It's Saturday morning in a village hall car park. You have eight puppies on long lines, eight owners holding treats, and a cockapoo who has just discovered the bin. Your phone is in the van. It rings four times during the class: two new puppy owners, someone asking whether you do one-to-ones for a rescue greyhound, and a woman whose dog snapped at her toddler yesterday. An AI receptionist for dog trainers answers those calls. It tells the new owners when the next puppy course starts and what your vaccination rule is, books the one-to-one into a free slot, and passes the behaviour call straight to you with a note to ring back.
This page is for small dog training businesses: a sole trainer running puppy and adolescent classes from a hired hall and field, a training school with two or three instructors and an indoor arena, a behaviour practice that works mainly in clients' homes, or a trainer who also runs a dog walking or day care side of the business. It explains what Klugon's assistant can do for you, the conversations it must leave to you, how to set it up and what it costs.
Why dog trainers miss calls at exactly the wrong time
Dog trainers work when owners don't: evenings, weekends and lunchtimes. That's also when owners are free to ring. Classes take your full attention, and so do home visits, where answering your phone in front of a nervous dog and its owner is not an option. Most trainers end up returning calls in the evening, when they're tired, and the backlog grows every week a new course is advertised.
The cost is easy to see. A puppy owner who has just brought home an eight-week-old spaniel is motivated right now. They search, they ring the first few trainers they find, and they book with whoever answers and has a space on a course that suits the puppy's age. If you ring back on Monday, that puppy may already be booked into another trainer's class. The guide to never missing a customer call covers the general picture. In dog training the window is shorter than most, because puppy socialisation can't wait.
The calls and messages a dog trainer gets
Puppy class enquiries
The biggest group by volume. New owners ask:
- When does the next puppy course start, and how many weeks is it?
- What age does my puppy need to be?
- Has my puppy had enough vaccinations to come?
- Where is it, is it indoors, and is there parking?
- How many puppies are in a class?
- Can the whole family come?
- What should I bring?
- How much is it?
Vaccination questions
These deserve their own heading because they cause the most confusion. Owners ask whether their puppy can start before its second jab, whether a titre test counts, whether you need to see the vaccination card, and whether their puppy can meet your other dogs. Your answer is your own policy, and the assistant should quote it exactly. Questions about the vaccines themselves belong with the owner's vet.
Adolescent and obedience classes
Owners of dogs aged six months to two years asking about recall, loose-lead walking, jumping up and "he used to be good and now he ignores me". Many want to know which level to join.
One-to-one training
Owners who can't make class times, dogs who wouldn't cope in a group, and specific problems like pulling on the lead, recall in the park or settling in a café.
Behaviour consultation requests
Reactivity to other dogs, fear of people, separation problems, resource guarding, and aggression, including bites. These are the calls that most need you, and the ones where a wrong word from anyone else could do harm.
Practical questions from existing clients
"Is class on in this heat?" "Can I bring my other dog?" "I can't make week four, can I catch up?" "Where do we meet for the field session?"
When the phone rings
- Weekday mornings: owners at home with a new puppy, often anxious.
- Lunchtimes: owners at work, ringing from the car.
- Evenings, 6pm to 9pm: your class time and the main time owners call or message.
- Saturday and Sunday mornings: classes again, and lots of messages from owners after a difficult walk.
- Late evenings: website chat and messages after the puppy's gone to bed.
The dog training year
- January and February: the post-Christmas puppy wave. Puppies bought or given over the holidays reach class age, and demand for puppy courses peaks.
- Spring: a second wave as breeders' spring litters go home.
- Summer: outdoor classes at their best, and hot-weather cancellations. Owners ask whether sessions are going ahead on very warm days.
- October and November: fireworks season. Enquiries about noise-sensitive dogs climb before Bonfire Night and New Year.
- December: quieter for classes; owners book courses ahead for a new puppy arriving after Christmas.
What an AI receptionist for dog trainers handles
Klugon's assistant works on your phone, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and the chat box on your website. Here is what it does for a training business today.
Explaining your courses and booking what can be booked
Klugon has a built-in booking calendar. You set your working hours, your services, their lengths and which trainer delivers each one, and the assistant books only into free slots. Conflicts are checked per trainer.
The calendar books one appointment per trainer per slot. That makes it a good fit for individual sessions:
- One-to-one training session: 60 minutes, at your field or the client's home.
- Puppy home visit: 90 minutes, for owners who want help before the puppy can join class.
- Pre-course assessment for adolescent class: 20 minutes, to check the dog will cope in a group.
- Behaviour discovery call: 20 minutes by phone, so you can decide whether to take the case.
It does not manage spaces in a group course. For puppy and adolescent classes, the assistant explains the course from your documents, says which start dates have spaces if you keep that information current, and takes the owner's details as a lead so you can confirm the place and take payment your usual way.
Use a buffer after home visits to cover travel time, a minimum notice period, and closed dates for holidays and show weekends. When the assistant books, the client gets a reference in the conversation. Klugon doesn't send confirmations or reminders afterwards. On messaging channels and chat, the client can move or cancel a booking; on the phone, the assistant can cancel but not move one.
Answering from your class rules
Upload or paste your information:
- course dates, venues and times
- prices, what's included, and your refund and missed-session policy
- minimum and maximum ages for each class
- your vaccination policy, word for word
- what to bring (flat collar or harness, a lead of a certain length, high-value treats, a mat)
- your hot-weather and bad-weather policy
- your training approach and qualifications
The assistant can also read your website's homepage and up to seven key pages. When a question isn't covered, it says so and takes the details, and the insights page lists it so you can write an answer.
Vaccination rules: quoting your policy, not giving advice
This is the most important instruction in your setup. Write your policy in one clear paragraph, for example: "Puppies can join class from one week after their first vaccination, provided the vet has confirmed it. We need to see the vaccination card at the first session. Puppies must not be walked on the ground at the venue before their course is complete; carry them in."
The assistant quotes that policy. It does not:
- say whether a particular puppy is protected
- advise on vaccine schedules, titre tests or boosters
- say whether it's safe for the puppy to go somewhere else
For any of those, it tells the owner to check with their vet. That keeps you out of veterinary advice and keeps the answer consistent.
Capturing course leads
Most puppy course enquiries become leads rather than bookings. The assistant collects the owner's name and number, the puppy's name, breed and date of birth, vaccination stage and which course they want. Leads appear on your leads page with a status you update as you confirm places, and you can export them as CSV. New leads can be posted to Slack or sent through Zapier, for example into a Google Sheet that you use as your class list.
WhatsApp and Instagram
Many dog owners find trainers on Instagram and prefer WhatsApp. The assistant answers on both, after Meta setup. The WhatsApp AI chatbot page explains how that works, and the Instagram and Messenger automation page covers DMs.
What it must hand to you
Behaviour cases go to you
Every behaviour case goes to you. The assistant should never suggest training methods for aggression, reactivity, separation problems or resource guarding, and never say a problem is "normal" or "easy to fix". Its job is to take the details you'd want before ringing back:
- the dog's age, breed and how long the owner has had it
- what happens, in the owner's words
- whether the dog has bitten anyone, and whether anyone was hurt
- whether there are children in the home
- whether the dog has seen a vet recently
Then it flags the conversation for you. If you offer a behaviour discovery call, it can book one, so the owner knows when they'll talk to you.
Bites and immediate risk
If an owner describes a serious bite or says they're frightened of their dog, the assistant should say plainly that you'll be in touch, advise them to keep the dog separated from people (especially children) in the meantime, and suggest they contact their vet. If someone is injured, it should tell them to get medical help. It should not give any other advice.
Health and welfare
Lameness, sickness, a puppy that won't eat, a dog that seems in pain: these are for the vet. The assistant says so and flags the conversation if it relates to a client in your classes.
XL Bully owners
In England and Wales, XL Bully dogs can only be kept with a Certificate of Exemption, and the government's XL Bully rules require exempt dogs to be muzzled and kept on a lead in public, with the lead held by someone at least 16. If you train exempt dogs, your class policy needs to reflect that. The assistant can quote your policy, but any question about whether a dog is an XL Bully, about exemption, or about the law should be passed to you; it's not the assistant's place to advise.
Complaints, refunds and disputes
Unhappy clients, refund requests and disputes about missed sessions go to you.
How hand-over works
Klugon can't put a caller through to you. When the assistant hands over, it flags the conversation as needing a person in your inbox and sends a notification to Slack or through Zapier. It tells the owner you'll be in touch.
The assistant isn't paused by a hand-over and will keep replying if the owner writes again. You can reply from Klugon's inbox on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram (within Meta's 24-hour window on Meta's channels), but not to phone calls or website chat. For those, ring or email the owner back after class.
Sample conversations
These are samples showing how the assistant behaves. The business, owners and dogs are made up.
Sample phone call: a new puppy owner
A sample call. The business, Fernhill Dog Training, is made up.
The assistant answered the course questions, quoted the vaccination policy, passed the vaccine question to the vet and captured the lead for Sophie to confirm.
Sample WhatsApp: a reactive rescue dog
A sample WhatsApp conversation. The business is made up.
That last line is only there because Sophie wrote it into the assistant's instructions as her standard holding advice. If you don't want the assistant to say anything at all about management, leave it out.
Sample Instagram DM: an XL Bully owner
A sample Instagram conversation. The business is made up.
Setting up the assistant for a dog training business
A setup checklist for dog trainers
- Create your services: one-to-one sessions, puppy home visits, pre-course assessments and behaviour discovery calls, each with a length and a trainer.
- Set your working hours, buffers for travel, minimum notice and closed dates.
- Write your course information: dates, venues, ages, prices, numbers, what to bring.
- Write your vaccination policy in one clear paragraph, plus the line that vaccine questions go to the vet.
- Write your behaviour hand-over rules, including what details to collect and what holding advice (if any) the assistant may give.
- Add your hot-weather and bad-weather policy so the assistant answers "is class on?" correctly.
- Write a greeting that says the caller is speaking to your AI assistant.
- Connect Slack or Zapier so behaviour cases and course leads reach you quickly.
- Paste the chat widget script tag into your website, and connect WhatsApp and Instagram through Meta.
- Test with the hard calls: a bite, a dog that sounds unwell, a question about a puppy's jabs, and an angry client. The guide to teaching your AI receptionist has more ideas.
Keeping your number
Forward your existing mobile to the Klugon number, for all calls or just the ones you don't answer. The number can be added once the 7-day trial ends; during the trial you test voice in the browser.
Working alongside your booking tools
Some trainers use a class booking app, a spreadsheet or a Google Form for course places. Klugon doesn't connect to class booking apps. A simple split works well:
- Klugon answers questions, books one-to-ones and calls, and collects course leads.
- Your existing tool or spreadsheet holds class lists and payments.
- Zapier moves each new lead into your spreadsheet if you want it there automatically.
If you live in Google Calendar, Klugon can be set up to check it and add events on the Business tier or above. It isn't automatic two-way sync, so block your class times in Klugon too.
What it costs
Klugon prices in US dollars. You choose the products you need:
| Product | Starter | Business | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI voice agent (phone) | $99/mo, 1,000 minutes | $299/mo, 3,600 minutes | $499/mo, 6,000 minutes |
| AI social agent (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger) | $79/mo, 300 conversations | $249/mo, 1,500 conversations | $449/mo, 3,500 conversations |
| AI chatbot (website) | $49/mo, 100 conversations | $149/mo, 400 conversations | $499/mo, 2,000 conversations |
Yearly billing takes 20% off. A phone number is $9 a month and a connected WhatsApp number $19 a month. The free trial is 7 days, needs a card, and is charged at the end unless you cancel. The pricing page has the details.
A worked example for a sole trainer
Assumptions to swap for your own:
- You miss 6 calls a week while teaching or on home visits, more in January.
- One in three would have booked something.
- Half of those are puppy course places at £120, half one-to-ones averaging £180 over three sessions.
That's 2 bookings a week, worth around £300. Over a four-week month, roughly £1,200 of work goes to someone else. The voice Starter plan with a forwarded number is $108 a month. If your clients prefer messages, the social Starter plan with WhatsApp is $98. Many trainers start with one channel and add the other after a month.
Against a part-time assistant
Someone to answer your phone for 15 hours a week at the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour (for workers aged 21 and over from April 2026) costs around £825 a month before employer costs, and they won't be available at 9pm. A person brings judgement and warmth to a frightened owner, which is worth a lot in behaviour work. That's why behaviour calls go to you either way.
Against voicemail
Voicemail is free, and most new puppy owners don't leave a message. They ring the next trainer.
Welfare, standards and data
Dog training is not a profession with a single statutory register, so owners rely on your experience, qualifications and memberships.
- Standards. The Animal Behaviour and Training Council sets standards for trainers, training instructors and behaviourists and keeps a register of assessed practitioners. If you're on it, put that in your documents so the assistant can say so accurately.
- Owners' duty of care. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 places a duty on owners to meet their animal's welfare needs. The assistant shouldn't comment on welfare cases; any concern goes to you.
- XL Bully rules. Covered above. Keep your class policy aligned with the GOV.UK guidance, which is updated from time to time.
- Data protection. You'll hold owners' names, numbers and addresses, and details about their dogs. The ICO's advice for small organisations covers what a sole trader needs. Mention in your privacy notice that enquiries may be answered by an AI assistant.
Klugon is operated by a German company under the GDPR, with transfers to sub-processors covered by standard contractual clauses, as listed in its privacy policy. It doesn't record calls. You can export your data as CSV, delete records, and request full deletion by email.
How it compares with booking apps and contact forms
| Need | Contact form | Class booking app | Klugon assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer the phone during class | No | No | Yes |
| Explain your vaccination policy in conversation | No | No | Yes, from your text |
| Take behaviour case details and flag them | Partly | No | Yes |
| Book one-to-ones with a trainer | No | Often | Yes |
| Manage group class spaces | No | Yes | No |
| Take payment for courses | No | Often | No |
| Send reminders | No | Often | No |
Keep your class booking tool for class lists and payments, and use the assistant in front of it.
Measuring whether it's working
- Course leads per week, especially in January and spring.
- Behaviour cases flagged, and how quickly you got back to each one. The insights to-do list shows hand-overs still waiting.
- Calls during class times. The analytics page shows your busiest hours.
- Questions without a good answer. Each is a gap in your course information.
- One-to-ones booked against the previous month.
Frequently asked questions
Will the AI give owners training or behaviour advice?
Only what you write into its instructions, and for behaviour cases most trainers allow nothing beyond basic holding advice. Every behaviour case is handed to you.
Can it tell an owner whether their puppy is vaccinated enough for class?
No. It quotes your vaccination policy and tells the owner to check with their vet about their puppy's vaccines.
Can it fill spaces in my puppy course?
It explains the course and takes the owner's details as a lead. Klugon's calendar books individual appointments, not group class spaces, so you confirm course places yourself.
Can it take payment for a course?
No. Klugon doesn't take deposits or course payments. Take payment the way you do now.
Will it send owners a reminder the night before class?
No. Klugon doesn't send reminders, texts or emails. The owner gets a reference in the conversation when something is booked.
What happens when someone reports a bite?
The assistant collects the key details, tells the owner you'll be in touch, suggests getting medical help if anyone is hurt, and flags the conversation for you with a Slack or Zapier notification.
Can it answer questions about XL Bully rules?
It can quote your own class policy for exempt dogs. Questions about the law, exemption or whether a dog is an XL Bully go to you.
Will owners know it's an AI?
Only if you tell them. The default greeting doesn't, so write your own that does.
Can I keep my mobile number?
Yes. Forward it to your Klugon number, for every call or only unanswered ones, after the trial.
Where to start
Most trainers start by forwarding the calls they miss during class and connecting WhatsApp. Klugon's AI receptionist for small business handles the questions that repeat all week, so your phone time goes on the owners who need you. For related businesses, see the pages for gyms and fitness studios, martial arts schools and driving schools, or return to the gyms and studios hub.