About me as a Dog Trainer

Hi, my name’s Brian Luce and I’m the owner of Island Dog Training. I was born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard and have been helping families and their dogs since 2017. I got my start as a dog trainer by traveling across the united states shadowing as many trainers as I could. After many years of working under other trainers I moved back to Martha’s Vineyard and started my own business because I wanted to train dogs in a way I wasn’t seeing anywhere else.

My style of training works because I focus on working with you and your dog throughout the entire training process. I personalize all my training approaches based off of your needs and your dogs needs. I do not train the same way for each dog because every dog learns differently. I believe in involving and educating you as much as possible throughout our time together in hopes that I can help create a lasting skillset for you that will help all dogs you may own in your life.

I believe in teaching people how to understand their dogs and how they think than just teaching them to become “obedient”. I love working with people just as much as I love working with dogs so I focus on being an educator to both. My method is to always include you and achieve your goals at your own pace. My goal is to get you and your dog prepared for real world scenarios. This is the exact reason why I do not own a facility and instead I bring dogs all over the Vineyard for training.

When you become a client of mine my goal is never to “finish” and move on to the next dog but rather to create lasting relationships that will extend through your dogs entire life. This is why I provide more opportunities to grow and practice your training skills even after we complete our lessons.

Programs I offer include:

Private Lessons: Personalized dog training lessons for you and your family. Each lesson is suited towards you & your dogs exact needs and goals. We will do our lessons wherever your issues are taking place, this could be in home, on walks, out in public, etc.

Group Classes: Fun obedience classes held weekly at the park in Oak Bluffs. Group Classes give you a chance to socialize your dog in a safe and controlled environment while learning new skills every class. Classes are drop-in style and every week will cover 1-3 different behaviors to learn & practice with your dog.

Puppy Program: A series of 8 lessons covering everything you need to know about raising a puppy. These are held inside your home & areas they will spend the most time in. Puppies do not need a “puppy class” or group class to socialize as they tend to curate an environment of excitement and overstimulation. Proper socialization with dogs & humans are covered in the 8 weeks and we will go over how to do it properly together.

Off Leash Program: In this program I work with your dog daily to help improve their recall immensely. This program is a mixture of Day Training & Private Lessons with you since you are the most important part of teaching and maintaining your dogs recall.

Leash Walking Program: This program is designed specifically for dogs who are strong pullers or reactive on leash. To achieve the best & most lasting results I will work with your dog daily until their behavior is significantly improved and then we will do private lessons until you are comfortable walking them in most environments.

Group Walks: A weekly group class focusing on leash walking and improving leash skills around other dogs. These walks will be held at various locations around the island to help with exposure & socialization.

Immersive Training Program: A mix between Private Lessons and Day Training. For 5 days a week I will either pickup and work with your dog or do Private Lessons with you in whatever environment they are struggling in. This program is offered for 2-4 week periods and is my most effective program.

I offer services to all dogs on Island. From puppy training to advanced dog training, reactive dogs to extremely fearful dogs. Towns I service include: Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah and Falmouth on special occasions.

Book Now