DOG TRAINING ELITE

About Us

Meet the owner Matt Willis. He grew up in Texas and began training the family dogs at an early age. Raised in a hunting family, he learned retrieving, tracking and training field dogs. ''I always wanted to work with animals as a career but it just didnt happen for me.'' After 20 years in a different industry, the opportunity finally came. ''I sold my business and decided it was time to do something I'm passionate about. I love dogs and the special bond they bring to complete a family, but they must understand our expectations and boundaries. We cannot create sharp obedience unless we communicate a clear and concise message to the dog. Thats where DTE connects the dots for you and your pup.''

After starting Dog Training Elite St.Louis in 2020, Matt expanded his canine education in other areas such as advanced off-leash obedience, service and therapy training, personal protection and internal & external scent detection. Now he passes this knowledge on to his trainers. ''All of my trainers come from different backgrounds in the industry. Some have gone through prestigious training academys, others worked their way up through rescue centers. But regardless of their initial experience, we cross train every team member to understand every aspect of training to provide you with the best guidance possible.''

After 7 years and thousands of dogs trained, Dog Training Elite is ready to help you and your family build a better relationship with your furry friends. Our approach is about educating the client just as much as training the dog. We offer a slower paced in-home program where we all train together in your environment, or a more immersive facility day train program where our trainers do more of the heavy lifting for you. Same commands, same goals; just a different approach. We want to tailor the right program for both the dog and the client. Once the more focused initial training is complete, it's time to move into group classes, which are included with all of our programs. These classes are more distracting with up to 24 dogs and their handlers working together. The clients learn quite a bit about their dogs and themselves as they take the lead in this new environment. DTE believes it takes a village to reach your goals. Our staff and all of our clients work together to bring out the best in your pup.