A fluffy white puppy lying on a wooden floor near a bookshelf.
A black dog sitting on grass with a leash, facing away, with a white plush sheep toy in front. In the background, people and another dog are present at an outdoor event.
A young woman with red hair, wearing a blue denim shirt, smiling and holding a brown puppy with a yellow collar in front of a plain white background.

🐾 Welcome to

Pups n People!

Family Dog Training in Otisfield, Maine

Positive, Force-Free and Built for Real Life Families

Pups n People is a positive-reinforcement dog training business serving families in Otisfield and Oxford, Cumberland, and Androscoggin Counties, Maine. I'm Laurie Wood, a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Dog Trainer (KPA-DT) and Family Paws Parent Educator, specializing in family dog training, reactive dog support, and helping dogs adjust to a new baby or toddler in the house.

Life with dogs and kids is joyful, busy, and sometimes overwhelming. Using gentle, reward-based methods in the comfort of your own home, I'll help your dog build practical skills and your family gain the confidence to handle real life, whether you're preparing for a new baby, navigating toddlers and tails, or just hoping for calmer walks. Together, we'll turn training into teamwork, so you spend less time stressing and more time enjoying life with your dog.

Get Started

Ready to get started? Email pupsnpeople207@gmail.com or call (207) 751-8110 to talk about your dog's needs and find the right class or session.

My Training Philosophy

Every dog at Pups n People is trained using strictly positive, reward-based methods — no corrections, no punishment-based tools or techniques. This approach, grounded in the work of Karen Pryor (Don't Shoot the Dog) and taught through the Karen Pryor Academy, builds trust between dogs and their people instead of relying on fear or force. Training here means teaching a dog what to do, and rewarding it generously when it does.

Learn more about me

My Specialty: Preparing Your Family for Life with Dog and Baby

My background is unusual and directly useful here: I am both a Family Paws Parent Educator and a certified birth doula, which means I understand the realities of a growing family from both sides — the dog's and the parents'. My new-baby preparation work includes a Homecoming Plan, a step-by-step process covering pre-hospital prep, homecoming day, the first few weeks home, and how to recognize early warning signs of stress in a dog adjusting to a new baby or toddler. Pups n People also runs a periodic new-baby/toddler dog-adjustment workshop for expecting and new families.