CRM for dog trainers and horse trainers who sell on evaluations

Ariyel is a CRM for dog training and horse training businesses that win clients through a phone call or an evaluation and then deliver a set program. It tracks every inquiry from first call to enrolled client, texts no-shows within minutes, follows up after the free evaluation until the owner decides, and starts your board-and-train checklist the moment a client enrolls. Your trainers learn your methods from courses in the same tool. Ariyel's team sets it up around your programs and trains your staff on it.

Who this page is for

This page is for training businesses with a sales process and a team: board-and-train, private lessons, day training, group classes, K9 and obedience programs, franchise locations, and equestrian centers.

What training businesses tell us is broken

• "Leads call while I'm in a session." By evening, the owner has called the next trainer on Google.
• "They loved the evaluation, then went quiet." The free evaluation went well. Nobody followed up after the first text.
• "Evaluations don't show." People book a free slot and forget.
• "Every trainer runs the go-home session differently." Some owners leave with homework. Some leave with a handshake.
• "We only ask for reviews when we remember." The happiest owners are the ones who never get asked.
• "A new trainer takes months to ramp." Your methods live in the head trainer's head.

A dog training pipeline in Ariyel

Ariyel's pipeline is a Kanban board with stages you name yourself. A board-and-train business usually looks like this:

Each dog gets its own deal, so two dogs in one household show as two deals on one contact. Store dog name, breed, age, main issue and program as custom fields, plus drop-off and go-home dates.

The Funnel report block shows count and conversion per stage: how many inquiries book an evaluation, how many show up, and how many enroll.

Example workflow: follow-up after the free evaluation

Most enrollments are lost after the evaluation, not before it. Every trigger and action below exists in Ariyel's workflow editor today.

1. Trigger: Field value changed on a deal: Stage becomes Evaluation Done (Follow-Up).
2. Action: Send text (Quo), with merge fields: "Thanks for bringing {first name}'s dog in today. Here's the program we talked about. Any questions, just reply here."
3. Action: Enroll in sequence: a four-email "after the evaluation" sequence over ten business days. It recaps the program, answers common questions, shares a before-and-after story and asks for a decision. The sequence exits when the deal changes stage.
4. Action: Create task for the deal owner: "Call about the program", due in 2 days.
5. Flow: Delay 7 days, then If the deal is still in Evaluation Done:
6. Action: Create task: "Last call before moving to Nurture", due today.

Smaller workflows sit next to it:

• No-show recovery. Trigger: Stage becomes No Show / Cancelled → Send text (Quo): "Looks like we missed each other today. Want to grab another time for the evaluation?" → Create task for the owner: "Call to rebook", due today.
• Replies and opt-outs. Trigger: Text received (Quo) → Create task: "Reply to text". Trigger: Opt-out (Quo) → Exit sequence and Update record to mark the contact as opted out.

Reminder texts. A workflow can text the owner before the evaluation: Stage becomes Evaluation Booked → Delay until the evaluation date → Send text with the address and what to bring (leash, treats, vaccination records).

Every run is logged in the workflow's Runs history. See CRM with calling and texting, CRM workflow automation and our lead follow-up strategy guide.

A board-and-train onboarding checklist

In Ariyel a checklist is a fulfillment template: ordered steps, each with instructions, an owner rule (the deal owner, unassigned, or a named team member) and a due date counted in days from the start. It's copied onto the deal when the client enrolls. The deal then shows progress, the next step and anything overdue.

This example assumes a two-week board-and-train with drop-off about a week after enrollment. Change the offsets to fit your program.

Step 7 is where results are won or lost. The owner has one session to learn the handling, so the homework goes out in writing the same day. Steps 8 and 10 catch struggling owners before they decide the training "didn't stick."

Before the go-home session, Ask Ari writes a five-block summary of the deal from what's on the record only. See client onboarding software.

Private lessons, day training, group classes and K9 programs

• Private lessons and in-home training. The deal tracks a lesson package, with a lessons remaining field. Homework goes out by text after each lesson, and a task prompts the next package before the last one.
• Day training. Add a weekly "progress update sent" step for each week of the program.
• Group classes. The value is in the follow-up: a sequence after the last class offers the next level.
• K9, protection and advanced obedience. Longer, pricier programs lean on the Hot List and lead strength. Admins can rewrite Ari's lead-strength definitions, for example "Very strong: completed an evaluation, has a clear goal, asked about start dates."
• Franchise locations. Each location runs its own pipeline and follow-up. If your franchise agreement requires a specific CRM, check it before you switch.

Horse trainers and equestrian centers

Horse businesses sell differently. The commitment is bigger, the season matters, and one family often buys lessons, training and boarding.

• Pipeline difference: rename "Evaluation Booked" to Barn Tour Booked, Trial Lesson Booked or Training Evaluation Booked. Add a Waitlist stage if your lesson program or stalls are full. Store horse name, discipline, rider level and service (training, lessons, boarding) as custom fields. One contact can hold several deals: one for the horse in training, one for the child's lesson package.
• Onboarding steps to add: Coggins and vaccination records received; farrier and vet contacts recorded on the deal; feeding and turnout instructions noted; the boarding agreement signed (in your document tool) and the date recorded; first training ride or lesson scheduled; 30-day progress review with the owner.
• Workflow nuance: the Not Now (Nurture) stage fits riders waiting for the next season. A nurture sequence with an exit rule ("deal matches conditions: stage is Barn Tour Booked") stops on its own when the rider books again.
• Training to set up: "Barn safety and handling standards", "How we run a trial lesson", "Our training progression by level", "Talking to owners about their horse's progress."

Team training for your trainers and front desk

Courses in Ariyel are ordered lessons with video, written notes and file links. Owners and admins create them; the team reads them inside the tool they already work in. For a training business, start with:

1. Front desk and phone: answering an inquiry, qualifying questions, booking the evaluation.
2. Running the evaluation: your structure, recommending a program, answering price questions.
3. Board-and-train daily standards: kennel care, medication, what goes on the record, filming updates.
4. The go-home session: the script, the handler drills, the homework sheet.
5. Your training methods: foundations by level, so every trainer delivers the same program.

New trainers then learn your methods from the course instead of shadowing the head trainer for months. See team training software.

Implemented for you

Ariyel isn't a blank CRM you configure alone after the last lesson. The offer is software + implementation + coaching. After a first call to check fit, Ariyel's team builds your pipeline, fields, workflows, sequences, checklists and first courses around your programs. Then we train your trainers and front desk, and coach you while the new habits take hold.

Plans are Core $500, Growth $1,000 and Scale $2,500 per month, plus a one-time implementation fee. Quo or Dialpad is paid separately. See how Ariyel is implemented and Ariyel pricing.

FAQ: CRM for dog trainers and horse trainers

Can I track each dog or horse, not just the owner? Yes. Create one deal per animal or program, with custom fields for name, breed or discipline, age, main issue and program. All deals sit on the owner's contact.

Can Ariyel text owners automatically? Yes, through the Quo integration. Workflows can send texts of up to 1,600 characters with merge fields, react when an owner replies, and react to opt-outs.

How do we ask for Google reviews? Start a short email sequence after the go-home session or final lesson, with a link to your review page. It exits automatically if the owner unsubscribes.

See how it would work in your training business

• How Ariyel is implemented: software, setup, training and coaching.
• Ariyel pricing: what's included.
• Back to CRM for service businesses by industry. Related reading: client retention and email sequences.