If we could give Mark Peña ten stars, we would! We originally reached out to Mark during a very stressful time. After living together in relative peace, our two three-year-old dogs suddenly started viciously attacking one another. We were desperate for help. We consulted with several trainers, but Mark immediately stood out from the crowd. Even though he was going out of town and wouldn't be available for two weeks, we felt a strong intuitive connection to him that we decided to wait for his return. Looking back, that was the absolute best decision we could have made for our furry family. From the moment he stepped into our home for our initial "getting-to-know-you" appointment, we knew we were in expert hands. He spent a couple of generous hours patiently meeting and greeting us and our entire menagerie of animals. He shared his heart-centered training philosophy, and his deep wisdom and incredible talent were obvious right from the start. Mark is the perfect combination of professional and deeply personable. He is always punctual, bursting with positive energy, and possesses a truly rare, loving magic with animals. Our dogs absolutely adore him--their tails start wagging the moment he arrives, and they don't want to say goodbye when it's time for him to leave. We just completed our initial six-session course, and the results are stunning. Since we began incorporating his techniques, our dogs have not had a single issue with one another (except once when it was our fault with bones - so we learned our people lesson). Harmony has been restored to our household. Beyond the behavioral issues, Mark's vast knowledge even helped us successfully tackle a stubborn car sickness issue with one of our pups! What also appreciate the incredible value and ongoing support Mark provides. Included in our original package are three more sessions to use whenever we need them, because Mark truly understands that training is an ongoing journey. He is incredibly generous with his time and support--whether it's a quick phone consultation for simple questions, a Zoom check-in, or coming out in person, he is always there for us. Mark is not just a profoundly talented trainer; he is one of the nicest, genuine human beings you will ever meet. We highly recommend him to anyone looking to transform their relationship with their pets. In fact, we are already planning to have him train one of our dogs as a service dog next! Thank you, Mark, for bringing peace back to our home! read more

The trainer helped me and my little grandkids work with my rescue pup, who was terrified of small children. The protocol really works!

We had a great experience working with Mark to prepare our 8-year-old cattle dog for the arrival of our baby. From the beginning, he focused on the basics in a way that was engaging and positive for our dog--she genuinely enjoyed the training sessions! One of the biggest wins was getting her comfortable sleeping in her crate overnight for the first time, something we never thought possible. She also made great strides with basic commands and significantly improved her recall, even when off-leash. Mark was patient, knowledgeable, and clearly experienced working with dogs. We're so glad we invested in this training--it gave us more confidence heading into this next chapter. read more

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My family started working with Mark back in 2023. What drew me to Dogovation Dog Training was that Mark would come to us so we could work on training our dogs in our surrounding area. He got to know us and took the time to learn what our goals were for training. I felt like it was more of a customized training compared to past experiences. And he doesn't only train the dogs. It is also necessary for humans to be taught how to remain calm, confident, and consistent with training. I have communicated with Mark since and have been able to ask questions and get advice when needed. I would recommend him to anyone looking for a dog trainer. read more

This review is coming way too late...5 years after we worked with Lisa. I apologize Lisa for not writing this sooner...lots of life stuff happened since then. Lisa saved my crazy dogs Mars and Apollo. Before we hired her they were kicked out of puppy training class at PetCo and we were told our dogs may not be trainable and they had dark hearts. It seemed hopeless they were ever going to become good dogs. Lisa put them in doggy boot camp and it all turned around from there. They are such good boys now. Very well behaved and they listen! This is what we hear all the time when we pick them up from doggy daycare. Lisa is truly amazing and has a gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! read more

Dogovation Dog Training - Mars and Apollo - Pet Training Near Me

Lisa Caper is an outstanding trainer and we are so happy we found her to help us with Cody. We cannot recommend her highly enough! We adopted Cody from GSRNC (German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California in December 2017. He was about a year old. He had been abandoned as a puppy in Oakland. Rescued from a kill shelter by GSRNC. Adopted and returned after 2 months because he was "too much dog" for the family that adopted him. Then we found him. He had had NO training. And even though we are experienced dog owners and thought we could train him ourselves - we quickly realized we needed professional help. Lisa has made a huge difference in Cody's life and in ours. Results were noticeable after the FIRST session. Lisa is no nonsense, effective and fun to be with. We have learned so much from her and Cody is a happy dog. Well worth the investment. If you are serious about training your dog and yourself, then hire Lisa. read more

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LIsa at Dogovation is the best. Her PHD in human psychology is her advantage. When you consider that you are really training the humans, not the dog, you'll appreciate why she is so successful (and 5 stars on Yelp). She was able to help us with our rescue when we were at wits end. With Lisa's help, our pup was able to take his rightful place in our pack! read more

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We've now had three sessions with Lisa and cannot recommend her enough! After moving to Marin 4 months ago, our three year old pup, Jimmy, was really stressed out, feeling the need to protect and patrol our new yard and fence - which included regular 3am wake-ups to go check the perimeter of the yard. Other unfortunate side effects included lots of fence guarding and barking and a bit of leash aggression. The neighbors started crossing the street to avoid him... that's when we knew we had to give Lisa a call. Fast forward to a month later where Jimmy is markedly more relaxed and loves his training sessions with Lisa, even though we're setting ground rules and correcting unwanted behavior. Two neighbors walked by and remarked at how much better Jimmy has been doing - he's now much more likely to be relaxing in the grass than growling at passers by. Lisa is truly incredible - if you are disciplined and focused with her training guidelines, the payoff is amazing (and fast!). She's also incredibly responsive and understanding - zero judgement, just constructive guidance. Thank you, Lisa! read more

We were pretty psyched up about Lisa, thinking she was expensive but going to be worth it. Reality was more "meh." Upfront she seemed good and responsive, but pretty quickly communication became sparse and what we got in terms of training was just run of the mill. read more

I'm actually going to downgrade my rating to a 1. We have had a few trainers since Lisa and it's pretty clear her training is not very good. Would recommend looking elsewhere. read more

I almost hate Lisa because my dog, Homer, is so wonderful now I never want to be away from him! My husband and I had gone through two puppy training classes and one other private trainer before we found Lisa. And thank God we did. We came to Lisa because Homer was being a bossy jerk. While he could sit, stay, rollover and come with the best of them, he was so high energy and whiny and obnoxious the other 99% of the time. We'd wake up in the morning to him whining and pacing, demanding attention. He needed three walks every day before settling down for the day. And, worst of all, he was getting into quite a few kerfuffles at the dog park - namely snapping at any dog who would come near me. This was not okay. Enter Lisa. We were skeptical as we'd been through the trainer rigmarole before and since Homer was well trained in the obedience sense, we figured we'd done all we could do. But we tried it and all I can say is that the investment was well worth it for a lifetime of the dog we want. Basically, Lisa's training rules are pretty simple. She gives you foundational behaviors and a few weeks of "boot camp" which basically means your dog can't do anything unless you tell him to. It took a week for us to get used to it, but Lisa was available for phone calls and emails. She came every week and we would practice his skills, she would train us on how to train him better, catching our mistakes, then would take us out to cafes and the park to test him out in real life. It's only been a month but Homer is already the perfect dog. Turns out he doesn't actually need three walks ago in order to behave. He never whines. He does what he's told the first time instead of us needing to repeat ourselves five times. And, thankfully, his goofy personality hasn't changed. He's actually even more affectionate and sweet than ever before. Best of all, I feel confident that should he ever backslide or get obnoxious again, I have the tools in my back pocket to get him back into shape. Lisa did that. I'm beyond thankful that we found her. read more

Lisa Caper is a miracle worker. Our experience with her was -- has been -- truly outstanding. She helped us understand better what our new 8 week old puppy needed, so that we could succeed in bringing out the best in him the first month: cozier crate; more regular schedule; closer supervision; firm clear boundaries; lots of love and encouragement. From the get-go, Lisa was -- is -- very communicative, quick to understand our dogs needs AND my needs, and explains things clearly, with demonstrations and consistent focus. (I keep changing the tense because we worked with her almost a month ago, but she still checks in to make sure we are doing OK, and encourages us to ask questions -- so I think of it as the ongoing maintenance phase of her customer service.) This is my first ever dog, and even before we got the puppy, I was panicking a little, so we decided to invest in a personal consultation right away. Lisa had excellent reviews, and although it was an investment ($495 for three nice long sessions), it was completely worth the money. Lisa obviously has some kind of dog magic, and she got us past three huge hurdles -- our own ignorance -- the puppy's needs and psychology -- and setting the foundation for good manners. In fact, Lisa spent 15 min on the phone with me before we even got the puppy, in order to set my expectations somewhat; and we hadn't even hired her yet. And in between sessions, we were encouraged to ask questions in email, which she answered quickly and thoroughly. And afterward, she has followed up a few times to see how Boomer is doing. We want to turn our cute fuzzy impulse puppy into a steady, well-mannered family dog. Knowing I can reach out and hire Lisa again for a refresher course, I have faith that we'll be able to get there one day. Thank you, Fairy Dogmother! ~~~~~~ Some more details, which if you are a new dog owner and considering hiring Lisa, you probably don't have time for anyway: - I am a grown-ass woman, but when Lisa said sit to my dog, I almost sat down myself! - She is trained as a psychologist and it shows. In a good way. - I didn't want her to leave. But after our 3 sessions, Lisa encouraged us to take Boomer to a regular puppy manners class, see what kind of dog he grows into, before doing more work with her. So bonus points for not letting me hire her for the same thing twice. :) - She is also available to do focused training like going into public places and making sure he keeps his good manners in a distracting environment. read more

I paid Lisa $1,700 for lifetime training for my adult rescue dog. After an assessment (which she valued at $150) plus 2 sessions, my dog bit a relative quite badly. Unfortunately for me, this occurred on a Friday evening, and Lisa did not respond to my request for advice, as she apparently doesn't respond to queries outside of work hours. She had still not responded to my request for advice 3 days later, when we made the decision to rehome my dog. I should note that the dog rescue, veterinarian and children's pediatrician all made themselves available during this time for advice, and all the advice was free of charge. Since Lisa had chosen not to be part of the decision-making process for rehoming, I requested a partial refund of her services. The first I heard from her was just after the refund request - she sent me an email with a copy of the contract I had signed stating that she is not legally obligated to offer me a refund under any circumstances. She never expressed concern for my relative or the dog. After some back and forth, she refunded me $500 from her fee, which means I paid more than $500 per 1-1.5 hour training session (neither of which were specific to the dog - it was basic leash, place and crate training). I would not hire her again, and I would not recommend her to anyone seeking a trainer. NOTE: Lisa contacted me after this review was posted and blamed me for the dog bite. She claimed that she had instructed me on a series of safety steps to take when this particular relative entered my home - this is completely false. The dog had no history of aggression, and dealing with aggression was not part of the training plan. My daughter attended the training session Lisa mentioned and has no recollection of Lisa's 'advice.' There is no mention of the dog's aggression or Lisa's training/ advice in any of the private correspondence I had with Lisa following the bite - the first time I read about it was here on Yelp. I am happy with share these emails with anyone interested - please contact me privately if you'd like. Lisa also did not tell me that she would not be available outside work hours. She is free to do as she pleases in her free time, but she lied below when stating that she had made this clear to me as a client. She expressed far more concern for my family in her public response on Yelp than she did in any emails written privately to me. The fact is that this business owner lashes out when criticized - this is reflected in her response to every single non-5-star Yelp review. read more

My husband and I worked with Lisa earlier this spring to help us with our dog-fearing shepard/lab/we really don't know what he is mix, Sawyer. I've been meaning to write this review for a while, because Lisa is a life saver! Sawyer was very reactive, on leash and off, to other dogs. Barking, snarling, lunging, the whole ordeal. This was stressful in any public walking situation, but especially after we moved into an apartment complex where many owners let their dogs run off-leash around the grounds. After Lisa's help, Sawyer is calm and listens to us, and we can walk by other dogs without incident. Her program is organized to give the dogs (and the people!) the skills they need to be successful before throwing the dog into his stress spots. I hadn't realized how lax my house structure was for Sawyer, and that implementing the crate and resting place really helped him to calm down right away. I'll admit that the prong collar did make me nervous at first, and I would NEVER have used it without Lisa's lessons first, but it really does provide a safe tool for dog training and building a stable relationship with your dog when used correctly. Sawyer is now a leash walking rock star, and strangers now actually compliment him for his leash manners! Lisa's program is definitely an investment, but we love that if Sawyer has any issues in the future we can call up Lisa and she'll put us back on track. If your dog needs training beyond the basics, Lisa is a wonderful trainer and I'd highly recommend working with her. read more

Our 3 month German Shepherd has been totally different since the second training. He quits biting , understands and follows simple instructions... We are SO happy, especially my children. They said our dog is more adorable now. read more

Lisa is absolutely wonderful. If you're getting a new puppy or dealing with any dog behavioral issues, talk to Lisa! We got the puppy package for our 11-week poodle, Bert, but Lisa also helped us work on our 9-year-old chihuahua mix's poor behavior around houseguests. She treated the four of us (myself, my boyfriend, and our two pups) as a holistic system, helping us understand how our behavior was enabling our dogs to misbehave and providing very concrete guidance. We had lots of questions -- Is it okay that the dog is growling at the puppy? How do we keep them from stealing each other's food? How can I tell if my puppy is really in distress or just yelping to get me to do what he wants? How long should I be leaving him in his crate? Lisa answered them all, usually by recreating the situation, showing us how to interpret what was happening, and demonstrating how to respond -- much more helpful than instructions alone! Best of all, I could see that my dogs were responding to Lisa in a positive way: calm, content, and interested in what she wanted them to do next. Her methods are gentle but firm. Anyone can see that she cares deeply for dogs, and they respond wonderfully to it. read more

Lisa is awesome! She is patient and extremely knowledgeable. Her input really helped me with my 4 month old puppy, Chip. :)

We found out about Lisa and Dogovation from a woman we didn't even know. (That woman had a very well behaved hound dog and when we walked by them on a walk, my 1.5 year old Catahoula Leopard dog went crazy, as usual. When we asked how she got her dog to be so great she told us about Dogovation.) Long story short, I called Lisa at Dogovation and talked to her about my rambunctious, obnoxious, but sweet pooch. She spent a lot of time with me on the phone answering my questions and sharing with me her philosophy about dogs and training. She came to our home the next week and we had a consultation. I was reluctant because we had done the puppy and family dog trainings at the Marin Humane Society, but didn't feel that we got much from them. Our dog was very different from the other labradoodles and golden retrievers in the classes. Our dog didn't respond to the training very well although he is very smart; he only did the tricks/commands when he wanted to, only when he knew there were treats in my hand. When Lisa got to our house, my dog howled and jumped on her and sniffed her in every region, yikes. After talking more, we decided to work with Lisa and she told us that our dog wouldn't do that after the next time she came to our house. I didn't believe her, but I wanted to have faith so I shook my head and pretended to see her vision. WELL, SHE WAS RIGHT! After one training session and lots of practice once she left, our dog stopped harassing our house guests. Believe it or not, when people come to our home, he goes to his bed and lays down. I can answer the door now without having to hold him back. He doesn't climb all over the couch to get to our guests. He stays on his bed until we tell him to get up. Friends and their kids can sit on the floor without having this beast sit on them, tackle them or lick them to death. WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE OVER TO OUR HOUSE NOW AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD EVER HAPPEN. We also have a 1 year old child and are expecting another little one in a few months. I was feeling overwhelmed by the baby and the crazy dog, but now he is so much more manageable! I can walk comfortably with him and the stroller! He stops walking and sits when I stop walking and doesn't get up until I go again. He can go into stores with us now and acts the same way! We get compliments about him all the time. He goes to his bed when my son eats and I don't have to deal with him jumping on the high chair to steal food from his human brother. Before we met Lisa, we were really stuck wondering if we could manage the dog and the babies. Now I am excited to have my happy family of humans and our wonderful fur buddy. I feel confident because of how Lisa has helped us, but it's also so reassuring knowing that we can lean on her for help for the rest of our pooch's life. I've even referred back to her training book several times to remember what she taught us. Huge thanks to Lisa at Dogovation! I highly recommend her! read more

We relocated to SF with a beautiful, 6 month old white German Shepherd puppy who tends to be anxious, excitable and protective. Upon on our first meeting I liked Lisa Caper's calm manner and I really appreciated how she explained her methods of training and what she expected of not only the puppy, but more importantly of my husband & I. With Lisa's help, we were able to learn how to handle Venta when the doorbell rang, when we had company or when she would try to "guard" me. It has been a very challenging experience, as Venta is a super smart dog who likes to test boundaries....learning to cultivate patience, along with consistency, has paid off! It has been rewarding to see Venta blossom into a sweet, calm young girl. I was so pleased that I referred Lisa at DogOvation to my neighbor who is another happy client! I would highly recommend Lisa at DogOvation! read more

I just thought it would be a good time to update our review since I just recommended Lisa to a friend! Almost 1 year after finishing our training, we are still so glad we invested in Lisa's services . We recently moved into a new place and since we didn't have to worry about our dog's noise (went from an apartment to a house) we kind of slacked with our house rules. Things got crazy quick and it was clear we needed to get the dogs back in shape. We pulled out our book and started "boot camp". And since we were so well trained the first time, we didn't have to call Lisa back! After re-establishing the boundaries and using the skills Lisa taught us, the dogs are back under control! Thanks again Lisa! read more

We loved Lisa. In fact we still do! We hired her to help us with our new standard poodle puppy acclimating to life with our ten year old of the same breed. She has the perfect nature for a dog trainer...firm, kind, clear. She is easy to communicate with, punctual and extremely helpful. Lisa is smart, a psychologist by training, and her overall understanding of life and human dynamics is great. After all, it is US, she is training. We may call her in again, but for this round, Lisa helped us have a very nice beginning with our new puppy. read more

Lisa Caper is unique in dog training. Formerly, she was a licensed clincial social worker; so she's skilled at dealing BOTH "2-leggeds" AND "4-leggeds". Lisa helped us with our senior citizen pooch who was getting increasingly anxious from loss of hearing. One session and we had invaluable exercises and suggestions, which made everyone happier. Plus if you've got a dawg with 'tude: she is the unflappable manners making machine. read more

We had issues with both our German Shepherd and Pomeranian. Lisa did an excellent job with both!

I contacted Lisa from Dogovation to help me with my German Shepherd, Tallulah, who can be aggressive towards other dogs. We had a couple of phone conversations and then arranged for a time for her to come by on the weekend. Lisa came to my house and worked with the both of us for a couple of hours, giving examples of what I needed to do with my dog and then having me do it. She was very into training me more than my dog, which is what I really wanted. She taught me some very simple, but still kind of brilliant techniques to help manage Tallulah's behavior. Lisa knew right away exactly what Tallulah needed. She (my dog) responded immediately to Lisa's commands and it wasn't long before I was able to control Tallulah in a similar way. I was very happy with Lisa and Dogovation. I feel a lot more confident walking Tallulah in my neighborhood and going to local parks, etc. My dog isn't "cured" of her aggression, but I finally feel like I can actually relax a little bit and enjoy taking her out. read more

We have a "spirited" 18 month old Kelpie/Cattle Dog mix that we picked up at the SPCA before Christmas. We fell in love with Max without knowing anything about his breed or background, and took him home on the spot. At his first visit to the Vet, she walked into the room and said: "have you ever owned a herding dog?" On her advice we promptly called Dogovation. Lisa is great with dogs and their people. It seems a common mistake we dog owners make is that dogs have the same ability to reason as we do. It took me a while to get that, and so Lisa was patiently training me as much to be with my dog, as training my dog to be with me! Now Max plays nicely with other dogs, is relaxed on a leash, and is obedient most of the time (as much as a teenager can be.) The best investment we ever made! read more

Working with Lisa and Dog Ovation has been wonderful and exceeded all our expectations. We began working with Lisa when my wife was 8 months pregnant and we were finding it increasingly difficult to control our two 18-month-old dogs. Regular walks and visits to the dog park were challenging, we were constantly apologizing for their bad behavior. At home their excessive barking and endless energy created a chaotic environment. We were especially concerned with the increasingly aggressive tendencies of our cattle dog. We tried everything and nothing seemed to make a difference. We embarked on the Dog Ovation program and began seeing results very quickly. Lisa's philosophy is straightforward and easily achievable. Lisa is extremely professional and enjoyable to work with. One specific thing that we liked is that Lisa trains us to train the dog which empowered us to work with the dogs on the unique elements of good behavior that we need in our home. Our home is now a peaceful environment with two happy, well-behaved dogs who are ready to welcome a new family member. We would give Lisa a 10/10 and encourage anyone who is interested in improving their dog's behavior even just a little to use Dog Ovation. read more

We moved cross-country with our dogs from a home with a big backyard to an apt with a small shared garden in San Francisco. The dramatic lifestyle change really caused a lot of anxiety in our male lab Q. Noises caused frenzied barking, social & property boundaries at the off leash dog parks were confusing & a bit nerve-wracking for Q & me. Lisa Caper at DogOvation is the best training investment we ever made for our dog and has made our family better pet owners. Within a week under Lisa's calm, patient guidance his anxiety & frenzied barking diminished. He is a joy to walk. Q is the best dog ever now! His city manners are improving everyday. Strangers often compliment my "nice dog" on walks. Thanks to Lisa, Q is a happy, well adjusted member of our family and loves life in SF!! Tamara Cleghorn read more

We hired Lisa for her puppy training services and met with her for three consultation visits. It was the BEST CHOICE EVER. She is really wonderful. We have a busy household with three young kids and we added a puppy on top. Lisa helped us square away on the puppy's routine, house breaking, and basic training - making the whole experience feel very manageable, smooth, comfortable. We knew how to work with our pup from day one, and we've built a great foundation thanks to Lisa. She was also really quick to all our questions in between sessions. Her approach to training is very cool -- she brings a lot of passion, knowledge, and love to her work. read more

It was incredible to see the change in my dog just after the 1st session. I went through 3 trainers before finding Lisa and none of the other trainers worked. My dog was incredibly shy and very timid around people. She was incredibly scared of kids. After the 3rd day of training, a group of 3 kids ran past her screaming and playing, my dog didn't even react. It was amazing to see. Now I have the perfect dog who goes up to people, and is very calm. Thank you so much Lisa for everything!!! I have learned so much!! read more

We were having some pretty serious problems with our rescue pup Lyla. We were working so hard to get her under control but it wasn't working. Everything compounded one day when she got stressed downtown and bit someone! We called Lisa that same day and she talked us through the situation and calmed us down. We laughed when she said we would have a dog who would be sitting politely at a cafe by the end of our sessions. I would have been happy if she would have just been able to sit on command! Last week we had our final training class. This consisted of my now sweet and gentle little pooch sitting at a cafe for over an hour while we talked. Lisa was a godsend. She worked with us around our schedule, when we needed it, and allowed us to reclaim our lives! Now Lyla comes everywhere with me and I'm not worried about her behavior. We still have more work to do, but it's just going to come with experience, plus Lisa has given us all the tools we need to keep going forward with her. I can't thank her enough. read more