I will give 10 stars if I can. Our Great Dane puppy Phoenix attended multiple group training classes with them and still attend their puppy/teen social every week. They are amazing and my dog is well socialized and behaved because of their excellent training using no force. I cannot thank Lesley (amazing human who works with Phoenix one on one), Sandi and Katy for all they have done in helping us raise an amazing dog. read more

I would give 500 stars instead of 5 stars if I could. My young, rambunctious Great Dane Otis and I LOVED the BravoPup class run by Anna Carlson. We took her Dog 1 and Dog 2 classes in Rockridge. Anna's methods are totally fun, totally force free - and they totally work! We had been having trouble with Otis's recall and after only our first 2 classes Otis had a super solid recall - seriously, wild horses couldn't keep him away when he hears his recall word. Anna later helped me with private sessions acclimating my older dog to a new rescue dog. It was miraculous how quickly and effectively Anna was able to diffuse the situation and get my older dog to be calm and relaxed in the presence of the new dog. Anna really knows what she's doing and it's obvious she has a special talent for reading dogs and figuring out stress free ways to guide them into the behavior we want. Updates to follow - I'm so impressed with Anna, we'll do more private sessions to help me continue to improve the behavior and happiness of my 3 Danes. PS: Check out this photo showing how happy Otis is with his off leash time now that he can be trusted to come back. read more

BravoPup - Dog - Pet Training Near Me - Berkeley, California

Out of all the dog trainers I have gone to with all my dogs, Bravopup is the best place! The owner, Sandi is super informative and she can really tell you more about your dog and what struggles she sees while you're at the training. My dog Kaya has gone through many classes at Bravopup and has even completed her canine good citizenship class there! Sandi really ensures success with you and your pup. I would highly recommend trying this dog training out and see for yourself why everyone here on yelp gives this place 5 stars! read more

In Feb 2023, we had our 2 year old goldendoodle pup, Moosey, take DOG 1 in El Cerrito with Katy Becker. We had a great experience. Here are a few things that stood out: -we thought it was great to attend at a local pet store, super convenient (especially for getting those last minute treatos!!) -class was nice and small... it had 4 other doggos, and every single one was so cute! We felt we had sufficient attention from the instructor with a class this size -Katy was very knowledgeable and clearly so passionate about the pups and her work. We would definitely take another class with her. And you may ask... how is Moosey doing after this 5 part training? Great!! This was the first time we took our pandemic puppy to training (late, we know) and we are very grateful we did. Getting immediate feedback on what we were doing wrong or right was helpful, and Moosey is now great at Stay!, Up!, and a few other commands. Thanks Bravo pup! read more

BravoPup - Practicing loose leash walking at training class - Pet Training Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Really helped my dog with basic training. I was able to teach her to recall, walk on leash and stay in place. Very positive experience.

This review is specific to the Puppy Socials, as I do not do the training classes with them. 4.5 Stars from me. I have worked with dogs for over a decade (training, off leash hiking, boarding, grooming, vets, etc.) and I would consider myself a dog snob because I have high expectations. I attend because I believe puppy socials are super important, especially when you have a very shy and scared one, which I had this time around. Some people think that a dog park will be better than a social because it is free - but that is the biggest crock of poop that I have ever heard. Socials provide a controlled environment for puppies learn and interact with other puppies and tons of humans. It gives them a chance to build their confidence at their pace without shoving them into an unpredictable dog park, with a bunch of adults and humans that don't know the first thing about dog behavior. I have been to all the Bay Area socials under the sun and this has been, by far, the best experience. You're paying a premium price, compared to others, but the level of knowledge these trainers have is top notch. They have it split by 3 different level groups - one for the intro/shy guys, one for the ones ready to play, and one for the active and larger puppies. It is held in a pretty large space so there is room for pawrents to walk around when they have a shadow, so their shy puppy is convinced to also move around. They have a handler/trainer per section (incredible), so communication with all the pawrents is clear within each group. They slowly introduce things that could scare puppies - they are wearing weird hats, riding scooters, have tunnels, hoops, cones, skateboards, and more. They allow the dogs to be dogs and figure it out, all while monitoring everything reasonably. Other places require you to helicopter parent and "push the initiating dog out of the way", which leads to a bad back for you and I don't think it allows the puppies to figure things out. Sure, I think it can be necessary in some instances with super pushy dogs, but these trainers at Bravo Pup are super involved and excellent at moving pups around to the group that best fits them. I was so impressed when I saw how they handled dogs exhibiting normal puppy food aggression and appreciated that they showed how to work on it and continued to work on it throughout the session. When there is a bad behavior, other places just teach you to pick up and hold your pup for 10 seconds before putting them back down. Another favorite thing is that they help you by cleaning up potty accidents. Maybe this is super minuscule - but as a single dog mama, other socials have required me to hold my dog while also cleaning the mess and it can be difficult and also embarrassing when everyone is holding their dog waiting for you to finish, so their dogs can play again. But instead, these trainers clean up the mess for you so that you can work on the handling with your puppy - ears/feet touching + treats. Simply genius. Oh yes - prepare yourself by bringing a treat bag! The only thing that I'm not sure that I agree with is that they treat the puppies when they are breaking them up or grabbing them quickly (usually for naughty behavior or ganging up/chasing). I understand they are focused on making the handling a positive experience, but I personally didn't follow this because I didn't want to treat my puppy for being a bully (which he was after his second social - I've got a fun police Standard Poodle). They are very positive reinforcement based and that isn't only how I do my training. I believe all dogs are different and require different needs, but they do a damn good job teaching the basics. I docked a half a star because the only way to continue your puppy in socials is by also paying for the training classes. Since I am confident in my puppy training skills, I would rather do the training on my own and attend regular socials. Financially, not everyone can afford both. I also have been fostering a ton for Oakland and I think it would be awesome if they could allow older puppies who DEFINITELY need some socialization as rescues. Pro Tip, as I always see this with new comers. If your puppy is glued to your side. Walk around - do not stay put in one spot. Move around the space and it will encourage your puppy to follow you and meet the other dogs and humans walking around. My rescue puppy started off terrified of everyone and everything. He spent his second puppy social (elsewhere) submissive peeing at every single greet. With constant walking around every social and bringing him to socials regularly, he turned into a whole new dog after his fourth social. read more

Bravopup came recommended to us from several people and we're really happy we ended up taking their classes. We completed Pup 1 and Pup 2, and attended a good number of puppy socials. Our puppy is super outgoing and was easily distracted by the other dogs in class, but Sandi and the other trainers were very patient and helpful. We really liked the positive reinforcement approach! read more

Forgot to finish my earlier review, but since I've taken a second dog to these folks to train: outstanding! These folks are great with dogs, and more importantly, fantastic with owners. You MIGHT better, but I know for a fact you will find worse. read more

Today, a humbling event happened and I have to Yelp. Bravo, I'm still waiting for my refund. See my previous Yelp and comment from one of the trainers. It's been almost two years. If the breeder told you that turkey products were bad for the Corgi breed, would you feed your dog turkey treats? Sheepishly, he is my second Corgi and I bought Walter from the same lovely breeder at a premium. He's a champion breed... Why would I allow someone to feed him poison!?! Sent an email with my Yelp. No response. I do not care if the trainer makes her own treats with turkey. But don't respectfully disagree. Tell me to bring my own training treats that do not have turkey products. They maybe 5 star trainers, but please, be respectful. The trainer, Sandi T. did send me a message saying again, her respectful disagreement with her own beliefs of nutrition for dogs and the breeder of my Corgis. Fine. Some people don't eat meat, are vegan, or glutinous free. Have respect for me and how I raise and feed my dog. It's not right for the trainers to disregard the care of my dog. I'm biting my tongue as to what I really want to say. More over, today, Kay Hammel, the hobbyist breeder of my two Corgis has moved on to a better place. Kay has been honored by the Corgi Fancier's of America. Bless you, Kay. Timeline Photos - Golden Gate Pembroke Welsh Corgi Fanciers | Facebook read more

BravoPup - Pet Training Near Me - Berkeley, California

My daughter and puppies and I were very glad we went to Bravo! We learned many helpful tips, which we've been practicing at home. Our pups learned new commands, and we will likely come back for follow-up classes. I appreciated all the supporting documentation, too. Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to train their pups! read more

Highly recommend Sandi, her assistant Leslie, and everyone else in the organization. Just finished Pup 1 and looking forward to next level. Walter (the puppy) is a little rowdy and easily distracted. Sandi took the time and assured us he'll grow up and pay attention. We never felt as if we were not doing something properly, or Walter was a doofus. Her patience and ability to get any puppy/dog to do a behavior in less than 5 minutes is amazing. It's clear she knows her stuff and has been training dogs for years. The homework we received was great and very helpful. High quality, positive reinforcement training all dog owners should consider. read more

Highly recommend Holden! I'm new a puppy mom and was very worried I'd have a covid dog who' scared of people and lacks exposure. I wasn't sure how puppy school via zoom would work but Holden rocked it. She was able to observe and provide pointers and feedback live and she sent over homework, tips and tricks for continued learning. We're looking into the next round of classes. OH AND THE BEST PART! Seeing 10 tiny puppies grow and learn via zoom is the cutest thing I've ever seen. read more

We have taken two classes so far with Bravo Pup (Dog1 and Shy and Fearful Dogs), and they have been GREAT. Very clear and easy instructions, detailed handouts/homework. We have been able to apply everything to our new dog, and we have seen her behavior really change for the better. The pricing is also very fair--especially for the quality. We are definitely planning on taking more classes with them. read more

Would not recommend. We went to the training at Pet Food Express on Broadway. There were tons of kids loitering (playing loud music, smoking weed) next to the training area. Not pleasant at all. read more

I absolutely love Bravo Pup. This is the third puppy I've trained with Bravo. My puppy Truman is extremely shy and Sandi worked with us to get him into a smaller class. She helped me with a shy dog online class. They have been so helpful during the stressful puppy training experience. I don't think I could have done it without them. I've trained normal puppies in their classes and had the same positive experience. I highly recommend Bravopup! read more

If you get a puppy & have any intention of taking him/her outside of your house, please please do pup AND yourself a BIG favor and socialize him/her as much as possible ASAP with both people and dogs - especially before they hit 3-4 months of age! The earlier the better. At a MetroDog social, I saw an 7-month-old puppy that never got properly socialized as a puppy - he grew up w/his sibling, so the owners thought that was enough socialization (but it wasn't). It was so sad - he was scared of all the other dogs & didn't know how to interact or play w/new dogs. We've taken our pup to the Thursday night Puppy Socials and have completed the Pup 1 and Pup 2 training series. Both Pup 1 & 2 were at the North Berkeley location w/Sandi as the main instructor and Samara as the assistant instructor. Sandi and Samara were fantastic! We really enjoyed the classes & our pup learned a lot. Pricey but worth it IMO. I liked how at each class, there were a few minutes spent on a group Q&A - Sandi always gave helpful advice, and we learned a lot from other pup owners' questions. At the puppy classes, they let us borrow a bully stick if our dog needed to calm down or be distracted while Sandi was teaching. However, those bully sticks are definitely not the odor-free kind, FYI. I highly recommend BravoPup for training and pup socialization. read more

If I could give a hundred stars I would! We're currently on Puppy II and have taken Puppy I and attended a few Puppy Socials with BravoPup. Our 6 month border collie mutt adores the training classes and appreciates the socials (even though he's a treat troll and just begs the entire hour). Stacey alone is reason enough to try this company out. She is simply phenomenal at what she does - she's incredibly knowledgeable about dog behavior and conveys that information to us in a clear and accessible way. Stacey also explains the why behind everything - (ex. why we don't treat at the end of an extended 'stay' command), which I love! I'm the kind of person that needs to know the reasoning and logic otherwise suggestions won't stick. We love Stacey so much we make the trek from Oakland to her Alameda classes even though there are classes down the street from our home! I also really appreciate the philosophy behind the training classes - they very much are about setting your pup up to succeed, not fail. Providing you with the tools and knowledge to give your pup opportunities to do well and be praised for good behavior. This is a pricey company, no doubt, but you absolutely get what you pay for! read more

BravoPup - graduation day! - Pet Training Near Me - Berkeley, California

Sandy has helped us with 2 different dogs. We agree with her methods, she is clear with instructions and gives many handouts to keep for reference. It is great the classes are in multiple locations for convenience too. read more

Klondike, a rescued former outdoor ranch dog, came to my wife and I as a hundred pounds of utterly untrained Pyrenees teeth and muscle. We had to do something. So of course I turned to Yelp and found Bravopup and their Dog 1 class, taught by Katie. Wow. Dog 1 was absolutely transformative. Through the class Klondike learned all the basic behaviors (come, sit, down, up, heel) and, maybe even more importantly, bonded with us. Immediately after Dog 1 Klondike took and passed the American Kennel Club's 10 step Canine Good Citizen test. The CGC is recognized as the gold standard for dog training and behavior - passing it is enough for homeowner's insurance breaks and it's required for most therapy dog certifications. I am 100% sure that without Bravopup's rational, well paced, gentle but no-nonsense teaching Klondike could never have attained the skill level required by the CGC test. After Dog 1 we went on to Dog 2, also taught by Katie, and Xtreme Recall, taught by Sandi. These were also great classes, fun for us and Klondike, and left us with a dog whose obedience skills turn heads at the dogpark. If your dog needs training, go to Bravopup. My only advice: take the class and the teacher's no-nonsense style seriously, and do the homework exactly as prescribed. Make this little bit of effort you will be rewarded with a strong bond to a very well trained and probably happy dog. Bravopup's motto is Learn. Love. Play. They delivered on all three in spades. Most recommended. read more

After reading "Star M"'s review, I finally decided to Yelp our experience with BravoPup. Sandi does seem to have lots of experience and knowledge about puppies & dogs. They seem to really respond to her. However, she and a female aide (the frizzy-haired one who wears baggy quilted clothes all year 'round), however, are somewhat lacking in people skills. Sandi's style can be a little dictatorial. Maybe that's the only way she can get peoples' attention. I thought she seemed a little hardnosed with her own dog Turtle who was always locked up in his crate watching all the others playing. We agree with Star M's review vis-a-vis demos always with a few "favored" dogs. And the focussed picture-taking of those favored few for the website was rude. Our main issue and hence the termination of any more BravoPup classes or socials, however, is with the quilted-coat person at the puppy socials (What IS her name??). Our very sweet-natured, non-aggressive puppy was barely 10 lbs at the time we were going. We paid those $10 fees for the 45-minute sessions for months so that our guy could have some playtime with dogs his own size out of the rain. During the last couple of times I went by myself, a new dog joined the social -- a Jack Russell Terrier who was seriously hyper (gee, there's novelty: a hyper Jack Russell!). He started to pick on our little guy, chasing him around the small dog play area and nipping at him. Our guy just squealed and tried to get away to play with the others. But the JRT was relentless. Ms. Quilted Coat, rather than disciplining the JRT or speaking to its 2 female owners, told me I should instead take my dog over to the BIG dog play area! Huh??? Well. . .ok. . . I put him over the barrier into the big dog area and he was immediately overwhelmed by the running pack of big dogs. He's short and barely 10 lbs. After watching him run and sit under the chairs, venturing out a few times only to go back under the chairs, I finally returned him to the small dog area. He was just too little to be in with the big dogs. Right away the Jack Russell started running after him trying to nip at his neck & ears. Ms. Quilted Coat's wordless response was to pick up my dog, shoved a treat into his mouth and held him in a time-out. Again, I didn't understand why the JRT wasn't the one given the time out. This went on over a couple of socials. All this money when he hasn't done anything. Honest, I am not just being an overprotective dog guardian either. I should have expressed my displeasure and asked her why she was wasn't disciplining the JRT. But I didn't. I guess I did not want to cause a scene since the JRT's owners were both hearing impaired. Anyway, we never went back and never will. Our guy is now really consistent with what he learned in Class I and needs the next step in training. I'll check out Star M's recommendation to try Rebel Dog. read more

I have taken my puppy to the puppy socials (and still do) and currently have her enrolled in the Puppy I class. Though I like the philosophy and positive reinforcement and rewards based training I don't like the class or instructor at all. I really want to like her and the class, I feel like she does have a lot of great knowledge to share. However, I feel like she is not at all excited or interested in the puppies and the classes that she teaches. She routinely 'demonstrates" with the same couple of dogs and provides almost no 1 on 1 interaction. It would also be nice if she didn't single out certain breeds as being less than (terriers for example) while praising others. I left the class last night feeling like I had a bad dog. Strangely enough, even though Bella barks quite a bit, she does almost everything that is asked of her and learns super fast. One would think that someone who spends so much time with puppies and dogs would be better equipped to deal with a couple of dogs with personality. Honestly, I 'm glad that I found trainer Jaime from Rebel Dog (http://www.rebeldogtraining.com) who showed me the incredible potential that Bella has. I would not take or recommend taking the classes from Bravopup, but the Puppy Socials are great. read more

Bravo Puppy Socials: FIVE STARS!!! Bravo Pup One Class: Four stars (Honestly, I probably would have gotten more out of this class had I taken it sooner! Lesson learned: get your puppy into a puppy class RIGHT AWAY!) I had my pup home about two weeks before I took her to Bravo's Puppy Social. I had been socializing her to my friends' grown dogs (who I knew to be vaccinated) - but learned that she ALSO needed to be social with other puppies, specifically! Oops. It's $10 (for students of their classes)/$15 (for anyone) a session per social and worth every penny. You have to show your vaccination records at your first social, so you know all the pups there have had at least 2 or 3 rounds of vaccinations. When I first set my 13 week old pup down she tail tucked and ran away because all the pups ran up to greet her at once... well, that lasted about 10 minutes. By the end of class she was teasing other pups by taunting them with a toy and then running away, trying to get them to chase her. I think the first time I took her to social was the first time she slept through the night... If you have a new puppy you know that that's reason enough to gladly shell out $15!! I went to the first puppy social intending to just do the socials without taking a class as I had been training her myself, since the day I brought her home. But at our first social I realized we needed a class. At several points during the play Sandi had us grab our pups and have them calm down. I had never thought to interrupt play and ask for my dog to be suddenly calm but instantly saw how useful this would be... Penny didn't agree, she embarrassed me for the first time by doing her "trout-on-a-line" squirmy dance and squealing like she was caught in barbed wire and dying, while the other formerly rowdy pups settled down and waited calmly for playtime to commence again. So we went to Pup I and although we didn't learn a single new trick (I am research kind of girl, and we were pretty far ahead in our tricks/training, including an emergency recall - though the in-class practice was clutch!) what we DID LEARN and practice in the class was how to perform commands with distractions (my puppy just wanted to play the entire time, so it was really hard for her to concentrate) - it's still something we have to work extra hard on! Luckily for us, we took the Saturday class with both Sandi and Stacey. I say luckily because when we were having difficulties (we had a few) Stacey took us aside and took Penny by the leash and gave us some much-needed hands-on help. She also gave me her full attention when I expressed concerns/had questions... In a room full of chaos, that's no small achievement. I really felt like she cared about my pup's advancement. I think Sandi's role in this class was that of the professor - presenting the information to the group and Stacey acted as a kind of TA- providing the personal-connection, 1-on-1 help, and check-ins on each dog and their person - for us, because there wasn't much new information, Stacey's attention made the class especially worthwhile. read more

My lab puppy, Alton, graduated from Puppy I tonight. He's well on his way to being an obedient dog--if I can just get him through adolescence. I'm sure with Puppy II and III coming, that he'll do fine. I can't say enough about what a good instructor I think Sandi is and I've gotten help from others on her team, too. She has a way with dogs that reminds me of Cesar Millan. She can get them to pay attention and learn in no time at all, and explains what she is doing, and, more importantly, why she is doing it so that we can get it right, too. The only drawback I've seen is that it can be hard to park at the church on Thursday nights, so if the weekend class works better for you then take that. read more

Bravopup hosts a Thursday night puppy social at the First Congregational Church on Harrison and 27th. The class offers an opportunity for pups as young as two months and as old as four months to sniff, play, jump, burn off energy, and get socialized to other dogs and people, all for the low-low-low cost of $15 ($10 if you're enrolled in one of their classes). There are two or three trainers facilitating the play session, and under their watchful eye, over exuberance is extinguished before it turns into aggression and accidental poop discharges are quickly quarantined. While I give this puppy social five stars, please note that the class is only as good as the puppies (and puppy parents) that show up. Our first visit was wonderful for helping break Hokulele out of her shell, but during the next visit, some of the puppy parents were extremely uptight about her style of play. If your puppy needs additional time for supervised play, I highly recommend you try every social available (SPCA in Oakland, Dublin, Sunnyvale, Peninsula, Milpitas all different times), including Bravopup. read more

We've been taking our puppy to Puppy 1 and are now partly through Puppy 2 and loving BravoPup's approach. In fact we love it so much we've already signed up for the agility class! We especially love Katy Becker and would highly recommend her classes. While all the trainers we've met through BravoPup socials have been good, Katy has an energy that really connects with the puppies. Our dog (and us as well) enjoy her so much we plan on taking the recall class when she teaches it next just to get more training time with her. Both my wife and I had dogs growing up so thought we knew the ropes of training and to some extent we did. But Bravo's approach of building skills in pieces and focusing a lot on socialization has been great. With their help our boy is growing into a puppy that we are proud of who can behave nicely in every situation. In addition to the classes we've been attending the socials at the zoo and at the church in Lake Merritt. Generally the crowd on Monday at the zoo is more chillax, probably because the pups have had more attention over the weekend. Thursday night at the church is much more crowded and the dogs seem much more worked up. read more

Review for the puppy socials ONLY - we've had five-star experiences at the smaller one in San Leandro, lots of attention for all the pups, great socializing, great time-outs and 'vet checks.' We had a one star experience at the bigger one in the church by Whole Foods in Oakland. I think the two ladies running it were the owner and her assistant mentioned in some of the other not-great reviews. They definitely seemed to have favourites, were outright rude to non-regular puppy guardians, and just did not seem all that interested in any of the newer puppies. Weird vibes all around. It was the first time I left a puppy social feeling anything but happy - it takes a lot to leave a room full of puppies not happy! Despite Whole Foods being a five minute drive and San Leandro being 30, we'll be taking our puppy to San Leandro from here on out. read more

We have gradated from Puppy 1, Puppy 2, and Puppy 3! The classes at BravoPup are incredibly fun! They are once-a-week, hour-long sessions - so many important skills are packed into each class. It is amazing how quickly the puppies learn... I remember the first day of Puppy 1 we learned so much, I was so proud of my little guy! And Kenji (the puppy student) LOVES going to the classes! We attend the puppy socials when schedules permit - I highly recommend those as well. Tons of fun, and so nice to burn off some of that youthful puppy energy. We are looking forward to taking Puppy 4. Sandi is an absolutely wonderful trainer - she has instilled so many important life skills into Kenji. Absolutely EVERYWHERE we go, people are so impressed at his excellent behavior and temperament. The classes are a great way for a dog to learn how to relate to other dogs, and to other people. I highly recommend BravoPup to anyone looking for a puppy school! read more

I've been waiting a while to write this review. We did the Puppy 1 and Dream Pup training classes back in August and are still seeing the results. To be honest, we had a tough time of it during training classes. Our puppy had a super hard time focusing and got really stressed out traveling to and being in class. He did great at home, but would bounce off the walls (barriers, people, other dogs, etc.) once we got to class. He was definitely the least patient of the pups, and treats didn't seem to mean much to him in this context. I definitely felt a bit lost. I think BravoPup earns the 5 star rating, though, precisely because we had such a hard time. First, I was a bit of a nightmare and had a meltdown in class one night when he was feeling particularly bouncy and nippy. If I were Sandi, I would've given me my money back and sent me on my way. Instead, she very calmly told me it's a process, and she and Sam gave me a bit of extra support until I got my head back on straight. She also did some demos with my pup on the particular things I needed help with so that I could see it could be done. More importantly, though, are the changes I've been seeing in my puppy. He's 6 months old now and after continuing doing all the training we've learned through BravoPup, he's turning into a really great dog. We use what we learned all the time, and it makes a big difference. People who know us are definitely starting to comment on how much better behaved he is now. He's still a high energy pup and has his challenging moments, but I feel like I know what to do thanks to BravoPup. Finally, I can't say enough about the puppy socials. They were so cute and a much needed outlet while we were waiting for him to finish his vaccinations. read more

I've raised/trained over a dozen dogs and other exotic canids - I thought I knew nearly everything there was until I brought my new puppy, Aqutaq to one of Sandi's classes at BravoPup. As much as my puppy learned, I have learned even more. Not only is Sandi an amazing trainer, it's obvious she loves dogs and loves training them and their slow-learning human friends even more. If you want someone to help you train your puppy, solve problems or better yet head off bad behavior altogether, I can think of no one better than Sandi to help you do it. I also highly recommend BravoPup's "puppy socials" to help your new furry friend learn how to behavior with other dogs. I especially loved her Oakland Zoo location - it's simply an amazing and beautiful spot to come and spend time with your dog and other dog lovers. I'd give Sandi and BravoPup more stars if I could! read more

Puppy Social! I went once with my puppy Griswald - let's see, here is the list of what people suspect he is: Shepherd, Collie, Chow, Spaniel, Corgi, Dachshund... anyways, there were a ton of puppies there and exactly what I was looking for. There was a room for smaller timid dogs, and then the room for the bigger rambunctious ones. I wanted Griswald to get beaten up a bit since he's usually the bully. muahhaah revenge! It felt chaotic, but then when we were asked to grab our dogs and settle them, there was more order. Gris isn't so great at listening to me when he has friends to play with. Anyways, it sucks that he can't go out on walks or to parks or anywhere fun yet since he still needs his last shots, so this is a nice and safe place. I really wanted to romp around and play and roll around with the dogs, but I had to watch all the cuteness while wandering around the room. afterwards, Sandi and I chatted about some of the things I could possibly do to help my dog from being so bite-y. I am registered for Pup1 class and hopefully I'll be able to get some private lessons in as well. Anyways, for the time being these socials are pretty nice. Oh, he left tired (yay!) and as a warning, your dog will get drooled on and smell really bad!! That means you get practice washing your dog! (and it's perfect to do when they are tired!) read more

Took MoMo for her first puppy "social" tonight. I went to the Oakland Zoo location, which was tricky to find. I was quite late, but very much wanted to see what it was like. I didn't have to pay since there was only 5-10 mins left. Little MoMo dominated the room. And soon she found a little buddy to play-wrestle with....Calvin, her new Pott Terrier boyfriend ;) She had a great time and it burned up a lot of energy for her which was the main goal. They have one on Thursday night near lake merritt which I may try as well. read more

Be prepared: The worst thing about Bravopup and all the trainers? If you have had dogs in the past and didn't attend at least some puppy socials or classes, you will have major guilt after attending your first social or class because you know you could have made it even better for your companion! Like any parent, you will have to live with that and recognize you did the best you knew how to do at that time and you did give your companion a wonderful life! really..and you will do better in the future. They teach you (yes - lots of the training if not all is for you) the way to get your dog to learn and behave and love you in the process! Never have your dog hang their head and shy away from you. And, where there are trouble spots with the pup, they just hang in there with you and keep the encouragement going. It's fun for the pups and you. Our pup is just 4 months now...and finally had a breakthrough at this last class with her shyness. Maureen is great - and has helped us greatly in 1:1 sessions and Sandi has done the same in our puppy class. We and our puppy look forward to lots of training and fun thanks to Bravopup training. Highly recommend! read more

I would be careful of taking your puppies to their puppy socials. When we got our puppy, we went to Bravopup puppy social at Oakland zoo and my puppy got Giardia from there. We never took our puppy anywhere else (no outside whatsoever, Puppy social at Bravopup was the first time being outside). Got expensive vet bills and she had pretty crazy diarrhea for a while. Giardia is very contagious and the room of puppy social at the Oakland zoo is pretty big and I noticed that they didn't really clean or sanitize the room. The room wasn't clean and they hold other dog classes there so I would not recommend especially when you pay. After that incident we never went back to Bravopup puppy social but we started going to puppy social at Petco in Emeryville every Saturday and Sunday. It is free and their room is very small and sanitized so more controlled. I would recommend Petco puppy social over Bravopup. read more

Wow - What a golden find!!! Informative, very fun classes that are extremely constructive and beneficial for both you and your dog. We have two dogs and have taken 5+ classes between the two of them -- We took puppy training classes for our 8 month old puppy, and she is now off on the right foot with a passion for "working" ! We also put our rescued dog into "Dog 1" classes last fall, followed by private lessons, and we are almost speechless in his improvement: He is a different dog (in the best way) and now enjoys life to the fullest. Sandi is incredible - she handles all dogs like they are her best friend, never gets cranky with owners/dogs who don't pick up on things quickly, and will exhaust her resources, time and effort to help you if something is a struggle. She is supportive and understanding of everything any dog owner goes through and an amazing help if you need advice or have questions. Every dog owner should have the joy of taking their dogs to classes here, it is well worth it and very fun. In addition to the classes, the puppy socials are completely awesome and a steal of a deal compared to a puppy day care playtime rate -- they are also a godsend when your small puppy needs an outlet but is too young to hit the dog park. This business is supportive, interactive, fun, and very effective. Classes will build your relationship with your dog and you will see the rewards of these classes on a daily basis. If you own a canine, this is a must. read more

I adopted an adorable puppy from Oakland Animal Services. After a few weeks of realizing that I didn't know what I was doing regarding puppy training, and looking up a lot of questionable advice on the internets, I signed up for Pup 1 class with BravoPup! trainer Stacey Brewer. I am so happy that I did. It was a wonderful experience that continues to benefit my dog and me. My pup was nearly 6 months old, but still had plenty to learn. She loved to see her puppy classmates and had a great time. I learned how to train her -- funny, once MY requests were clear to my dog, she immediately did whatever was asked of her. I really think Stacey spent more time training me... but she never made me feel stupid about it. Stacey answered several questions via email over the 6 weeks of classes, and also emailed lesson information after each class that I still refer back to at times. I can't imagine the experience being any better. I signed up for Pup 2 with Sandi (closer to my home). I like the classes and learning more things with my pup. I'm never able to get to the puppy socials so I can't comment on those. There is a lot of really damaging dog training information out there, especially related to dominance, pack leaders, alpha dog, aggression, etc. (here's a hint - you already are the 'leader' because you control the food and the door. you don't need to bully your pet or demand 'respect'). Do yourself and your dog a favor and take one of these classes! I also would recommend reading "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell to help understand people/dog relationships. read more

We just completed Dog 1 training of our 7 month old puppy. Our little girl has a long way to go (lots of energy) but the classes at Bravopup has made a huge difference. I think so much of puppy training is training us the owners or dog parents. Our classes were taught by Ruthanna, who I am pretty sure is a dog whisperer, she could get Charlie to do just about anything! Anyways, we were very happy with Bravo and our instructor. I would whole-heartedly recommend them to anyone. We will be continuing our human and puppy training with Bravo! read more

Katy Becker is the BEST trainer hands down!!! I've gone to their puppy socials and interacted with various BravoPup trainers and by far, Katy is the most patient, kind, resourceful and enthusiastic trainer I've met! Their classes ain't cheap and if you're going to be spending only 50 minutes per week in class you want someone who wants you and your pup there. The pup 1 class so far has been a very stable and basic class working in commands like sit stay come leave it in an intuitive way that owners and their puppers understand. I'll definitely sign up for more classes in the future. Bravo to Katy and this business! read more

I have been attending Sandi's puppy class and puppy social with my 4.5 month old American Bulldog. My dog is an easy dog who probably would behave well without training BUT I have already learned so much from Sandi that is helping me to understand my somewhat withdrawn dog and also helping me train my adult shelter dogs who have issues. I've used a lot of trainers in the past and what I really appreciate about Sandi is her professionalism and organization (sometimes dog people aren't so good at this side of things!) . She sends follow up emails after each class that are really helpful in keeping us to the program between classes. What is most important in training dogs is training their people, and Sandi's approach totally reinforces that by reminding us to stay consistent. It goes without saying that she understands dogs and is very good at dealing with all types of behavior issues. Her puppy socials are great and almost like another training class. Sandi understands how to manage a room full of puppies by having breaks in the play and catching things before they escalate. Again, this is great training for the owners; I am so much more confident taking my pup to the dog park because Sandi has told me what to watch for and how to read his interactions. read more

A year later and we are still super glad we found Bravopup, we've taken Pup 2, 3, and currently enrolled in recallers... all classes are fun, trainers are positive with great insights for pet owners. I learn something new every class... thanks Sandi and Katy! read more

When we adopted Ash he was 6 months old and our vet recommended we take him to Bravopup for training. We signed up for group training but Ash started exhibiting some guarding behaviors and the rescue organization we got him from strongly recommended private instruction. We connected with Maria Kurunungan, CTC, CPDT-KA who is a trainer at Bravopup. Maria was AMAZING! She did private training in our home for 4 weeks. She came 3 times a week, twice to work directly with Ash and once to transfer behaviors to us humans. Ash is seriously a different dog and we a family we have a much better understanding of how to interact properly with him to make all of us happy. We have a 10 year old child and Maria had him practice all the behaviors in our transfer sessions. It's been a great way for our child to understand how to work with Ash and how to have fun training him and even how to pet him properly. We continue to work on all the behaviors Maria showed us and once those are perfected we look forward to moving on to other ones...my child's dream...have Ash learn how to surf...my dream...have Ash clean up his toys ;) We are so appreciative for Maria giving us a solid foundation to build on so we can be a happy family for a long time! THANK YOU!!! read more