What Is Dog Training Insurance?

Dog trainer insurance helps protect you against claims related to the daily running of your business. For instance, it can cover damages and defense costs arising from a legal claim due to bodily and property damage. A Pet Care Insurance (PCI) policy does this through coverages such as: Pet Protection (Animal bailee): Coverage for expenses in the event that you are legally liable for injuries sustained by a dog under your care or custody. This also includes the death, theft, or disappearance of a dog in your care. General liability: Coverage for injury or damage claims caused by your dog training business. Veterinarian reimbursement: Coverage for expenses incurred by veterinary care for dogs under your care.

Do I Need Dog Training Insurance?

The short answer? Yes! While there are no state requirements or mandates for liability insurance for dog trainers, it is always best to carry small business insurance for any practice. Even the most experienced dog trainers have things go awry. The right insurance policy makes sure both you and your staff members are financially protected. From owners or dogs getting bitten to general injuries and even property damage, you could be held liable for it all. Having dog trainer insurance coverage is the responsible thing to do to keep your business out of financial trouble. Dog training liability insurance also differentiates you from your competition and helps prospective clients trust you more with their pets. We encourage you to purchase insurance from PCI and promote it as an added benefit for owners looking for someone to trust with their dog’s training. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

How Much Is Dog Training Insurance?

Buying a policy from PCI is simple with our no-quote process. Our basic dog training liability insurance policy is $259/year. From there, you can choose other options to add on at an additional premium. Two popular add-on options include: Employee dishonesty coverage: This is similar coverage to bonding, and covers the loss or damage of property due to an employee’s theft. Tools and equipment coverage: This add-on to your base dog trainer insurance policy reimburses you for stolen or damaged tools and gear, such as leashes, crates, treats, or toys.

What are the Benefits of Dog Training Insurance?

Besides protecting you against legal claims from running your business, liability insurance for dog trainers has a few additional benefits: Increases trust between you and your clients and can set you apart from competitors Covers equipment and property at your place of work Ensures your employees are covered, which can help to recruit strong candidates

What Is Covered with Dog Trainer Insurance?

Dog training is an exciting business because there are so many options! We know that many dog trainers go beyond “sit, stay, and come” and offer specialized training. So, we crafted our insurance for your dog training business policy to match! Here are other types of training that can be included in your liability insurance for dog trainers: Dog Obedience Puppy Potty Training Crate Training Bite Inhibition Dog Agility Training Curbing Jumping Leash Training Socialization If you have any specific questions about the training you provide, you can always contact our customer service team. If you provide many types of training, you only need to purchase one policy for many different facets of your business. Our dog training insurance excludes training of service, medical, guard, protection, attack, fighting, and police dogs.

What Are Common Dog Trainer Insurance Claims?

Legal claims against your dog training business may seem daunting and scary when you are starting out or facing your first lawsuit. It’s a good idea to be familiar with common claims dog trainers face as they work with untrained or high-spirited dogs. Here are some typical claims you may encounter: Injury: There are many different ways dogs can be injured while in your care. This can be from socialization training when you are working with different dogs at a time. Agility training, when not done correctly, can also cause injury and result in medical bills for injuries sustained. Even in bite inhibition training, there are risks for your clients and their pets. Injuries sustained by humans or dogs at your training appointments may be covered by your liability insurance for dog trainers. Damage: Caring for dogs that are not well-trained can result in property damage. This can happen whether you’re training at your facility or within a client’s home. Make sure you work in a clean and safe environment for all types of training, taking extra precautions when necessary. Loss: While not common, there are claims when a pet in your care goes missing during your training. This could happen if they escape from their leash and run off or—even less common—if they’re stolen during training. Be careful and aware of your surroundings at all times. Their owners love them and are entrusting you with their care and training! Accidental Death: Lastly, if a death occurs during or due to your training business practices, you can be held liable by the owner. These claims are especially heart-wrenching and nobody wants to be responsible for the death of a pet. You never know when an accident may occur so it’s important to get covered with dog training liability insurance to protect your business from injury, damage, loss, and death.

What Is Employee Dishonesty Insurance?

This additional coverage to your dog trainer insurance policy is designed for those who hire employees. An employee dishonesty insurance policy is similar to the process of employee bonding. It’s designed for the loss of or damage to property directly resulting from theft by an identified employee working for your business. This could be theft from either you as the owner or a client of yours. There are two facets to employee dishonesty coverage that are important for your dog training business: It protects your own business and assets from employee theft, whether the employee is identified to be acting alone or in collusion with others. It provides protection for any claims of theft or dishonesty a client may make against your business. The coverage extends from property to money or securities owned by your client. This option provides up to $10,000 per occurrence, or $25,000 per policy term (one year). Easily purchase employee dishonesty insurance for $59/ year by choosing to customize your policy at the time of purchase.

What Type of Dog Trainer Insurance Do I Need?

The best type of insurance for your business is general liability insurance. This coverage may cover the cost of claims that your dog training business caused injury or damage to someone else’s property. This policy starts at $21.58 per month. Beyond that, you can customize your dog training insurance policy to meet your specific needs. Here are some additional coverages that you can add as options to your general liability policy: Tools & Equipment Coverage: Coverage for the tools and gear that you buy to keep your client happy or to help with training. It can reimburse you if your stuff is stolen or damaged—included items are leashes, crates, treats, toys, and more! Extended Animal Bailee: If you feel that $5,000 is not enough to cover a claim that may happen to a dog in your care or to the properties you work at, you may want to opt for higher limits on coverage. Broadened Property Damage: If you are most concerned with the claims relating to the personal property of your clients if you are dog training in their home, you may choose to increase your coverage for property damage. Increasing this will increase your claim ceiling up to $10,000 per occurrence for property damage claims. The best part about our liability insurance is that you can customize it to suit your needs and personal risk. If you need someone to make a recommendation or help you understand coverages, call our customer service team!

How Do the Pet Protection (Animal Bailee) and Veterinary Expense Reimbursement Work?

Pet Protection & Animal Bailee and Vet Reimbursement work hand in hand on your policy. When a claim occurs involving an accident, injury, or sickness of an animal in your care, custody, or control, the first coverage to respond from your policy is Vet Reimbursement. This means you will be insured for up to $1,000 for this incident. (Remember there is a $250 deductible for this coverage). If the claim you have submitted exceeds the $1,000 per occurrence limit, then Animal Bailee coverage will kick in. This can insure up to $2,500 more for the incident or claim unless you opted to increase the coverage to $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 per occurrence. What ends up being paid out will be deducted from the aggregate limits on both coverages, but it protects your business financially to allow you to keep doing what you love!

Dog Trainer Insurance

Protect your sessions and the dogs you champion with dog training insurance.

Dog Training Business Insurance for Wherever You Train

Between group classes, puppy socials, board-and-train, and in-home sessions, you go wherever dogs and clients need you. So should your insurance coverage. Pet Care Insurance (PCI) provides dog trainer insurance to support the day-to-day needs of pet behavior work and running your business.

Property Damage and Harm to Others

$2M of general liability coverage for pricey claims and lawsuits

Pet Accidents and Injuries

Pet Protection Coverage shields you and pets in your care, custody, and control

Emergency Vet Care

Veterinarian Reimbursement lets you get pets the help they need right now

Lost Keys

Lost Key Liability pays when you get locked out or lose a client’s key

Get reliable coverage that comes when you call and get back to making a difference, worry-free.

Buy Online in 10 Minutes or Less

Downloadable Certificate at Checkout

Employee Dishonesty Coverage (Similar to Bonding)

Trusted by Over 3,000 Pet Care Businesses

Because Even Good Dogs Have Bad Days

From dog-on-dog scuffles to client injuries, accidents can happen to even the most prepared trainer. While you do your part with expert behavior management, PCI does the rest. Here’s how we’ve helped real dog trainers like you when things went wrong.

Fight between dogs during group training
$2,284

Covered.

Dog damaged client’s carpet during an in-home session
$609

Covered.

Dogs collided during a training exercise
$2,500

Covered.

Dogs collided during a training exercise
$2,500

Covered.

Dog bit a visitor to the training facility
$7,767

Covered.

Board-and-train dogs caught an airborne virus
$12,429

Covered.

Dog Training Insurance Explained

What Is Dog Trainer Insurance?

Professional dog trainer insurance is business coverage designed to protect you from expensive claims and lawsuits if your training harms someone else, their pet, or their property. PCI includes these key coverages, making it quick and easy to protect pets and the business you’ve built.

General Liability Insurance: Covers bodily injury and property damage to others, marketing mistakes, and fire damage to rental spaces.

Great for: damage during off-site training, client facility visits, and bites to people

“Duke suddenly yanked on his leash during a private session with me and his owner. The owner fell and sprained their wrist.”

Pet Protection Coverage (Animal Bailee): Covers costs due to the injury, loss, sickness, or death of an animal in your care, custody, or control.

Great for: dog-on-dog injuries, board-and-train risks, and training mishaps

“Peanut got a little too close to Roxy, who is working on anxiety, during a group session. Roxy bit her on the ear.”

Veterinarian Reimbursement: Helps pay you back for emergency vet bills if a dog gets hurt during training and needs immediate care.

Great for: group sessions, senior and high-energy pets, pet health emergencies

“Tucker got overstimulated during a puppy social and slipped on a mat, injuring his paw. I rushed him to the vet and had to pick up the $900 bill.”

Lost Key Liability Coverage: Covers the cost of rekeying a client’s home if you lose their key or get locked out.

Great for: in-home sessions and pet taxi services

“The client’s key fell out of my bag during an off-site behavior session. They requested immediate lock replacement for safety.”

Who Needs Dog Training Liability Insurance?

If you train dogs for pay, pet trainer insurance is for you. Any PCI policy covers teaching basic commands like sit and stay, but more complex training and behavior work requires specialized protection. Pet professionals like these should consider a dog trainer policy:

Obedience trainers
Puppy trainers
Behavior specialists
Group training instructors
Board-and-train facility owners
In-home training providers
Any dog trainer who offers hands-on guidance or behavior modification

How Much Does Dog Training Insurance Cost?

Insurance for dog trainers starts at just $26.10/month or $292.20/year with PCI. That gives you all the essential protections any trainer would use. But just like every dog needs a unique training plan, you need custom coverage to fit what makes you stand out as a trainer. That’s why we offer these optional add-ons to personalize or expand your protection. Just add what you need and leave what you don’t:

Workers Compensation Coverage: free quote available For trainers with employees
Broadened Property Damage Coverage: $2.42/month For off-site and in-home trainers
Additional Pet Protection Coverage: $1.99/month Higher limits for bigger businesses
Additional Veterinarian Reimbursement: $3.99/month Higher limits for bigger businesses
Commercial Auto Insurance: free custom quote For trainers with pet taxi services
Equipment & Inventory (Inland Marine) Coverage: three options, starting at $4.08/month For trainers with expensive gear
Employee Dishonesty Coverage: $4.92/month For training businesses with a staff
Additional Insureds: $0.83/month Required by many landlords and training facilities
Cyber Liability Insurance: $6.58/month For online records storage and cybersecurity risks

Are There Things Dog Trainer Liability Insurance Doesn’t Cover?

Like any liability insurance, our dog training insurance can’t cover everything — and we want to make sure you’re getting the right fit for you. Along with our list of exclusions and standard no-gos like harm you did on purpose or anything illegal, we can’t cover these activities:

Boarding more than five pets at once or for longer than 30 days in a row (including overnight stays)
Training for service, guard, protection, attack, or fighting dogs
Practice or participation in any athletic contest, exhibition, activity, game, or sport (like training dogs for an agility competition)
Individual dogs with a proven history of aggression, like a documented bite history or a legal “dangerous dog” designation
Pets you own helping with demos or socialization (though we can get them covered with Pet Health Insurance through our partner, Hartville)

But What About…

We get it, liability insurance for dog trainers can feel complicated. You’re probably also wondering about these things:

PCI doesn’t have any breed restrictions. We care about your safety and evaluation of each dog individually, not about stereotypes.
PCI doesn’t have off-leash training restrictions. Just follow local laws and best practices for safe sessions.
PCI covers group classes and pet-on-pet injuries. Multiple dogs means multiple variables. We support that reality.
PCI doesn’t have any on-site vs off-site restrictions. We keep your business secure wherever you train.
PCI can cover your staff, assistants, or co-trainers. Include your workers in liability coverage with Employee Insurance or Contractor Insurance. For state-specific employee protection, add Workers Compensation.
Yes, you can safely accept most behavior-mod cases. Just get a bite history. Pets with documented bites can’t be covered, but reactive or anxious dogs with a clean record can.

Dog Trainer Insurance Designed for You

Dog training business insurance from PCI is backed by A-rated carriers to help you train with confidence. Click the icons below to see how each part of your policy protects you.

Limits of Insurance

General Liability Coverage

The most your policy will pay in a 12 month policy period for bodily injury and property damage claims that you become legally obligated to pay due to your business services.

Limit per Incident: $1,000,000

Limit per Year: $2,000,000

Animal Liability Limit

The most your policy will pay in a year for bodily injuries and property damage to others because of an animal in your care

Limit per Incident: $100,000

Limit per Year: $200,000

Products-Completed Operations Aggregate Limit

The maximum amount your policy will pay in a 12-month period for bodily injury and property damage claims that result from the products you use to perform your services.

$2,000,000

Personal and Advertising Injury Limit

The amount that your policy will pay for claims arising out of one or more of the following offenses:

False arrest, detention or imprisonment
Malicious prosecution
Wrongful eviction or wrongful entry
Oral or written publications that slander or libel a person or organization
Oral or written publication or material that violates a person’s right of privacy
The use of another’s advertising idea in your advertisement

$1,000,000

Each Occurrence Limit

The maximum your policy will pay for a bodily injury or property damage claim that you become legally obligated to pay due to your business services.

$1,000,000

Damage to Premises Rented to You Limit

Applies to damage by fire to premises rented to the insured; also applies to damage regardless of cause to premises (including contents) occupied by the insured for 7 days or less.

Any One Premises: $100,000

Medical Expense Limit

A general liability coverage that reimburses others, without regard to the insured’s liability, for medical or funeral expenses incurred by such persons as a result of bodily injury or death sustained by accident under the conditions specified in the policy.

Any One Person: $5,000

Pet Protection (Animal Bailee) – Animals in Your Care, Custody, or Control

This provides your pet business with coverage in the event that you are legally liable for injuries or damages sustained by an animal in your care, custody, or control.

Limit per Incident: $2,500

Limit per Year: $5,000

Veterinarian Expense Reimbursement (Regardless of Fault)

This provides coverage for medical expenses—regardless of who is at fault—for a client’s pet in your care, custody, or control.

Limit per Incident: $1,000

Limit per Year: $2,500

Deductible: $250

Lost Key Liability Coverage

If you were to lose the keys to a client’s residence, this coverage could help you manage the cost of installing new locks or having the building rekeyed.

Limit per Incident: $2,000

Limit per Year: $2,000

*Please note these are brief definitions of coverage. Your policy may be more restrictive in its language. Refer to the actual policy for a complete description of coverages and exclusions.

Why Dog Trainers Choose PCI

Business insurers that don’t specialize in pet care often leave out the animal safeguards you need most. PCI gets what real training sessions look like, so we design simple, flexible coverage to help you and dogs succeed.

“Honey knocked over a client’s lamp during a home session.”

Broadened property damage covers damage you or pets in your care do to a client’s belongings.

“Rebel got Lyme disease from a tick bite during our walk. Her owners want me to pay the vet bills.”

Pet Protection helps cover costs for the injury, illness, or death of an animal in your care.

“Barkley started limping after a walk and his leg doesn’t look right. I think it’s serious.”

Veterinarian Reimbursement can pay you back for medical expenses up to $1,000 per accident.

These are the real moments when coverage matters. PCI makes what could be major setbacks manageable so you can keep training with confidence.

PCI specializes in pet care, so our coverage fits the realities of dog training, not a generic small business template. You get protection designed for behavior work, fast online tools, and customer support from friendly, licensed agents who understand the job.

Over 17,000 Pet Professionals Trust PCI

We’re rated 4.9/5 by pet care businesses, because your experience shapes everything we do.

Dog Training Insurance FAQs

What’s covered with Dog Trainer Insurance?

Here are some types of training our dog trainer liability insurance can cover:

Dog obedience
Anxiety, reactivity, and other dog behavioralist training
Puppy potty training
Crate training
Leash training
Socialization
And much more

Have questions about whether a specific client or training plan would be covered? Our licensed support agents are here to help.

Do I need insurance to be a dog trainer?

It’s not legally required, but most dog trainers need liability coverage to work in clients’ homes, train in public areas, rent a space, or run group classes. Without insurance, legal expenses for harm to other people or their pets and property can quickly reach thousands of dollars. Coverage is a safety net so one unexpected moment doesn’t put you out of business.

Do you require specific training tools or methods for coverage?

PCI coverage for dog trainers works with any humane, legally compliant training philosophy, such as force-free, LIMA-based approaches, balanced approaches, and others. We don’t require you to use specific tools or methods to be covered, as long as your practices comply with local laws and industry standards.

What does pet protection (animal bailee) cover?

Pet Protection (also called Animal Bailee Insurance) covers costs you’re legally required to pay for the injury, loss, illness, or death of a pet in your care, custody, or control. Those expenses could include legal and defense fees, claims, medical bills, and more.

Every PCI dog trainer policy includes $2,500 of pet protection coverage per incident, and up to $5,000 per year. If you’re a large training business, you can also add higher limits of $20,000 or $30,000 per year to cover your greater risk.

Is PCI coverage accepted by training facilities and parks?

Yes! PCI’s dog trainer liability insurance is designed to meet standard facility, park, and rental insurance requirements with General Liability Coverage and the option to add additional insureds. Just log in to your user dashboard to add additional insureds or get a copy of your Certificate of Insurance (COI) for instant proof of insurance.

Can I add employees or subcontractors?

Yes. Add our Employee Insurance or Contractor Insurance to your dog handler insurance policy to keep your staff and co-trainers protected. If you’re required to carry Workers Compensation, you can also get coverage through our A-rated partner, the Hartford, and manage your policy all in one place via your PCI dashboard.

How fast can I get a certificate of insurance?

You can get dog trainer insurance and a certificate of insurance (COI) from PCI in 10 minutes or less via our online application. Just fill in the info about your business, add any optional coverage, get your instant quote, and submit your payment details. Once your payment clears, you can download or update your COI instantly 24/7 for fast and easy proof of insurance.