About K-9’s Best Friend

K-9's Best Friend is Frank Cahill's in-home practice, based at 194 Erik Drive in East Setauket and billed on his own site as 'Frank Cahill – Your Long Island Dog Trainer', a 'Certified Master Dog Trainer'.

How it works

There is no training hall. The model is that the trainer comes to you, and the site illustrates the range with real place names rather than a county boundary: 'Long Island dog training brought to your home. For example, I travel to Great Neck, Greenport, The Hamptons, Valley Stream and everywhere in-between. I'll travel to your home anywhere in Nassau or Suffolk.' For owners in the North Shore villages around Setauket, Stony Brook and Port Jefferson, that means training happens in the actual house and street where the behavior needs to work.

What is covered

The stated specialisms are broader than most in-home trainers publish: 'I specialize in dog and puppy obedience training, service animal training, housebreaking, behavior modification and problem solving.' Service-animal training in particular is a distinct discipline and is rarely offered by a solo in-home trainer in this part of Suffolk.

The CGC credential

Cahill states that he is an AKC Approved Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, and explains what that is: the CGC is 'a wonderful course created by the AKC in 1989', and 'one benefit is that it lays the foundation for other AKC sports and activities'. Practically, it means an owner can take the test with the same person who prepared the dog for it, without finding an outside evaluator – useful if the goal is therapy-dog work later, or simply a recognized standard to train toward.

Presentation

The site keeps a graduates page and makes something of the finish – 'Your dog will graduate with all of the fanfare called for. I take great pride in my Long Island dog training graduates.' A blog, testimonials and Facebook, Instagram and Yelp links round it out. Contact is on 631-617-4995.