Stonnie Dennis Training Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler, German Shepherd

Real-World Dog Training & Boarding

We raise calm, attentive, polite dogs that can live in the real world — not just perform in a quiet room.

Stonnie Dennis Dog Training & Boarding is a family-run working kennel in Winchester, Kentucky.

For 30+ years we have trained dogs the same way we live with them: on land, in packs, through work, physically demanding activities, and repetition. No green screens. No trendy talking-head routines. Just daily work with our mentor dogs and guests.

If you want a companion that can settle at a soccer game, walk politely through town, go on off leash adventures, has great house manners, and make better decisions without being micromanaged, this is the system.

30+ years of training • 305,000+ YouTube subscribers • 200+ five-star reviews • Family-Owned

How We’re Different

Most dog training approaches are based on reactions to problems.

Our system is completely different. We focus on building core obedience and socialization skills that keep dogs doing the right things so owners don’t have to worry about reacting to one misbehavior after another.

Our job is to remove the impediments that keep a dog from being fully included in an active household. Our whole basic obedience training and socialization approach is built around the idea that dogs should be happy, healthy, and well mannered companions who do not need to be constantly supervised.

The Method

1. Activity Based Learning

Our whole program revolves around the idea that the best kind of learning is learning by doing. Our days are full of mentally and physically challenging activities designed to help dogs realize their full potential by stressing rock sold basic obedience training and positive peer group socialization.

2. Mentor dogs

Younger and reactive dogs learn from calm, experienced mentor dogs. Novice trainers also learn from interacting with calm, experienced mentor dogs. We make sure both dogs and handlers get plenty of experience with our whole mentor crew!

3. Real environments

We train on acres of trails, creek, brush, hills, and everyday life. The world is the classroom. If a dog only listens in the kitchen, or when no one is around, it is not ready to be fully integrated into daily activities.

Services

Board & Train

Selective, multi-week in-kennel programs. Dogs are immersed in the daily rhythm of the kennel, structured pack training sessions, and real lifestyle situations.

Flagship 28-day program: $4,000.

Online Coaching

A year-long program for owners who will do the work at home. Stonnie shares a complete amateur dog training video library and an online training journal. You follow along with the instructional videos, documenting your experiences in your journal. Stonnie monitors the journal and provides feedback as the puppy matures through each developmental stage.

Puppy-through-adulthood online program: $1,500.