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    Man-K9 - San Diego Dog Training

    5.0 (51 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated a few days ago

    Services - Man-K9 - San Diego Dog Training

    Private dog training

    Man-K9 - San Diego Dog Training Photos

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    Man K9 had a one year birthday party for my puppy while she was there for a two week board and train.
    Princeton J.

    WOW is all I can say!!! I sent both my very POWERFUL puppies, a Belgian Malinois and Dogo Argentino to a two week board and train while I was traveling out of the country. All I can say is I am EXTREMELY IMPRESSED by the training outcome that both my puppies received. I entrusted this training facility because they train Law Enforcement K9s and I also work with Law Enforcement. THIS PLACE IS LEGIT AND THE REAL DEAL IN DOG TRAINING!!!! This place is the real deal and EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL. They love dogs so very much! I was given full updates while I was overseas on my puppies statuses during their training. They even had a one year birthday party for my Dogo Argentino puppy, because her birthday occurred while I was traveling. They educated me personally upon my return with over a two hour instructional class held at my home because I had gotten very sick upon my return from International travels and was unable to drive to their facility. Upon my return I worked with Fon, as he taught my son and I about dog psychology and how to be handlers of our newly fully trained K9 family members. Thank you Fon for spending all that precious time with us at our home, you are clearly extremely knowledgeable and talented with your work with dogs and your love towards them!!! To the entire staff of trainers... THANK YOU... you all did such an AMAZING JOB training Sakari and Cairo!!!! Alayna.... Thank you for handling the paperwork and progress updates so timely and professional with your highest level of compassion and care for my fur family!!! I trust you all so very much.... Simply.... THANK YOU!!!!!!

    Our perfect girl, in the office with us as we completed paperwork.
    Meredith J.

    Ahhhhhhh where do I begin? Every single interaction--from initial inquiry to bringing our girl home to follow up--was above and beyond incredible. They were so patient and helpful in answering questions, so thoughtful about their suggestions and so gently and supportive in their introductions to their dogs. We brought home the perfect girl for us. She's so well trained and they clearly knew her so well and loved her so much. They helped us make the perfect match! She's amazing, and we are forever grateful.

    Our pup, Luna. The shelter said "Shepherd mix" while the DNA said pit/boxer. Who knows!

    "Shocked" is what we felt when within about five seconds, our trainer, Ricky, showed how to get our five-month-old-old pup to stop pulling on the leash. Cured just like that. It was right then that I realized a few things: - Even though I should have been able to train our dog myself, I wasn't doing it right. - I wasn't setting aside enough time to work on training - a class you go to fixes that. - And the big one, the class is as much training the owner as it is about training the dog. During the week between classes, I worked with our dog, as much for myself as for her, so that I wouldn't get in trouble for "not doing my homework!" At the completion of the course, we were extremely impressed by Man-K9 and Ricky, and wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone wanting to teach their dog (and themselves) how to have a better relationship. Two big thumbs-up!

    Before
    Diana W.

    Money well spent! Ricky gave me hope that my dog, Fritz, a very hyper GSP could be well managed. I just wanted two goals: for him not to pull me while on leash even though he knows what HEEL means and to SETTLE as he is a major whiner and in constant motion. I got a lot more out of the sessions: education on equipment, timing, leash control, voice and how to reward without adding to the excitement of an excitable dog!, etc. Training with frustration has turned into training with confidence. It has made me want to further Fritz's training so that he can be taken and trusted anywhere I go. Honestly, I should've trained him sooner! A huge thank you to Ricky for his reassuring and kind manner. He has made the sessions fun while pushing us forward.

    I went to Man-K9 because I wanted to purchase a trained dog. My first contact was with Alayna. BTW, sorry if I don't get the spelling right. Anyway, she was such a pleasure to work with. She took a lot of time to find out about me before attempting to find a dog that would be a good fit. Alayna introduced me to a Texas Heeler named Millie and that was it. Game over. Millie has literally transformed my life and will be a companion and protector for many years to come. I bring her with me just about everywhere I go and *everyone comments on how beautiful and exceptionally well trained she is. Just the other day I was at IKEA and someone else with a dog that was moving around quite a bit jokingly commented that I was making all the other people with dogs look bad because Millie was calmly heeling at my side. I simply cannot thank Alayna enough for finding me Millie. The next person I met was Fon and let me tell you; this guy knows his training. Dog training *and human training. I say human training because dogs are not the only creatures with bad habits and Fon helped me with some of my habits that ultimately made for a stronger bond between me and Millie. Let me tell you about Millie. She is fully crate trained and house broken and she obeys the following commands: heel, sit, down stay, let it go (gets her to stop focusing on something), drop it and come. She is both on and off leash trained. When I bring her somewhere and need both my hands, I give there the down and stay command and drop the leash. At this point she will laser focus on me while waiting for the next command. I have spoken a lot about training and commands and certainly I reinforce these every single day but the reality is this makes up a small part of our day together. I take her for long walks daily and I am blessed to have a large fenced yard where she loves to run around and play fetch. Activity aside, she is always ready to take a nap with me as well. Heeler's tend to get overly attached to their owners so I take her out and about daily so she can socialize. She is not aggressive but should the need arise she will posture and position herself between me and what she perceives as a threat to me. I'm pretty sure this is exactly what everyone wants in a dog. I've kinda rambled on but it's only because I can't speak highly enough about Man-K9 and their ability to find you a dog or train your existing dog.

    My well behaved dogs thanks to Ricky at Man-K9
    Angela G.

    I am going to have the best two dogs imaginable after working with the trainer Ricky. One of my dog is very large and I knew I would need firm training in order to handle my dog full grown. Ricky's training methods are firm and kind and they worked very quickly especially if you follow thru with training at home. I am beyond happy that I selected Man-K9 and would highly recommended the trainer Ricky.

    Ernie the rehabilitated pup
    Brandon H.

    Man K9 is truly a 5-Star establishment, I would recommend them to anyone. I took my reactive and stubborn shelter rescue puppy in for dog training, Man K9 taught my family and I how to form him into our dream dog. Laurie provided excellent and friendly service, she answered all my questions about their dog training programs and always responded quickly whenever I had a schedule change or needed additional assistance. Ricky is our exceptional and very professional dog trainer. He showed us the true potential of our dog, was always patient with us when we needed help, and after just one round of classes we are very confident in our abilities to handle our pup. We look forward to continued training with Ricky and Man K9!

    Genevieve S.

    They were super great with my newly adopted puppy. Louie had an issue with the leash but within a day he was on a leash and ready to train! They were great with him.

    Waiting for his lesson

    I can't thank enough the team at Man-K9 For all their help in the training of our 11 month old puppy we just finished the 4 lesson course Ricky was awesome in training him and also teaching us the correct and effective way to continue the training at home he provided all the tools and knowledge needed to take our puppy's behavior the the next level, we saw a huge and significant training from the first lesson, we will definitely come back to see them THANK YOU..!!!! Man K-9 for all your help.

    Mack showing his sit/stay skills.

    We adopted an 18 month old Rottweiler that lacked manners and skill.. he was a lot. Man K9 came highly recommended by many so we made the drive. Ricky was our trainer and instantly helped us take control with our pup. Our dog seemed to quickly pick up commands and expectations. We were very happy with our overall experience and felt Ricky was awesome at explaining the process and helping to adjust mistakes being made. We also brought up a fews issue that weren't basic command related (ball aggression) and he gave us the tool to correct it! Our dog is now fun to play ball with. We highly recommend Man K9 and their team. We will be back to introduce more advanced skills and tune up his commands / behaviors.

    Luna
    Alyssa C.

    Luna my German Shepherd pup learned a lot from Ricky (trainer) on the first round of training course. She was really good at listening and had no issues walking. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to continue with the 2nd round right away and slacked off on my part of training her and she is a nightmare. I am definitely getting her back there asap. Ricky is wonderful and has the patience for those of us that are slower at it. 10/10 stars from me

    Brian A.

    I got Shadow from ManK9 a week ago. All I can say is WOW. He is easily the best behaved puppers I've ever owned. I used a well know training company for my previous dogs and in hindsight big mistake. None of them were even close to Shadows obedience. He is so good most people who meet him assume he is a Service dog! The whole staff is amazing. Lori is great and very easy to work with and ensuring we got the right dog for our family. Ricky and Fon did a great job of training him and most importantly my family. He was truly a turnkey amazing addition to our family. If you are thinking about getting a dog or need training for your dog I can recommend them. If my word isn't enough check out their website and look at who they are entrusted to provide training for.

    Kyle F.

    This place is one of, if not the most top tier training facility in San Diego. Manuel the owner has been training dogs something like 50 years since he was a kid, and he learned from Fon Johnson, a pioneer in the field. Manuel trains police K9 teams from San Diego, Huntington Beach, el central, etc etc etc and his dogs have won hundreds of trophies in competition. I've trained two dogs here, including a Malinois puppy we purchased from them. At only 8 months, the Malinois already has 4 AKC titles, including all three of his K9 good citizenship titles and his novice trick dog titles. The trainers are excellent and focus on helping you, the handler, know what you're doing, how to do it correctly, and when and why to do it. You'll leave and go home with the knowledge so you won't feel lost between sessions. Their training is well balanced and you'll immediately notice a difference in your dog and your bond. Training is expensive, but the rates are reasonable and on par with other facilities I've looked into. Alayna is fantastic and Scout always looks forward to seeing her.

    Pup in question: ziggy

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    Just want to mention that for a few of our lessons Alayna was not available and Ricky was our instructor. He was amazing as well.

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    Man-K9 - San Diego Dog Training Reviews in Other Languages

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    Review Highlights - Man-K9 - San Diego Dog Training

    Ricky was very patient, friendly informative in helping us navigate and take control over the puppy energy.

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    Bark Busters Home Dog Training San Diego - Your Greater San Diego and North County Team

    Bark Busters Home Dog Training San Diego

    (475 reviews)

    Bark Busters came to us highly recommended. After some research and reviewing Ted Talk and…read morearticles, I signed up our two rescue mix breed ~20lb boys. We are grateful to James of BB who placed us with Jenna. Our boys issues: high reactivity outside, especially other dogs, and inside, door bell, ring cameras, etc. Coupled with greetings by jumping and owning the house. Jenna set us on a path of activities for inside and was incredibly patient letting me share and ask questions, learning constantly. As we fine-tuned and we all got more comfortable we moved our training to outside. The methodology used is absolutely amazing and, I dare say, short of a miracle. We practice regularly and introduce the boys to different circumstances. All that food luring and positive food reinforcement training certainly has its place but only the techniques of BB with Jenna has helped our boys become trusting, comfortable, and happy. Here I thought I had to scan the horizon constantly to be aware of incoming dogs to prepare myself to hide behind a car or go in the corner behind garbage cans to get maximum distance. Not true. I walk no longer with my head on a lazy susan. We all are forever grateful. Our boys can lead richer more social lives. Thank you!!!

    I'm updating my original 6-month review now that it has been a full year since we hired Bark…read moreBusters to help with our rescue dog Mimi. As first-time dog owners, the early support really did help us. Having someone we could call during those overwhelming first months was a relief. Over time, though, I realized I was hoping the training would shift toward more positive reinforcement. The constant, harsher corrections worked at first but eventually didn't seem effective anymore and started affecting my relationship with Mimi. I noticed this during a family trip where Mimi, who is usually fearful of strangers, bonded more easily with my husband and his family. She gravitated toward them when scared, and I realized it might be because they weren't following the correction-heavy approach, while I was. I also asked for help with Mimi's fear and reactivity toward other dogs, but was told they didn't have dogs available for training and that I would need to bring a calm, socialized dog myself. As a non-trainer, that was very hard, but we tried by traveling many hours to introduce her to my husband's family dog. The experience ended up being chaotic since the family didn't fully understand what the process required, and new people and dogs kept appearing even though Mimi wasn't ready. Her reactivity came back in that environment, which made me feel like the training had only put a bandaid on deeper fear issues. Maybe I should have clarified expectations better from the start, but with a high-need dog and being new to all of this, I didn't know what to expect. Since then, we've switched to a positive reinforcement trainer who organizes structured group activities. Mimi is still scared of bigger dogs and can still be reactive, but she's improving slowly and has been able to meet a few smaller dogs. She's also still fearful of people, but she nips a lot less now, so progress is happening. Overall, Bark Busters helped us in the beginning, but long-term we found that a different, more positive approach has been a better fit for Mimi.

    Sit Stay Come Dog Training

    Sit Stay Come Dog Training

    (243 reviews)

    Grantville

    Summer of 2024 I had an anxious, reactive, fearful, unwalkable big rescue dog. She broke harnesses,…read morepulled me to the ground, was afraid of people, and snapped at strangers and other dogs. My friends nicknamed her Cujo, it was that bad. I couldn't invite people to the house. Summer of 2025 I have a dog that loves meeting new dogs and people and runs around OB dog beach off leash. She's not reactive, she has great recall, she makes friends, I can have people over, she listens to commands, and she's so easy to walk. I took her into the vet this week and they removed the 'bite risk' warning from her file, they said it's like a completely different dog. She's not anxious or fearful. She's confident, playful, and so happy. All of this was because of training with John. He is patient, gentle, and kind. I can't put into words how grateful I am that we found him. I recommend him to every dog owner I know.

    John was an absolute pleasure to work with. We had adopted a young dog, who had a tumultuous past,…read moreand lots of high puppy energy. My initial phone interview with John drew me to "Sit Stay Come" because he was genuinely interested in our dog's personality, energy level, and how he could cater to her. I loved that he offered a free evaluation to make sure that he was the right fit for our dog. I've already recommended John to a neighbor. I can't say enough great things about "Sit Stay Come." Thank you for helping our fur baby become a better version of herself!

    Who's Walking Who? Dog Training - Bali sat patiently while we took our Christmas photo

    Who's Walking Who? Dog Training

    (109 reviews)

    Hiii all!! now that my puppy has completed his training sessions I thought I'd share my…read moreexperience working with Who's Walking Who! I'll be totally honest: as a first-time dog owner to an Australian Shepherd, I was feeling a little underwater. I knew I needed help, but I was so nervous that professional training would be an investment I couldn't justify. That all changed the second I got on a consultation call with James from WhosWalkingWho.com James is one of those rare people who is just... real. He's straightforward and incredibly genuine. Right away, I could tell he wasn't just trying to "sell" me a package or take my money--he actually cared about my situation. He has this amazing way of explaining things that just clicks. He doesn't gatekeep his knowledge; he truly wants to hand you all the tools and resources you need so that both you and your pup can be the best versions of yourselves. If you're looking for a trainer who is professional, honest, and truly "in your corner," you have to call James. I promise you, it's a decision you won't regret!

    My dog was clueless! WHO'S WALKING WHO? saved me! Personal training with James was incredibly fast,…read moreeffective and affordable. James has helped me every step of the way, quickly answering every question I've had. With James lessons and constant support my dog is now a task trained Disabled Service Animal. Every day I receive compliments regarding how well trained and behaved he is. I chose James because he has so many positive reviews going back 9+ years, and I could not be more pleased. THANK YOU JAMES!!

    Dog Tired - Cookie was so happy at Dog Tired. She gives it 5 paws

    Dog Tired

    (104 reviews)

    Our extra energetic pup went through Canine Good Citizen training with Sarah and the crew... and I…read moremust say it was the best $ we've spent. He's still extra energetic, but when we've had to get control, his training is key. He also got injured playing and had to undergo a major knee surgery... THANK GOODNESS for the training! It's been hard, but again, training has been key to success. Looking forward to next steps sometime after rehab is done.

    I usually don't take the time to write reviews, but after our experience with Sara, I truly feel…read moreshe deserves one, especially for all the dog lovers out there who might be as nervous as we were. This was the very first time we left our 1-year-old dog with someone. He's almost 80 pounds of pure energy, a big, happy, very enthusiastic boy so choosing the right person felt incredibly important. I was anxious and very cautious about who we could trust. From day one, Sara exceeded every expectation. She didn't just "watch" our dog -- she worked with him every single day with so much passion, patience, and love. When he came home after two weeks, the difference was remarkable. He was calmer, more focused, and able to control his excitement much better. Walking him used to be a struggle -- he pulled constantly and tried to grab everything he saw on the street. Now, our walks are so much easier and more enjoyable. Of course, there's no magic in dog training -- consistency is key, and we continue to reinforce what he learned -- but his biggest issue, jumping on people, improved dramatically. The foundation she built made such a difference. What also gave us tremendous peace of mind was her communication. Sara sent frequent updates, photos, and videos showing us what he was learning and how he was doing. On top of that, we received detailed daily emails about his overall condition. It made us feel completely reassured that we had chosen the right person. She even gave him several baths during his stay! Her place is incredible , very secure, spacious, and extremely dog-friendly. It honestly felt like a big farm where dogs can feel free yet safe. Sara is truly passionate, caring, and loving. Her knowledge of different breeds and her training methods are impressive and effective. You can clearly see that she genuinely loves what she does. I would wholeheartedly recommend her to any dog owner, no matter the age or breed. Leaving your dog with someone for the first time is never easy, but with Sara, you can feel confident your dog is in the best possible hands.

    Man-K9 - San Diego Dog Training - pet_training - Updated May 2026

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