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Top Dog SF is a local dog walking and reward-based training company established in 2004. We offer three main services: Puppy Head Start Program, Small Dog PlayCare, and Daily Off-leash Adventure Outings to our private dog ranch in Montara. Our headquarters for puppy school, small dog play, and socials is at the Parkside at 2121 Taraval St. Top Dog SF also offers an online Dog Walker Certification Program focusing on positive reinforcement methods.

Julia is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP), having graduated with distinction. She specializes in helping anxious, fearful, or reactive dogs feel safer and more confident through gentle, science-backed, in-home behavior support. Instead of obedience drills, I focus on understanding emotions, building trust, and creating real-life behavior change that lasts. Her approach blends empathy, practicality, and fun, providing quick wins and effective strategies to help families and dogs thrive. Families in Durham, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough choose Dog Speak for a kinder, more personalized approach that meets dogs exactly where they are — right at home.

With 15 years of experience as accredited positive reinforcement trainers, we provide clients with integrative dog training and behavior modification services. Our mission is to share our knowledge, experience and passion for dogs with our clients so they and their dogs can develop a mutually loving and respectful relationship which contributes to the well-being of both. We prioritize personalized attention to you, your family and your dog by listening carefully to your needs, designing a unique program for you and your dog, and accompanying you throughout the journey.

I have been an in-home trainer of dogs and puppies in the Greater Baltimore area for 29 years. I cover all aspects of training including pet selection, family dog manners, behavioral issues like aggression and separation anxiety, as well as beginning sports training in obedience, rally, conformation handling, tricks, and agility. I use science-based reward training.

We may get nostalgic for the ‘old days’, but when it comes to dog training we’re sure glad that some things have changed. Our understanding of animal behavior has grown a lot over the years, transforming the way we think about dog training. Shake It Off approaches training with a modern, choice-driven, compassionate methodology that is grounded in the science of behavior. It’s no trick —we owe our success to positive-reinforcement and rewards-based techniques that are free from pain, force and intimidation. It is so effective, you can use it to train almost any animal —humans included. It’s not magic, but we can understand why some of our clients think so.

Learning is FUN! I am a certified dog behavior consultant and certified dog trainer in obedeince, nosework and tricks. I am also a Service Dog Coach. I believe in science-based and positive reward-based training methods that create a fun learning environment for both humans and dogs. When you are having fun, whatever you do becomes rewarding and makes you want to do more of it. Through fun learning experiences, desirable behaviors are retained and repeated. My specialty is in working with anxious, fear-aggressive dogs and dogs with reactivity issuees. K9 Learning is based in Novato, CA and currently offers both in-person (in Marin) and virtual training (outside of Marin) sessions.

As a dog trainer, Lauren is passionate about demystifying canine behavior and making training fun! She believes that understanding and appreciating how dogs communicate with us is paramount to creating strong dog-human bonds and happy homes. Lauren specializes in working with reactive dogs and their humans. She also offers private training, training walks, and solo enrichment walks. Details and rates can be found on my website: www.hearthandhoundsf.com

Ariel has been working with animals since she was a child, and has been professionally training dogs for 5 years. She joined the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) in 2017. She is one of the less than 10 trainers in the US to earn the prestigious title of Professional Canine Trainer (PCT-A) from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. Service dog training is what she is truly passionate about, but she also offers basic training, trick training, and therapy dog training! Ariel has also served in the military (USAF) and volunteered with local fire and EMS departments. She now has her Golden Retriever, Padme, working as a service dog to assist her day to day.