TidyCal for dog trainers
Know it is a 70-pound doodle who jumps before you ring the bell
A setup for a trainer who does in-home sessions and a Saturday puppy class: questions about the dog up front, travel time built in, and payment before you get in the car.
Free plan with no time limit. No card needed.
TidyCal is the best scheduling app for dog trainers who charge for their time. Clients pay when they book, with packages and subscriptions on the Free plan, and Individual Lifetime is $29 once. Pick Square Appointments if you work from a storefront and already take payments with Square, and Acuity Scheduling if you sell gift certificates or run a waitlist.
Always ask about bite history on the booking form. Not because most dogs have one, but because the one time it matters, you want to know before you walk in.
The 4 best scheduling apps for dog trainers
I make TidyCal, so it's listed first. Each tool below says what it does better than us.
| # | Tool | Best for | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TidyCal Best value | Solo pros who charge for their time | $29 once |
| 2 | Square Appointments | In-person services already on Square | Free for solo pros |
| 3 | Acuity Scheduling | Appointment businesses with intake forms | $20/mo |
| 4 | Calendly | Sales teams on Salesforce or HubSpot | $10/seat/mo |
01
Best value
Best for: solo pros who charge for their time
- Price
- Free plan. Individual Lifetime is $29 once. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year.
Free plan with paid bookings, packages and subscriptions. $29 once if you want more.
02
Square Appointments
Best for: in-person services already on Square
- Price
- A free plan for solo professionals. Paid plans on Square's pricing page.
Built for in-person services with Square at the counter. Less suited to online calls.
03
Best for: appointment businesses with intake forms
- Price
- No free plan, a 7-day trial. Starter is $20 a month ($16 billed yearly).
Strong intake forms, gift certificates and a waitlist. No free plan, from $20 a month.
04
Best for: sales teams on Salesforce or HubSpot
- Price
- $10 per seat a month on Standard, billed yearly ($12 monthly). The free plan is one event type.
Familiar to clients. The free plan is one event type and payments need Standard at $10 per seat a month.
Four booking types
Here is how an in-home trainer might set it up. "Good Boy" is made up; the prices are typical for a suburban trainer. Use yours.
| Booking type | Length | Price | Type | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free phone consult | 15 min | Free | Free | What is going on, and which option fits. |
| In-home training session | 60 min | $110 | Paid | 45-minute buffer for the drive. |
| 4-session pack | 60 min | $100 per session | Package | 4 × $100 = $400. Behavior change takes a few visits. |
| Saturday puppy class | 60 min | $30 | Group, 8 seats | Puppies 10 to 20 weeks. Park pavilion, 9am. |
Example prices. Charge what you charge.
Questions about the dog
The consult asks two. The in-home session asks three, including the address.
- Dog's name, age and breed On: Free phone consult
- What do you want help with? (Pulling on leash / Jumping / Barking / Reactivity / Puppy basics / Other) On: Free phone consult
- Home address On: In-home training session
- Dog's name, age and breed On: In-home training session
- Any bite history? (No / Yes, I will explain on arrival) On: In-home training session
The checkbox on the consult is the quickest way to know if this is a leash-pulling puppy or a reactivity case that needs a different plan.
A typical week
- Monday to Friday
- In-home sessions. The 45-minute buffer after each one covers the drive across town.
- Tuesday night
- An owner books a phone consult after the dog ate a couch cushion. The form tells you it is a 7-month-old lab.
- Wednesday
- Consult call. They buy the 4-session pack and pick four Thursdays.
- Saturday 9am
- Puppy class at the park. 8 puppies max, so you can actually watch all of them.
How a trainer actually uses it
The link goes on the van, the website and the business card. Owners book the free phone consult, usually right after the dog does something memorable.
On the call you pick the plan: puppy class, a 4-session pack, or both. You text them the right link while you are still on the phone.
The in-home form gives you the address and the bite-history answer before you ever get in the car. The 45-minute buffer means the route works.
Settings
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer | 45 minutes after in-home sessions | Drive time. Nobody can book into it. |
| Seats | 8 on puppy class (Lifetime and Pro) | More than 8 puppies is chaos. |
| Cancellation fee | Half the session inside 24 hours (Lifetime and Pro) | You already planned the route. |
| Reminders | 24 hours and 1 hour before (default) | On for every plan. |
Also useful
Packages
Most behavior work takes a few visits. Sell the pack; the owner picks dates and pays once.
Free planRatings and reviews
Owners can rate a session afterward, and you can show reviews on your booking page.
Free planDigital storefront
Sell a "first week with your puppy" PDF next to your classes.
Free planWhat TidyCal costs
Free, $0
Most of the setup above. Group classes, approvals, cancellation fees, booking limits and automatic video links need a paid plan. Not a trial.
Individual Lifetime, $29 once
Pay one time through AppSumo. Adds group bookings, custom reminders, automatic Zoom and Google Meet links, and 10 calendars.
Pro, $12/mo or $99/yr
All of it, with no TidyCal branding, unlimited calendars and team scheduling with no seat fees.
Stripe and PayPal charge their usual processing fees on paid bookings. On the Free plan, Stripe bookings also carry a 1% TidyCal platform fee. See payment fee details. Compare every plan.
How we checked
Every competitor price comes from that company's own pricing page, read on September 30, 2026, at the billing period shown next to it. Tools with no published price we could verify carry no dollar figure. The ranking is for dog trainers who take bookings and charge for some of them. Nobody paid to be on this list. TidyCal's prices come straight from the plans we sell, so they match what you will pay, and the 1% platform fee on Stripe bookings is the live rate.
Questions dog trainers ask us
Can I ask about the dog before the session?
Yes. Add intake questions to any booking type: the dog's name, age, breed, bite history and what the owner wants help with. Answers come with the booking.
Can I run group classes like puppy class?
Yes, on the Lifetime and Pro plans. Group bookings let several owners book the same class, up to the number of spots you set.
Can I leave travel time between home visits?
Yes. Add buffer time to a booking type and TidyCal blocks those minutes between bookings, so nobody books into your drive.
What does TidyCal cost?
The Free plan is $0 with unlimited booking types and bookings. Individual Lifetime is $29 one time and adds group bookings. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year.
Can I run classes at a park or a rented field?
Yes. Put the address in the class location. Every owner gets it in the confirmation and the reminders.
Keep reading
Copy this setup in about 10 minutes
Make the booking types above, paste your questions in, share the link. Free to start.
Create your free booking pageNo credit card. Upgrade only if you need to.