About Old Salem Kennel, Inc.

What they do

Old Salem Kennel offers three training lines – obedience, gundog and truffle dog training – plus limited boarding for approved clients. The kennel states it was founded in 1996 and has stayed deliberately small, with enrollment limited so that each dog gets daily focused sessions and individual progress tracking.

Method

The training philosophy is set out as clarity before pressure: "Training doesn't begin with correction. It begins with clarity." The kennel's position is that confusion, not stubbornness, is at the root of most training problems, so structure comes before pressure and repetition is used to build understanding rather than force compliance. There are no group classes; dogs are trained one-to-one even when other dogs are present in structured setups, and owners are invited into training when schedules allow so they can maintain the work afterwards.

Where they work

The kennel is in Oconee County and names Watkinsville, Athens, Bishop, Bogart, Madison and the Lake Oconee area as the communities it serves. It operates appointment-only.