About Nebraska Dog Trainers

Training in La Vista

Nebraska Dog Trainers runs its Omaha Training Center at 10620 Chandler Rd. in La Vista, with a second training center in Lincoln. The company offers free phone consultations and works with dogs of all ages and breeds on basic obedience (sit, down, stay), advanced obedience (place, heel, no/off), reactivity and aggression, and everyday manners such as leash pulling, counter surfing, obsessive barking, jumping up, door darting and jumping into the car.

A three-phase method

Training follows a three-phase process. Show & Tell teaches exercises and commands with lots of positive reinforcement: food, treats, toys and praise. Practice & Accountability adds longer durations, motion, distance from the handler and tempting distractions. Exposure & Habit takes the work into new situations and public spaces so obedience becomes a habit in any setting.

The team

Founder and owner Lesley Thompson has fostered, groomed and trained dogs on a volunteer basis since 2002 and opened Nebraska Dog Trainers in 2015. Michele, owner of the Lincoln location and a partner in Omaha, holds a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science with a Companion Animal Focus from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Omaha team also includes trainers Shyra, Roberta and Mikaela.

What owners say

One client wrote: "Our dog is now calm and controlled when he needs to be and our family is enjoying him so much more."