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Starmark Animal Behavior Center is a dog training business in Hutto, Texas offering private lessons and group classes, working from a dedicated training facility. They publish pricing from $95 per session to $400 per course and have been in business for 20+ years.
Hutto, TX • Training facility • 4.4 ★ (350 Google reviews)
Last reviewed: Nov 1, 2026
76 / 100
Moderately transparent
How clearly this listing publishes the details owners need. See our methodology.
Based on what the business publishes about itself
Starmark Animal Behavior Center operates a large facility in Hutto, just outside Austin, with 200 boarding kennels and suites, outdoor play yards, a swimming pool area, an indoor ball pit, and nature walk spaces. The business has been active in Central Texas since 1997, previously operating as Triple Crown Dog Academy. According to their site, approximately 15 of their roughly 40 staff members are certified training and behavior specialists who trained through an affiliated professional dog trainer academy.
Among the named trainers, Howard Kennedy is described as a Certified Canine Training & Behavior Specialist with a background as an Air Force Military Police Officer who worked alongside K9 handlers before completing a 12-week training program and 3-month internship. Other trainers, including Addison McGinnis and Ali Magelky, came through the same in-house academy, with Magelky now working in dog sports such as disc, bite work, and nose work.
Their training philosophy, as they describe it, centers on reward-based motivational methods aimed at improving communication between owners and dogs. They emphasize that training requires ongoing reinforcement at home rather than serving as a one-time fix. They state they offer discounted training for dogs adopted from shelters and report having trained around 1,300 homeless dogs while donating an estimated $4 million in services to rescue organizations.
Starmark Animal Behavior Center lists 8 training programs across private lessons and group classes. Details below come from their published materials as reviewed by Barklen.
$95 per session
One-on-one lesson held at the facility, scheduled around the owner's convenience and tailored to the dog's needs. Basic obedience is typically covered over about six weeks before moving to advanced work.
Owner and dog meet individually with a trainer at the facility for each lesson.
Duration: 6 weeks
Package: $475 for a 5-session package
Focus: Basic obedience
$145 per session
A higher-tier private lesson option, available either at the facility or in the client's home, for specialized training needs.
The trainer may travel to the client's home instead of meeting at the facility.
Package: $500 for a 4-session package
Focus: Basic obedience
$200 per course
A class teaching dogs to swim confidently, held at the facility's in-ground swimming pool area in the beach club.
Duration: 4 weeks
Focus: Fear & anxiety, Basic obedience
$400 per course
An introductory scent work class teaching dogs to locate specific odors in boxes and real-world settings, with owners learning to spot behavior changes that signal detection.
Classes run twice weekly over four weeks, teaching odor imprinting and detection.
Best for: Dogs that have completed Basic Obedience & Manners or equivalent.
Duration: 4 weeks
Focus: Scent work
$200 per course
A standardized AKC obedience test program emphasizing good manners and responsible ownership, with the test conducted in the final class.
Weekly group classes leading up to a final AKC CGC evaluation.
Best for: Dogs that have completed Basic and Intermediate Obedience or equivalent.
Duration: 5 weeks
Focus: Advanced obedience, Basic obedience
$175 per course
An AKC-affiliated puppy class program for young puppies, run as a group class over six weeks.
Puppy and owner attend weekly group class sessions together.
Best for: Puppies between 10 weeks and 5 months old.
Duration: 6 weeks
Focus: Puppy training, Socialization, Basic obedience
$200 per course
A group class teaching core obedience skills using reward-based motivational training, covering recall, loose-leash walking, sit-stay, down-stay, and place.
Owner and dog attend weekly group classes together over six weeks.
Duration: 6 weeks
Focus: Basic obedience, Leash training, Recall & off-leash
$200 per course
An agility class covering obstacles like the tire, tunnel, jumps, A-frame, dog walk, chute, and weaves, along with basic handling skills.
Dog and owner attend weekly group class sessions working through agility obstacles.
Best for: Dogs that have completed Basic Obedience & Manners or equivalent.
Duration: 6 weeks
Focus: Agility & dog sports
Published pricing at Starmark Animal Behavior Center runs from $95 per session to $400 per course, depending on the program.
| Program | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Private Lessons for Pet Obedience | $95 per session$475 for a 5-session package | 6 weeks |
| Specialty Private Lessons or In Home Lessons | $145 per session$500 for a 4-session package | Not stated |
| Program | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Swim Class | $200 per course | 4 weeks |
| ODOR SQUAD! Introduction to AKC Scent Work | $400 per course | 4 weeks |
| AKC Canine Good Citizen | $200 per course | 5 weeks |
| AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Program | $175 per course | 6 weeks |
| Basic Obedience & Manners | $200 per course | 6 weeks |
| Agility I: Obstacles & Sequencing | $200 per course | 6 weeks |
Starmark Animal Behavior Center describes its training philosophy in general terms without naming a specific method. Barklen does not classify an approach the business has not stated.
Public materials reviewed by Barklen do not specify which training tools are used.
As described in the business's own materials
According to their site, former Air Force Military Police Officer who worked alongside K9 handlers before training at the in-house academy, completing a 12-week program plus a 3-month internship covering obedience, dog sports, and behavior modification.
Credentials listed on their site: Certified Canine Training & Behavior Specialist. Barklen has not independently verified these.
According to their site, grew up with an interest in animals influenced by her grandfather's canine unit search-and-rescue training stories, and trained through the in-house academy before becoming a trainer focused on helping owners build stronger relationships with their dogs.
According to their site, became interested in training after owning dogs that needed obedience and confidence work, attended the in-house academy, then returned as an apprentice before being hired as a trainer, and now works in dog sports including disc, bite work, and nose work.
Starmark Animal Behavior Center operates from a dedicated training facility in Hutto, TX, offering private lessons and group classes.
Their site says they serve dog owners in the Central Texas area as well as clients from farther away, accepts all breeds including dogs that are not yet spayed or neutered, and offers discounted training for dogs adopted from shelters or rescue groups.
A large boarding facility located just outside Austin in Hutto, TX, with climate-controlled indoor suites and outdoor patio access.
The address is on County Road 197 in Hutto. Parking availability and facility accessibility details aren't published.
Barklen analysis
Barklen analysis based on 3 published Hutto listings (13 with published pricing). These comparisons are computed by Barklen, not claims made by Starmark Animal Behavior Center.
Price: entry price below the published Hutto range for private lessons ($95–$145 vs. $105–$149); entry price below the published Hutto range for group classes ($175–$400 vs. $188–$300).
Reviews: 4.4★ from 350 Google reviews, among 3 published Hutto programs.
Transparency: 76 out of 100 (moderately transparent), with 100% price transparency and 81% program clarity. Certification disclosure is still sparse across Hutto listings.
| Program type | Starmark Animal Behavior Center | Hutto range | Barklen read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Lessons | $95–$145 | $105–$149 across 3 Hutto programs | Entry price below the published Hutto range |
| Group Classes | $175–$400 | $188–$300 across 6 Hutto programs | Entry price below the published Hutto range |
Generated from what their public materials leave open
200 Co Rd 197, Hutto, TX
Barklen reviewed Starmark Animal Behavior Center against the business's public materials and published this listing. That is not a check of licenses, insurance, or certifications. See our methodology for what a verified listing does and does not mean.
Details the public materials do not address (aggression and reactivity cases, owner visits during programs, progress updates, overnight staffing, insurance, guarantee, and others) are turned into the questions above rather than filled in.
Last reviewed by Barklen: Nov 1, 2026
Contact Starmark Animal Behavior Center directly by phone or through their website, or request a quote through Barklen and we will pass it along.
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