How much is puppy school?
A full puppy school course costs $200 at the median, across 42 businesses in seven states and territories. The cheapest was $90 and the dearest $360. Fourteen of the 42 call their course puppy preschool, vets and trainers alike, so the puppy preschool cost is the same thing under another name and it's in these figures.
Course length varies less than you'd think. Of the 37 courses that say how many weeks they run, 21 run four weeks and 10 run five. A handful run three, six or seven. Only half the businesses say how long each class lasts; of the 21 that do, 16 run an hour.
So the per-class figure is the fairer comparison. Across the 39 courses that state a class count, the middle course works out at $41.67 a class.
Vet clinic puppy school against a trainer
Vet clinics made up 13 of the 42, and they're the cheaper end. Their median course is $150, about $32.50 a class, and none in the sample charged more than $220.
Trainers made up the other 29. Their median is $239, or $50 a class, and they run all the way to $360. Some of that buys more. One trainer runs 90-minute classes, and several bundle an online course, a puppy pack or a free daycare day into the fee. One vet clinic in the sample credits the whole fee back to your account if your puppy attends every class.
Price alone won't pick the right one. Ask how many puppies are in a class and what each class covers, then compare per class.
Four of the 42 publish "from" prices, so read those as a floor.
How much does dog training cost for a private session?
One private training session costs $175 at the median across 33 businesses, from $70 to $399. That headline hides a trap, though.
Seven of those 33 publish only a first-visit consult or behaviour assessment, with no standard session price. Those consults have a median of $250. Take them out and a standard private session costs $162.50 (26 businesses, $70 to $270).
And the first visit is often dearer even where a standard rate exists. Of the 26 trainers with a standard session price, 11 also list a longer first consult or assessment, priced from $180 to $440. If you're comparing quotes, ask which one you're being quoted.
Session length is the other thing to pin down. Only 13 of the 33 confirm a 60-minute session; their median is $165. Twelve don't publish a length at all, and the rest run 45 to 120 minutes.
A pack of sessions usually brings the per-session price down. Several trainers in the sample sell packs of three, four, five or ten sessions at a lower rate each, but we recorded the single-session price, because that's what you pay to try someone.
Group obedience classes after puppy school
Once a dog has outgrown puppy school, a group obedience course costs $185 at the median, across 16 businesses in seven states and territories. Most run four weeks, at about $41.67 a class.
That median needs an asterisk. Four of the 16 are volunteer dog clubs, and they price very differently from a business: their courses in the sample ran $60 to $170, membership included or added on. Without them, a trainer-run obedience course costs $232 at the median (12 businesses).
How we handled dog clubs
We kept the clubs in the headline figures, because they're a real option for owners. But we report the figure without them alongside every number they move. Two clubs also run puppy courses; without them, a puppy school course is $204.50 at the median (40 businesses), barely different from $200.
Clubs that publish no course price at all were left out, like any business that doesn't publish a price.
What moves the price
Who runs it. Vet clinic puppy courses came in $89 below trainers' at the median.
Course length. Courses ran three to seven weeks, and a few classes run 40, 45 or 90 minutes rather than an hour.
What's bundled. Online modules, puppy packs, a free daycare day and a training lead all turned up inside course prices.
First visits. In private training, the consult before the first session is where the biggest prices sit.
We didn't sample enough businesses in any one city to publish city figures, so this guide doesn't compare locations. We capped any one city at six businesses for each service so Sydney or Melbourne couldn't drown out the rest.
What to ask before you pay
Ask how many classes are in the course and how long each one runs. Then divide. Four hour-long classes and six 45-minute ones can carry the same price tag and still be very different courses.
Ask what your puppy needs before the first class. The RSPCA describes a critical socialisation period from about 3 to 12 to 14 weeks of age and recommends reward-based classes (RSPCA Knowledgebase). It also notes that a properly run class in a clean environment doesn't pose a risk to a puppy that isn't fully vaccinated yet (RSPCA Knowledgebase). Each school sets its own entry rules, so check theirs.
For private training, ask whether the price you've been given is the first consult or a standard session.
Looking for a class near you? The Petboost directory lists local trainers and other pet businesses you can search by suburb and book online.
For trainers and puppy school operators: work out your own price
If you run classes, these figures tell you where the market sits. They can't tell you what you need to charge, because that depends on your venue, your class size and how full you actually run.
Our free puppy school pricing calculator does that part. You put in courses per year, seats per class, class nights per course, your average fill rate, venue hire and materials per pup, and it works out what you need to charge per course. It has settings for an independent trainer, a rented venue or a vet-hosted class. A half-full class pays the same hall bill as a full one, which is why fill rate sits in there. Starting out as a trainer? The qualification and the rules are in how to become a dog trainer in Australia.
Then there's taking the enrolments. Petboost is our product, so weigh this accordingly: we make money when trainers use it.
In Petboost, a course template carries one course price per pet for the whole course, a maximum class size and the number of lessons. Switch on self-service booking for a course and owners can enrol online. The booking form shows them the course price next to the number of lessons, which is the per-class sum this guide suggests doing.
When a family needs to swap to the Wednesday class, Move to Another Course pairs every lesson old to new before anything changes, and you choose Send notification or Move silently.
There's no waitlist; when a course fills, you publish another run. The full list of what courses do and don't do is on the group courses page, and how it fits a puppy school is on Petboost for puppy school. Plans are on the pricing page, and you can book a demo to see a course set up end to end.
If you're buying or selling a school rather than pricing one, the guide to buying a puppy school business covers the vet referral side. And the trainer's kit list covers what goes in the boot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is puppy school in Australia?
About $200 for a full course at the median, from 42 published prices read on 9 October 2026. The range ran from $90 to $360. Vet clinics sit around $150 and trainers around $239.
How many weeks is puppy school?
Usually four. Of the 37 courses that publish a week count, 21 run four weeks and 10 run five. Most classes that state a length run an hour.
Is puppy school cheaper at the vet?
Usually, yes. Vet clinic courses had a median of $150 (13 clinics), against $239 for trainer-run courses (29 trainers). Per class, that's about $32.50 at a vet and $50 with a trainer.
How much does a private dog training session cost?
About $162.50 for a standard session, from 26 trainers. Count first-visit consults as well and the median is $175 across 33 businesses. Many trainers charge more for the first visit, from $180 to $440 in this sample.
How much does a group dog training course cost?
A group obedience course for dogs past puppy school costs $185 at the median across 16 businesses, usually over four weeks. Volunteer dog clubs pull that down; without them it's $232.
Do these prices include GST?
They're the prices the businesses publish to the public. Australian consumer prices include GST unless they say otherwise, and none of the prices we used was quoted ex-GST.
Sources
Petboost published price sample: 91 prices from Australian dog trainers, puppy schools, vet clinics and volunteer dog clubs, each read on the business's own website on 9 October 2026. Units: one full puppy school course for one puppy (42 businesses, NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, ACT and Tas); one private training session for one dog, lowest standard single session, with consult-only prices flagged (33 businesses, NSW, Qld, Vic, WA, SA and Tas); one group obedience course for dogs past puppy school (16 businesses, Qld, Vic, WA, NSW, ACT, SA and NT). Businesses were found through map searches of suburbs, capital cities and regional centres across every state and territory, starting from an August 2026 sweep and topped up on 9 October. A business that publishes no price, sells only packages, or sells only online, board-and-train or drop-in classes was left out with a recorded reason. No more than six businesses from any one city per service. Medians, never averages. Per-class figures are course price divided by number of classes. Volunteer dog clubs are included and also reported separately. Businesses are not named and no Petboost customer data was used.
