We had never dealt with a reactive dog who is very vocal so when we adopted our most recent…read moreadolescent dog we felt a little (a lot) out of our depth We knew she was a good sweet loving dog but so much energy and so vocal ‍ We were advised to engage a professional so we looked to Bark Busters for help Karen helped us tremendously improve our relationship with our pup She gave us a crash course in how to understand and communicate with our good girl, helped our dog become more comfortable with new people in our home and left after our session assuring us that we didn't need more of her time because "you got this" Karen helped us see the root cause of our girl's behaviors and turned our pup from unmanageable to our partner (in our eyes) Her assessment, advice and instruction helped us see our sweet pup in a new light I appreciate that so much!

Review for Adam at Bark Busters San Francisco…read more We had an incredible experience working with Adam from Bark Busters in San Francisco. From the very first session, it was clear he has a deep understanding of dog behavior and a calm, confident approach to training. Adam helped us work through some long-standing challenges with our dog, Zoe, and the progress we've seen has been genuinely life-changing. Adam didn't just focus on Zoe -- he focused on us as owners, teaching us how to communicate clearly and consistently in a way Zoe could actually understand. His explanations were practical, easy to apply, and rooted in real behavioral insight rather than gimmicks. Even after the first session, we noticed Zoe was calmer, more responsive, and more confident. What really sets Adam apart is how supportive and thorough he is. He walked us through each technique step by step, answered every question thoughtfully, and made sure we felt confident continuing the training on our own. We never felt rushed or overwhelmed -- just empowered. Zoe is now noticeably better behaved, less reactive, and overall happier -- and we credit Adam entirely for that transformation. If you're in the Bay Area and looking for a trainer who truly understands both dogs and humans, we can't recommend Adam highly enough.

After just two months of training, the difference in our dog Spoon has been incredible. We can't…read morerecommend her highly enough. When we started, Spoon could be unpredictable and we weren't always sure how to help him succeed. Through her guidance, patience, and consistency, he's become a much more confident and well-behaved dog. He now follows a routine, responds to commands, and has successfully transitioned into her group walks twice a week. What impressed us most is how in tune she is with dogs and their behavior. She has a natural ability to understand what they need while also teaching owners how to communicate with them effectively. As first-time dog owners, that support was invaluable. We're so grateful for everything she's done for Spoon and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a knowledgeable and caring trainer.

Janell is such a gift to our family! We first found out about her services through her dog…read moretraining. She was kind and smart and taught us how to reinforce training for our dog (Bubbles) as we were preparing to have a baby in the house. We also enjoyed how Janell treated Bubbles so we have also used her services for dog walking 3x a week. Bubbles gets so excited when the Bow Wow Bus comes by. He comes home so happy and tired! 10/10 recommend!

Stefania and Happy Dog have done an absolutely wonderful job walking our dog Flounder. Through…read moreStefania's training, Flounder changed from reactive, fearful dog to a calm dog who now walks in a pack of several dogs without any problems. Stefania often sends updates with photos and short videos of our dog while out on a walk, which are always fun to see. Stefania is always on-time, flexible, and adored by our dog who waits for her arrival daily. I highly recommend Happy Dog, you won't find a more caring, professional dog walker.

Stefania is the absolute best. She has been our dog walker and dog sitter for a year. We have had a…read morehandful of dog walkers over the years and she absolutely is the most caring about our dog. Stefania is super trustworthy and I am very comfortable with her staying over when we are away. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for a dog walker or a dog sitter!

HUGE fan of SF Puppy Prep for its day school, socials, and workshops! This is a long review because…read morelike other folks reading this review, when I was about to bring my puppy home, I was debating between SF Puppy Prep and similar places in SF. Choose SF Puppy Prep! DAY SCHOOL: I sent Goji, 10 week puppy to prep school as soon as I was able to. The confidence and manners he developed over 4 weeks was invaluable. When I dropped him off for school his 1st day, he was trembling with fear when I left; by the 2nd day he was leaping out of my arms at drop off bc he was so excited to be at school. I'm positive that it is because of SF Puppy Prep that I get compliments EVERY time we are in public on how well behaved he is because he is so calm. He approaches larger dogs with curiosity and confidence; when other dogs bark at him, he remains quiet and checks in with me; he is rarely afraid of new sounds and environments. He also has shown a ton of improvement with obedience /commands and crate training at home that I was struggling to train myself. I see small things come out at home that I can only assume puppy school taught him (bc I sure didn't!) that make a huge difference. For example, when I put his food down in front of him, he will sit automatically and wait until I release him to eat. He also runs into his crate and puts himself to sleep at night when he's tired. Big shoutout to Tiro, Isaiah, Lindsay (sp?), Adrian (sp?) and all the other wonderful counselors that made my puppy's days so happy! PUPPY SOCIALS: Best in the city - I've attended a LOT of them and the reason these folks are better than any other is because they explain beforehand what good puppy play looks like, they narrate what's going on while the puppies are playing, and gently include owners in intervening or helping take breaks as needed. Because of this, as the owner, I am also more educated on how my puppy should play with others when he meets them in less structured environments. WORKSHOPS: I love the specialty workshops that are offered! I took my puppy to a recall workshop as it's very important to me he functions well off leash. He was a little young for the workshop but Amrit, the teacher, was so accommodating, and what we learned has been so helpful for me to continue training my puppy as he gets older. I typed this all on my phone and my thumbs are SORE now but in conclusion, if you're a new puppy parent debating sending your dog here, DO IT!

Ellie graduated puppy prep in 2016. This review is a bit delayed, but we wanted to honor her…read morerecent passing by giving gratitude for those who helped shape who she was. She was a such a wonderful pup who always minded, was great with children and strangers, and never barked at the vacuum. Sending a heartfelt thank-you to the team at SF Puppy Prep

Kim has helped train my newly adopted 3 month old puppy, Dosa, who came home timid without any…read more"city" experience and very little leash walking experience. He is now well adjusted to city life and he has learned to enjoy city walks and social play with other dogs, including her dog Lil Lady! Kim has also helped look after him while we travelled and it was comforting to know he was in good hands.

Kim was our trainer for our Husky mix, Luna. We had been having issues with other dogs, recall, and…read moregeneral excitement/jumpiness. Between Kim and a board-and-train we did, Luna is now comfortable in a crate, has excellent recall, and overall listens to us better. We feel like we have a great set of tools with which to work on Luna's behavior, and have welcomed our newborn into the family with much less anxiety about dog/baby interactions. Kim was great to work with: she's obviously very experienced and has a lot of knowledge to share. On top of that, we absolutely loved her positive energy, she brought a smile and reassuring words to every session! We still use her for occasional dog walks as-needed: she's punctual, communicative, and sends great photos. Highly recommended!

I've stopped writing yelp reviews but came on here to say Jose changed our life!! We have a 1.5 yr…read morefrench bulldog who we were totally overstimulating in our home and became a terror to deal with. Resource guarding his food bowl, bad at walking, random growling at us, overstimulated by balls/dogs, and generally uncontrollable in any situation. We inquired with a bunch of different dog trainers and decided to go with Refined K9 given their holistic approach. Before Refinedk9, I had tried "positive only" trainers that evaluated Buddha for his food aggression, but they were totally ineffective and, in fact, made his reactivity towards food worse. We were also way over-feeding him and numbing him to treats. Other unqualified trainers were also unable to explain how they would properly introduce an e-collar and why e-collars are used. We were extremely anxious about having Buddha do the 4-week board and train to "reset", but we felt okay after learning Jose has many French bulldogs himself. Even though we didn't get super frequent updates, it was clear every week that Buddha was very well taken care of. Jose took the first week to evaluate our dog, his behavior, and get to know him, without "jumping" into conditioning. He took the time to understand us, our dog's behaviors, and tailored a program to uplevel Buddha slowly (place, relaxing around food, learning how to walk properly, with a gentler prong collar, and then an e-collar). He also helped Buddha learn how to 'communicate' with other dogs and 'socialize' properly in a safe space (not a random dog park). When we visited Buddha, we could tell he respected and liked Jose. I cried with happiness the day our dog came back :) He walked perfectly, he was confident, and knew how to communicate with other dogs. He was calmer in our home but still had his personality. We learned to make hard changes to our environment that was overstimulating for our dog and how to better communicate with him. Even though it's been hard enforcing changes at home, I feel so much happier with our structure. The intake process with Refinedk9 was a little confusing, as we talked to 3 different trainers over phone/email, although all of them recommended Jose for us. At the end of the day, we trusted our decision to move forward, and we are incredibly thankful to have our boy in the hands of a highly experienced and trustworthy dog trainer.

I could not recommend RefinedK9 enough! We first worked with Theo a couple of years ago to work on…read moreour dog's reactivity. The 1:1 sessions and group LRA classes were invaluable to us. Everyone at RefinedK9 has been amazing -- since then we've boarded our dogs with them many times while on vacation and it's a great feeling knowing your pet is in the care of someone who knows them well and will give them the enrichment they need while you're away. In terms of results, last weekend we went on a trip with friends and their dogs. Our dog was able to comfortably hang out in a new house with other dogs they hadn't met before. No reactions or stress -- just a happy dog being able to coexist. This was definitely something our dog wouldn't have been able to do before working with Theo & RefinedK9.

This is our second time working with the PrimePaw team, and we couldn't recommend them more highly…read more Our 10-month-old rescue, Bootsy, came to us after spending most of her life in an overcrowded rural shelter with little structure, exercise, or training. She was incredibly sweet but completely unaccustomed to home or city life--chewing everything, jumping on counters, struggling to focus, fearful on city walks, and prone to intense play biting. Enrolling her in PrimePaw's Adolescent Academy for three weeks, followed by daycare, has been truly transformative. In just two months, Bootsy has developed focus, impulse control, and a real love for training. She walks calmly through the city now, no longer counter-surfs, and happily settles on her mat to train with us at home every day! Most importantly, she's become a joyful, confident dog. Bootsy absolutely lights up when she arrives at PrimePaw each morning--tail wagging, eager to go in--which says everything. The entire team--Dom, Steph, Joanne, James, Daniel, Jordyn, Gigi, and Helen--are kind, patient, deeply skilled, and clearly love what they do. We're incredibly grateful to have them in our lives!

These guys are the real deal when it comes to amazing dog (and people) training. I met with James…read morerecently and was completely impressed by his knowledge, warmth for Greg dog and non-judgemental guidance. He is generous with his time and gave me specific homework to improve Greg's behavior, and mine. As possibly the only bipoc-led facility around, Prime Paw is the one place I'll be working with for tweaking our bad habits. James communicated how to find out where Greg's threshold is to learn when confronted with large dogs and encouraged positive interaction with him during those frequent meetings. As a city dog and a rescue, I feel more positive about Greg's ability to learn and change a few reactive behaviors after meeting with James. Thank you!

I can't say enough great things about Top Dog SF! This might sound a little unconventional, but I…read morejust hosted a 10th birthday party for my dog here after he went through a really intense health journey last year so this milestone meant everything to my family and I. From the very beginning, the process was incredibly smooth. Reaching out through their website and coordinating the booking for a non-hosted event was so easy, and the communication was clear, responsive, and genuinely helpful. The space itself was absolutely perfect and exactly what I was looking for to celebrate with close friends and family. Everything came together seamlessly, which made the day even more special and stress-free. I catered food and brought my own decor and it was an easy set up and takedown. I'm so grateful to the team at Top Dog SF for helping make this meaningful celebration possible. I would 100% book here again. Thank you so much!

Top Dog changed our lives! We enrolled our puppy Donut in the Puppy Headstart program, and we could…read morenot be more blown away. They truly transformed him. As brand-new dog parents, we had no idea where to start, and Mike not only trained Donut every day, but also coached us on how to reinforce training at-home. The daily training videos they sent were incredibly helpful and made it easy to repeat everything on our own. Donut is now more confident, relaxed, and well-mannered - we're honestly so impressed and so proud of how far he's come. And the best part? He LOVES going to school. He happily trots through the door every day, which tells us everything we need to know about how well he's cared for. The whole staff has been nothing short of amazing: so patient, kind, and truly invested in every dog. Donut was especially loved by Mike, Michelle, and Raina, and we're so grateful for each of them. Natalie, the owner, is also an absolute pleasure to work with and runs a fantastic program. Yes, this program is an investment, but it is worth every penny! We could not recommend Top Dog SF more. If you're on the fence, do it. Your dog (and you!) will be better for it.

Our dog Millie has been walked by Citizens Hound for almost 5years, and I can't recommend them…read morehighly enough. Millie is a senior dog now with several health challenges and allergies, and the crew has taken the absolute best care of her. They've genuinely become our extended family. The owner David welcomed her into his family when we were traveling -- she had the absolute best time playing with his little kids. Chris (and Olivia!) have been extended family to us too, helping with walks when we needed the most, and Millie is so excited every time she sees them. Kayla and Wes are the sweetest. Millie had a medical emergency when we were travelling and Wes promptly took her to emergency room and making sure she got the treatment she needed. Millie wags her tail whenever she is picked up. We've had a few different walkers over the last few years and have never been disappointed -- CH always made sure to put Millie in a pack that was the best fit for her needs. Our neighbors have stopped us so many times just to ask who our walker is, because Millie looks so happy walking with them. Booking and cancellation is also so easy through their app, and management is super responsive. I'd trust them with my fur baby with my eyes closed, we're sad to leave CH as we move to another city. We will miss this crew so much!

This is a bitter sweet review as we are moving and are outside of the coverage area. There are not…read moreenough superlatives to describe the Citizen Hound experience. Every dog walker and employee is exceptional, treating our dog as their own. Special shout out to the amazing Wes (our first walker), Alex our interim and finally Grace (gonna miss your beautiful face and great commentary on the daily recaps). Hopefully with little Niko leaving it frees up a spot for some other lucky dog to have the best experience. Love you guys, forever thankful.

I genuinely cannot say enough wonderful things about Sniff SF and the incredible humans behind it…read more As an Alamo Square resident (94117), I rely on Sniff for Asher's daily on-leash walks, specialized playgroups, and overnight boarding, and I truly don't know what I would do without them! The entire team is AMAZING. They're consistently on time, incredibly communicative, thoughtful, and absolutely hilarious. The pictures, jokes, and stories they send throughout the day regularly have me falling off my chair laughing. Asher is a bit of an older gentleman, and they're so attentive to his individual needs, whether that means taking it easy on hot days or making sure he's socializing with other well-behaved pups in their carefully curated playgroups. And if you need proof of just how much these people love their dogs, when Asher was sick and spent a few days in the dog hospital, the entire Sniff crew sent him a get-well-soon gift. I can't even express how much that meant to me. I also travel often for work, and knowing Asher has a second home at Camp Sniff with Heather and her family takes an enormous mental load off my plate. The pictures of him adventuring around Fort Funston, hanging with his dog friends, and generally living his best life are priceless. They keep me completely updated on how he's doing, including immediately flagging anything that seems even slightly off. I never have to wonder whether he's safe, happy, or being loved. Asher is beside himself with excitement every time one of his walkers comes through the door and absolutely LOVES going to stay with Heather. It's an extraordinary feeling to know your dog isn't just safe and well cared for, but genuinely, deeply loved. That's what Sniff gives me every single day. I adore these humans and cannot recommend them highly enough. Five stars doesn't even begin to cover it!

When we adopted our pup (Hazel), we wanted to make sure she was well-socialized and cared for when…read morewe had to work or travel. Sniff played such a huge role in bringing out the best in our timid little rescue and making her into a confident, happy girl who loves to see her canine pals coming. We've had some fantastic dog walkers, including Josh who was so sweet and thoughtful with all of Hazel's quirks and charms, and are so grateful for Heather boarding Hazel and treating her like a member of the family. Thank you for all that you do, Team Sniff!