I adopted my sweet girl and in the beginning, she was going through some separation anxiety -…read morescratching the paint off the front door, chewing the corner and the leg of the couch, etc. I called Bark Busters and Dan was able to fit me in that week for an evaluation! He taught me how to train and speak their language (she's a Husky, so very stubborn!) and I was able to see improvement in her and myself so quickly! I still reach out to Dan for advice and help! Recently, she went through a phase of not wanting to eat 4 different types of food and only wanted to eat my food. Dan responded right away with advice and reassurance, and my girl was back to eating within a week after that. Thank you Bark Busters, and thank you Dan!

Dan has been great to work with and our dog has become so much easier and more fun to be around…read more The barking at the dinner table has stopped. The leash pulling has stopped. We are enjoying him so much more. Dan has been clear, patient, helpful and easy to work with. A real game changer.

We loved training with Rachelle here. She's a great teacher and so good with the dogs AND the…read morepeople. The small classes are nice and help keep the dogs focused. Our pup was totally different after his first round of classes here, and we will be back soon for another round!

We have been taking several training classes here and it has been a great experience!read more

We took in a 5+ month old puppy from a challenging situation and needed help as the pup was…read morereactive, not socialized, and terrified of everything. Gary was just the right amount of direct but supportive. He taught us lessons that built upon themselves and after the full course, we now have the tools to help our pup live his best life. Totally worth it. Very flexible with schedule and good communication. Already our new family member has made huge strides. Thanks, Gary!!

I reached out to Gary for help with my dog Peaches and her leash reactivity, and he was extremely…read moreprompt in responding. The initial consultation went very well, and I learned so much about dog communication and how to better support Peaches. I also learned that she is a highly anxious dog, which explained many of the challenges I had been concerned about. We enrolled in Gary's six-week program and finished with the tools and knowledge needed to keep Peaches on the right track toward recovery. Just like humans, dogs rehabilitate at their own pace, and over those six weeks Peaches made significant progress. We're looking forward to enrolling in advanced training once she's ready so she can enjoy more freedom off-leash. Gary is not like other trainers we've worked with. He doesn't rely on obedience-based shortcuts or gimmicks. Instead, he teaches you how to work through real situations and explains the theory behind his approach so you truly understand what's happening and how to handle stressful moments. Most importantly, Gary teaches you how to become the focal point for your dog, which has made a lasting difference for us.

We highly recommend Jayne, she is a very experienced dog trainer. Very flexible with scheduling…read more Also very responsive over text.

Jayne is amazing! I actually called Jayne bc I was worried abt my young pom bc he jumped on another…read moredog on one of our walks. I was so worried and embarrassed! I called my vet as soon as i got home! My vet suggested I call this particular behavioral trainer she knew and so I did. (It wasn't Jayne). This behavioral trainer told me I should return my dog to breeder. I should never fall asleep with this breed on my bed (Pomeranians) as they could bite my face off. She continued to tell me all these horrible stories abt poms. I was so confused and upset when I hung up. My husband insisted I get another opinion. I found Jayne's info online the next day and called her. She came over same day because she knew how upset I was and she wanted to meet my fur baby. Needless to say, she is amazing! I am so happy I made that call! My pom is now 5 yo and he is fabulous! Sweet, entertaining, and so well-behaved because of Jayne's training!

Happy Go Lucky Pet Care deserves more than five stars! I could go on fur-ever about how exceptional…read morethey are. My dog has been with Happy Go Lucky for four years, and in that time Paula has shown nothing but genuine love and care for every dog in her pack and you can tell they adore her right back. Since joining Paula's walks, my dog has gained confidence on the trail, improved training skills, and become a happier, healthier pup overall. She gets great exercise, socialization, and plenty of positive stimulation. Seeing Paula and her pack of furry friends is truly one of the highlights of my dog's day. Not only is Paula wonderful with the dogs, she's also incredibly professional, organized, and communicative. A clear, hard-working person you can always depend on. She truly does it all and does it so well. I wholeheartedly recommend Happy Go Lucky Pet Care for your pet care needs. There's no one else I trust more with my pup!

Lisa walks my cavalier twice a week. She's cheerful and wonderful with the dogs. At the end of each…read moreday of walking, we get a lovely photograph of the group of dogs that she walked that day. They are wonderful and I recommend them highly.

We had adopted our Kody boy 8 months ago from a shelter. It was a very hard five months trying to…read moreget him settled with a routine. We all had different ways of how to train him and it was causing a rift in the family. I was turned down by some trainers until I came across Jonathan Wong's page. He was local, he was fast to get back to me and he was willing to give us a chance after everything I told him. Kody still has a long way to go and I will continue with Jonathan as his trainer, but it is night and day after three months of training with Jonathan. He was dog and people aggressive, to the point we had to avoid them entirely. We can now go for walks, albeit we move opposite of any dog and can keep walking without any barking or pulling. He was always actively pulling on the leash and bad at recall. He is loose leashed now and responds with recall with our daughter. In the end I had to get use to the idea that Kody was a crate or muzzle dog when it came to large crowds or people in our home. I felt awful but Jonathan was so supportive and positive as I came to terms with it. I hope as we continue to train with Jonathan and Kody builds his confidence that soon things might change for him. Jonathan has such a kind soul and so encouraging when it comes to both us and Kody. I cannot thank Jonathan enough for what he has done for us. He left solid foundations for us to grow on. Kody is such a sweet and smart boy, and we always want the best for him. Jonathan truly is the best.

Yep, Jonathan knows his stuff. Highly recommend. Truth be told, my puppy (7 month Labrador) isn't…read moretoo difficult, but Jonathan got through to her quickly and made me feel like the pup wasn't such a menace.

The only board and train I'd trust. Meryl has the skills and talent to really make a difference…read moreand help people and their dogs live better lives together. I've been blown away by her knowledge and ability to train dogs for years and I cannot recommend her enough. She knows her stuff!!

The long version: We…read moreadopted a very timid, quiet pup at the beginning of October who, once he'd settled in, turned into a smart, energetic, stubborn and barking pup. That wasn't an option as we live in an apartment with WFH neighbors and going potty means walks around town with lots of other dogs. Overwhelmed, I started googling and found so many 5* reviews for Meryl from Bay Area Balanced Dog training. After a very thorough phone consultation where she took the time to talk about her process/our options and answer our many questions/concerns (we were nervous/uninformed about ecollars), we opted to do a 4 week board and train with a few private lessons beforehand. It was more than I had budgeted, but I was upfront about that, and she worked with us on a payment plan leading up to his stay. The private lessons were so helpful, and I highly recommend doing that before your dog's stay. So much about his good behavior relied on me being a good handler. This practice was also like a bandaid before his training, seriously reducing my stress on our daily outings, and made the transition after his stay easy as I already knew the basics of how to ask him for what I expected in a way he understood/had learned with the trainer. The board and train itself was easy, though be aware there's some additional cost to supply all the tools pup will need during his training. That was rough for me at Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, she was happy to keep and train him during the holidays when we would be traveling anyway. Very convenient and saved me additional boarding bills. She provided lots of daily video and picture updates on Instagram which was nice/really lessened my guilt about leaving him with someone for four weeks. He came home the same happy, sweet dog we'd sent away, except now he can walk nicely on a leash without barking his head off at every animal he sees. She also worked on recall training which is such a relief for a high energy dog I just know would chase a bear on a hike as off leash skills are really important to me in a dog. We work daily on everything he's learned and he loves it so much. It's a lot of money for what was an average dog with average bad behaviors, but we really believe that starting your dog off on the right path with the best guidance is the way to ensure a healthy, happy, safe dog. We went on our first hike just a few days ago, and after all that practice, he got to experiment with being fully off leash. He listened to every command, every time, even when there were tempting birds. I want to have a dog that is as fully involved in my family's life as possible, and now that we both have these skills, I know with consistency and practice, that's what I'll get. Tldr: The board and train is expensive, but you get what you pay for. Highly recommend. It truly saved my sanity.

Meryl saved our rescue dog Kona. That's not an exaggeration. After we adopted Kona, we realized she…read morehad major fear and aggression to other people (other than our family). The vet told us she was an untrustworthy Dog, and we should reconsider. Thank GOD we didn't listen to the vet. Instead we hired Meryl, who really worked hard to earn Kona's trust. Since Kona likes other dogs, she went home and brought back Marco - and voila it was magic - Kona instantly bonded with Meryl. 4 More sessions, and Kona learned to meet new people, stop her aggressive attacks, and most importantly "wait". We were back at the vet recently, and the tech remarked "wow, Kona is a new Dog". It's true, we now know how to manage Kona and she s a happy confident dog

Amazing!!! If you need help, please go with Meryl. This gal is truly gifted and highly recommended…read moreby myself and our rescue organization. Having worked in the Animal fields for many many years with many trainers, I have to stress that Meryl is far more experienced and superior than your average dog trainer! She has helped us with many dogs with moderate to incredibly severe behavioral issues, as well as an array of dogs who required extra help to learn to pay attention to their people/listen and Meryl is also great at helping people understand how to manage many situations. Meryl is one the very few trainers around who truly understands canine behavior in and out.. she is not a basic cookie cutter trainer who will just teach the basics of how to get your dog to sit, down, etc, although she is great at that as well. I always appreciate how honest and upfront she is about everything and what the options are for each dog. I would highly recommend her to anyone needing basic training, a behavior assessment, or serious guidance and behavior modification help with their dogs. If you follow what she tells you to do, and put in the work, you will be amazed at the results and the improvement in your relationship with your canine.

Such a great company- always giving back to the community and the shelter animals…read more They have a great energy and compassion towards the dogs they work with. I first met them at an adoption event where they partnered with the Martinez animal shelter. They gave complimentary baths to all the shelter pups at the event. Even my foster pup- Susannah. They even put an adorable adopt me scarf on her and promoted her on their page I have been sharing their contact info with friends and neighbors

While I haven't used their services, I did have a terrible interaction with one of their walkers. I…read morelive in an apartment complex in Lafayette. While reversing out of my parking spot, a van came at me at a high speed without showing any signs of slowing down, intermittently looking down as if he were on his phone. When I attempted to move out of their way, they jerked their van to go around me, almost hitting my car in the process and without slowing down. When going to speak with this driver, he was getting a dog from a neighbors apartment. I said "excuse me" multiple times to get his attention while walking towards him, but he ignored me, dragging this poor doodle by his neck and collar to get to the van quicker. When I finally reached him, I got a quick "what" while basically throwing this dog into a van filled with other dogs unrestrained and jumping around. I told him he shouldn't be on his phone and needs to slow down when driving through a residential lot. He wouldn't look at me, but said he wasn't on his phone. I told him either way, he was going entirely too fast. He jumped in the drivers seat and slammed the door, still not looking at me. So I raised my voice saying it was incredibly unsafe how fast he was going and that he almost hit my car. Still ignoring me, he again sped off to get out of our apartment complex. If you use this service, beware. Based on photos, this may be the business owner, Matt. He was in a huge rush, was speeding and jerking the car around, not kind when walking this dog to his van, yanked him in, and then sped off again. With the dogs being unrestrained and his reckless driving, that could lead to injuries to those dogs. And to top it all off, he was INCREDIBLY rude after almost causing an accident! A little niceness and an apology would have gone a long way. Now, I will make sure none of my loved ones will ever use this service.

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Our kitty was well taken care of. Will recommend then to anyone…read morewanting to adopt. We will adopt from them again in the future.

Our family is overjoyed with our newest member, Magic, and we could not be more grateful for all…read morethe help from Joybound! They are professional and kind, obviously caring about making a good match, for the dog and us. And everyone, staff and volunteers, were helpful and excited for us. The place is really clean and the animals are well cared for. HIGHLY recommend