About Dharma Dog NYC

Dharma Dog NYC is run by Alison Buehler from 1221 Newkirk Avenue in Ditmas Park, and it is one of the few Brooklyn practices built around a single hard problem: dogs who cannot be left alone.

The separation-anxiety specialism

The site opens on it directly – a dog barking, crying and destroying things when the owner walks out the door – and offers gentle, evidence-based training to help the dog feel safe when alone. Alison holds the CSAT designation, a specialty certification for exactly this work, and because the protocol is run remotely by design she takes separation-anxiety clients worldwide over Zoom.

The rest of the practice

Alongside that she offers private sessions, day training, group classes and packages, working on reactivity, basic manners, puppy foundations and complex behavioral issues. In-person sessions are traveled to across central Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. The site also runs a free weekly Q and A, 'Ask the Trainer', on Saturday mornings with the team from PumpkinPups Dog Training.

Credentials and background

Alison has been working in dog behavior since 2015 and lists CPDT-KA and CSAT alongside Family Dog Mediator, which the site explains as further study in applied ethology, and Fear Free Certified Professional. She is an approved evaluator for the AKC's Canine Good Citizen title and an online faculty advisor for the Victoria Stilwell Academy, helping new trainers learn science-based training. Her stated commitment is to the most ethical force-free means available.

Where she came from

The site records per diem work as a Behavior Counselor for the ASPCA, and a 2015 program on Rikers Island teaching residents there about positive reinforcement dog training. Her interest began with a greyhound rescue named Bella; she lives in Brooklyn with a Galgo rescue named River.