What's UpDog?
UpDog Pet Services is a dog training and pet care business based in Lynbrook, New York. Founded by Eric Vissichelli, CDT-C in 2017, UpDog began with dog walking and pet care before expanding into professional dog training. Today, Eric provides private, in-home dog training throughout Nassau County and select areas of Queens, along with local dog walking and cat care services.
Our approach to training is built around positive reinforcement, clear communication, and practical skills that make everyday life with your dog easier. We do not use prong collars, choke collars, e-collars, or other aversive training tools. Instead, we focus on teaching dogs what we want them to do, building engagement and responsiveness, and helping owners understand how their own timing, consistency, and communication affect their dog’s behavior.
Training takes place where it matters most: in your home and, as your dog is ready, in the real-world environments where you actually need those skills. Every dog, household, and set of goals is different, so training is tailored to the individual rather than built around a one-size-fits-all program.
UpDog works with puppies and adult dogs on everything from basic manners, recall, impulse control, and leash skills to more challenging concerns such as reactivity, fear, guarding, overarousal, and difficult behavior around visitors or other dogs. Our goal is not simply to get a dog through a training exercise during a lesson. It is to give owners the skills and understanding they need to continue making progress in everyday life.
Our training is guided by four core areas: Impulse Control, Focus Switching, Engagement, and Fulfillment. For leash walking, Eric also developed the Leash Logic System™, UpDog’s step-by-step positive-reinforcement approach to building calmer, more manageable walks.
UpDog’s roots are still in hands-on pet care. In addition to training, we provide dog walking and cat care visits in Lynbrook and surrounding communities, with the same emphasis on individualized care, reliability, and understanding each animal as an individual.
Eric Vissichelli, CDT-C
Eric founded UpDog Pet Services in 2017 after leaving corporate sales to work with dogs full time. What began as a dog walking and pet care business eventually led him deeper into canine behavior and training, and he earned his professional dog training certification in 2021.
Eric specializes in private, real-world training that involves the people who actually live with and care for the dog. Rather than simply training the dog for the client, his job is to help owners understand what they are seeing, learn how to teach and reinforce new skills, and develop routines they can realistically maintain after formal training ends.
His approach combines positive reinforcement with practical coaching, enrichment, management, and an understanding that behavior does not happen in a vacuum. Age, breed tendencies, environment, routine, exercise, mental stimulation, previous learning, and the individual dog all matter when deciding what a training plan should look like.
UpDog is fully insured and is a proud member of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce.