overall, our association with Debi and ADA has been wonderful.

The people at Austin Dog Alliance are some of the most knowledgeable and dedicated dog enthusiasts I have ever known. They are fully involved in the community and are involved in all things dog… from training, to therapy, to working with children and dogs. They are an excellent resource!

5 Stars because we volunteer with them and I’ve seen the behind the scenes dedication. It truly is an *alliance* of dog-​loving individuals.
My review sticks strictly to the aspect of volunteering with ADA.
Their new center is great and very convenient to our house so we try to do as much as we can. I do this for my kids because they are truly dog-​obsessed. Most animal rescue places in town won’t let young kids help out no matter how much they want to. ADA embraces young kids! They are more than happy to let them foster puppies (with mom and dad’s help) because puppies that are used to being around kids are much more adoptable. My kids have also been able to be «distractions» in dog therapy training classes so that when these dogs go into schools and such they aren’t easily wooed by all the craziness that surrounds them. We’ve also gone to the Center to help out with little jobs as well. They have so much to offer kids just by letting them help out. THANK YOU!
My oldest daughter also recently attended Dog Camp there with our 3 yr old Lab and had an absolute blast. She also plans to attend other kids classes they offer there as well. I could honestly go on and on about this great resource for kids who are nuts about dogs. Go to their website and read about the opportunities yourself and see how you can help out.

We decided we are going to get the Little Man a puppy, he has been wanting a dog for some time, and he is finally big enough that we decided that he will probably not get run over by a medium sized dog (little dogs are annoying.) Plus there are some cats and an opossum that has been coming into my yard and leaving «presents» for me (I would like to return them, but they don’t leave gift receipts.) So I figure if I’m going to clean up «presents» anyway, I may as well get to have fun with the delivery man.
We look around a little, and decided to fill out the adopt a dog thing on this website since we saw a puppy that looked like she would fit the bill, while we also swing by PetSmart to see if there is a dog that he connects with there.
At PetSmart there is a showing of dogs, pretty cute little guys, and Little Man things that one of them is pretty cool, it is marked «Terrier Mix,» sorry kid, not going to be our dog. We swing by their «store» to take a look, it is closed, and there are no office hours posted (minus 1 star, come on people when are you open?) So I have no idea anything about their service in person.
We get to hook up with Lisa (the «foster parent» for the dog) last Saturday, this is after they called my two references and asked them all kinds of questions about us and how we treat animals. Lisa is pretty cool, and we play with the puppy at her place for a little while before we both decide that she is a good fit. (I came away bloody, puppys have got some sharp teeth.) She only had my dog for a week so she didn’t have the medical records (actually I’m still waiting for them after a little over a week minus one star.) She let us know about the dogs habits and behaviors etc. The dog was already «chipped», and crate trained which is cool.
They offer a discount for training classes if you get your dog there (I’ll have to post an update on if they are good or not) which is cool, and they seem to have some pretty good options on the classes you can take.
In closing, dogs are cool, and smart, «but don’t take my word for it» LeVar Burton (Reading Rainbow)

Take that cat people! If you are looking at getting a dog (or have to clean up those nice little «presents» anyway,) these guys have a number of options, and they aren’t too outrageous as far as pricing, you won’t get a pure breed, but I’m pretty happy with my «mutt»