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Life is better when you experience it together.

Thoughtful dog training for people who want a true partnership with their dog, at home, outdoors, and everywhere in between.

Certified professional dog training services in the Central Adirondack Region—and everywhere online.

Start Your Journey
  • MISSION

Your dog is not a problem to fix. They are a partner to know
and admire.

Training with me is not just about behavior. It is about skills, partnership, communication, and trust.

Living with a dog means sharing your days, your routines, and your adventures. Morning walks, quiet evenings, new places, familiar trails, and the small moments in between. When behavior feels hard, that sense of partnership can start to feel strained, and the life you imagined together can feel just out
of reach.

Most behavior challenges are not about disobedience. They might come from a gap in the dog’s knowledge or understanding. They might come from stress, overwhelm, or a nervous system struggling to make sense of a human world that moves fast and asks a lot.

I help you learn to see your dog for who they truly are, not as a problem to fix...

But as an individual with their own emotions, strengths, and ways of experiencing the world. When your dog feels safe and understood, they can relax into learning, connection, and curiosity. Life together becomes easier, richer, and more fun.

This work is about more than better behavior.
It is about building a life you and your dog can enjoy together.

See How I Can Help
  • SERVICES

Build a life you and your dog can truly enjoy.

Support for every stage of your life together. Wherever you are in your journey, you do not have to navigate it alone.
Puppy Foundations
Set the foundation for a lifetime of confidence, exploration, and connection.
Adolescent Dog Manners & Life Skills
Support your growing dog through big emotions, new independence, and changing needs.
Reactive Dog Classes
Thoughtful, individualized support for dogs who find the world overwhelming.
Private One to One Training
Personalized guidance focused on how you and your dog live, learn, and move through life together.
Woodland Walks
Curated, supervised walks that allow dogs to learn, regulate, and experience the world more fully.
Day Training
Hands on training support that helps your dog build skills while staying connected to real life.
  • your guide

Meet Doreen

Canine behavior specialist, certified professional dog trainer, and lifelong partner to dogs.

I am Doreen, and I help dogs and their humans build lives rooted in understanding, trust, and shared joy.

I came to this work many years ago through my own dog

I am known for being warm, deeply insightful, and keenly observant. In addition to teaching a wide variety of skills, I help people see their dog more clearly and learn how to respond in ways that support confidence, curiosity, and connection.

The ADK-Nine experience: We focus on emotional safety as the foundation for learning; clear communication over control coercion; and cooperation instead of compliance. We look at behavior through the lens of the individual—considering your dog’s unique combination of learning history, their home environment, their genetics, their preferences and their life stage.

Learn More About Doreen
  • Client Stories

Support for every stage of your life together. Wherever you are in your journey, you do not have to navigate it alone.

And the words I treasure most
“My dog trusts Doreen.”

“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

Trusted Certifications & Memberships

  • Our Approach

The ADKnine Experience

Training that supports the relationship, not just the outcome.

Every dog experiences the world through their own nervous system, history, and senses. Training at ADKnine begins by honoring that individuality. We focus on emotional safety as the foundation for learning, clear communication over control, and cooperation instead of compliance. We look at behavior through the lens of the nervous system and lived experience.



This approach creates more than well mannered dogs. It creates partnerships. Dogs who feel safe exploring the world with their people. Humans who feel confident guiding, supporting, and enjoying life alongside their dog.

What It Is Like to Work Together
  • GALLERY

Life looks different when you see it together.

Shared trails, shared learning, shared joy.
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