Cara is excellent training your dog. She is very knowledgeable and very patient. Has great methods…read morethat does not include a shock dog collar. I would highly recommend her!

I can't recommend Cara enough! From the very first session, it was clear that she truly understand…read moredogs and their behavior. Cara took the time to assess my puppy's individual needs and developed a training plan with the goal of forming a strong relationship with my dalmatian, Ruth. Cara was incredibly patient, calm, and encouraging. Check out her YouTube videos to get Cara's vibe for traning and see if her apporach works for you. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, we were not able to complete our eight-week training plan, but Cara was completely understanding and refunded me for the remaining sessions. I was beyond grateful that she was so understanding of situation. Cara has a genuine love for animals, and it shows in every interaction. If you're looking for a knowledgeable, kind, and results-driven dog trainer, look no further. I'm so grateful for the transformation in my dog's behavior (even in the short time we spent training together) and I would recommend Cara for anyone struggling to train their dog basic obedience, or develop a relationship with their new puppy, and much more!

We adopted a ~3yo male bull terrier mix from a shelter and needed help getting him settled in. He…read moreis nervous around men, especially tall men, and was starting to get very overly protective of our home. "Boot camp" options seemed extreme, so I called Bark Busters (BB), seeking in-home private lessons. Justin responded the same day I left a message, and we talked about my concerns with our new rescue. I decided to try the BB program, which ended up being the BEST DECISION for my pup and for me! Justin set up our first session with trainer/coach James. James spent much of the 1st session going through the goals, objectives and concepts of training, including a timeline based on reasonable expectations of my dog. James spent a lot of time explaining how to "read" my dog's behavior, and how to properly respond. He explained the concepts behind each step, which helped me to understand not just what to do, but why (thus enabling me to understand how to deploy the training to different situations). James also set up scenarios to practice, going through each step so I could gain confidence in what my role is while helping my dog settle. It really is about training the owner how to work with the dog. James provided summaries of each session, plus videos demonstrating how I can use different responses/techniques to reshape how my dog reacts to stressful situations. I saw significant progress very early in the training, and was surprised at how quickly we were able to help my dog understand his role (and to feel safe) in our home. The best part is that if I need more help, I just have to reach out to James/BB and schedule more sessions - this is included in the initial program. Given that it takes a rescue dog a while to COMPLETELY settle in, new issues could arise as time passes, and if so, all I have to do is call to set it up. In summary, Bark Busters is a GREAT dog training program, and James is a FANTASTIC BB trainer/coach! Definitely recommend BB to owners that want help with their dogs!

Justin is so great at giving solid tips and explaining the why behind it. My dog was lunging,…read morebarking, generally tough to deal with on walks so it was a chore and I was legit concerned he would cause an accident one day to some kid on a bike or a jogger. Literally the first hour I saw huge improvement and now I honestly look forward to walking my boy twice a day. Justin checks in regularly and helps with tips like a long road trip and ringing doorbell barking to name a couple recent things.

This was the first time we had someone other than family stay with our dogs and we are so happy…read more Our fur kids had the best care with Donna which allowed us to really enjoy our vacation. We got photos - updates and info each and every day. She even cleaned out our fridge before trash day so we didn't have old food in there when we got home! Couldn't recommend Donna more... she is our pups fav for sure... ours too!

We hired Dogs on the Run to have our dog be part of our wedding day in June 2025, and I truly…read morecannot recommend them enough!! Especially our handler, Misty! From the very beginning, Misty was incredible. She carved out time weeks before the wedding for us to meet each other and talk about our dog's (Louie) temperament, our expectations, and the full game plan for the big day. It gave us so much peace of mind knowing she was prepared and genuinely cared about making everything go smoothly. On the wedding day, she was amazing. She arrived early to the Airbnb and was able to get used to walking and handling Louie. She walked Louie down the aisle, handled him and helped him greet guests during the ceremony and cocktail hour, and kept everything completely stress-free for us. She kept us updated via text throughout the day, and when it was time to drop him back off at our Airbnb in the evening, she sent photos and updates so we knew he was settled and happy. She even left us the sweetest wedding gift, which was such a thoughtful touch. Misty was kind, professional, organized, and clearly loves what she does. We are SO grateful for her and would absolutely book Dogs on the Run again. Highly, highly recommend!

Shout out to K9's Doggy Day Care and Boarding! Luke and…read moreMaggie May are always so excited to go play with their canine buddies--it's truly their favorite place! The entire K9 team is absolutely amazing and clearly love our dogs as much as we do. Play time is the best time, and I always know they've had a blast because they come home completely "dog" tired (the best kind of tired!). Thank you so much for loving and caring for our fur babies like family. We're so grateful! Highly recommend!!!

I took my buddy Hoss for training. He is a Bullmastiff and was what I called aggressively…read morefriendly.... He could not control his love for people.... He jumped on people scratched and was a crazy big guy.... After two weeks I was shocked at how he changed... night and day. He is now a controllable very friendly guy. They turned him from a crazy ball of energy... to a wonderful family member. He even obeys our granddaughter who is 7 when she tells him to go to his place

Rachel was an amazing puppy training instructor! She provided excellent tips, practical guidance,…read moreand clear explanations that were easy to follow. She was very knowledgeable and always willing to answer any questions. We learned so much and saw real progress with our puppy throughout the program. I highly recommend Rachel and Woof Academy to anyone looking for an effective, positive puppy training experience.

The highlight of my day is picking up my 8 month old Golden Cava-Doodle in the late afternoon. He…read moreliterally has a smile on his face and he's super excited to see me. He's had the best time of his life with his dog buddies for 4 hours and I can tell the instructors have had fun too. We've been with Woof Academy since our little boy dog was 3 months old and he loves every minute of it. He loves to play in the small pool and he's made some incredible dog-friends. I think everyone is very involved at the academy and it seems like the dogs and the humans make each other smile. It's been a great experience and I would highly recommend the Woof Academy for your puppy so he/she gets socialized.

Thought I would give a review since I've had Megan as my dog walker for roughly around 9 years now…read more Just goes to show how much we love her so much; we want to keep her as our own little secret! I found Megan when we had Flexo at the time. I looked everywhere for a specific type of walker. Our boy was a rescue with a rough background. He was reactive to dogs while on leash and took time to trust strangers. I definitely wanted a dog savvy walker! One who has a background in training and tough pups like ours. Since day one, I remember coming back from work and noticing our boy feeling a little more relaxed. Not as pent up or stressed. I quickly realized how much he needed this! Whatever his situation was before, I wanted to give him a better one, an upgrade. Megan helped me with that. She was very professional, confident, and worked with our boy during her walks. He eventually loosened up to her and her little girls and it was so great to hear how much he improved over time. Flexo has since passed, but we adopted another rescue, Brody. We had him at 7 months old and, although was the complete opposite of Flexo, his puppy stage proved to be quite the whirlwind, to say the least! While we did our part in training, Megan did her part with socializing and walking. He was a little ball of energy, but now at 3 yrs old, has since calmed down and is the best boy. He loves Megan and her pack (both humans and dogs)! She also does boarding and daycare. Another plus, she is very flexible! There are often times I've had to cancel last minute because I worked from home during the pandemic, and it was no issue. She also updates by leaving a message in a little notepad she provided. There are so many positives, I can't say enough how much we love having Megan as our walker. I only hope, if there comes a time when we have to move away, we can find someone just like her. She's definitely set the standard for who I want in a professional walker!

Megan and Marla are incredible! They are basically family at this point…read more After making a very late decision to visit family over the holidays, I desperately needed to find someone I could trust to take care of my dog, Wilson. I didn't want to leave him somewhere he would end up in a cage all night and most of the day. Fortunately, I found the Balanced Pack. Wilson stayed with Marla and her family during the 6 days I was gone. As any dog owner knows, a lot of stress accompanies leaving a dog with someone else for an extended period of time - even with friends. That was not the case with the Balanced Pack. I received regular updates and daily photos of a very happy Wilson. Further, it was so nice knowing that Wilson was with people who cared about him and had plenty of playtime with his canine buddies. The only concern was that I'd have to drag him back home ;-) Since then, I have used the Balanced Pack for day boarding on a regular basis. Megan picks him up every morning on time and then drops him off around 5:30pm and feeds him dinner. He is so excited when I tell him in the morning that Megan & Marla are coming. And it is amazing to come home from work and find your dog both exercised and fed. And I do mean it - Wilson has tons of energy and on days when Megan has him, he is worn out when I get home! That says something. The bottom line is that Megan and Marla are awesome. They will treat your dogs with love and care. And you will notice an extra gleam in your pet's eyes after a fun day with the Balanced Pack.

I'm really disappointed in how this business handles communication and customer service. I enrolled…read morein a 4-week group training class for my 9 month old puppy. I reached out nine days before the first session to ask about moving to the following 4 week session since I would be missing two out of four classes. I wasn't asking for a refund--just to switch sessions. My email went unanswered, and I had to call the facility to leave a message before the owner finally texted me back. I was told there are no changes or cancellations allowed, and to simply watch videos for the weeks I'd miss. One of the main reasons I chose this trainer was for the in-person group training and socialization, which can't be replaced by videos. I can find plenty of training videos online. This 4 week training was expensive, but I was very much so excited to grow with a training facility nearby. As a Carlsbad local, I love supporting small businesses, but this experience has been very disappointing. A little flexibility and better communication would have gone a long way.

I have taken classes with Laura since 2004, and just graduated my third dog/student with her... I…read morereally can't say enough good things about her thoughtful, positive reinforcement common sense approach to training, dogs and their humans! She really understands dogs and is a gifted trainer. Highly recommend her, and we will be back again and again!

Andres from Specialty dog training worked with my wife and I to train our new puppy, Daisy…read more As first time puppy owners we found ourselves pretty frustrated during our training with Daisy. We watched tons and tons of videos and things got slightly better but we really didn't see much behavior change until we worked with Andres. It's not that information online was good enough, it was that we didn't understand how to best execute the information. We also didn't know what information was good and what was garbage. Having Andres in our corner was truly helpful. He would answer any questions we had and I enjoyed his teaching style and his ability to breakdown concepts to us. He also genuinely loves the dogs he trains which made us feel comfortable leaving Daisy with him when she did board and train for a few weeks. Thanks for every Andres!

I enrolled my 3-year-old Rottweiler, Athena, in Specialty Dog Training's 6-week boot camp in…read moreOceanside from May 7-June 18, 2025, paying $4,400. She was healthy, fully vaccinated, and entered the program for leash control and mild resource guarding--especially important since I have a young nephew and a senior Great Dane at home. I asked multiple times to see her living space but was told no, as it would "disrupt other dogs"--something I now deeply regret accepting. Midway through training, my Great Dane was diagnosed with bone cancer. I called to stress the importance of Athena's continued progress. A trainer suggested extending her program, which I considered, but ultimately declined. I wanted her home while my Dane was still strong. On June 11, days before her return, I dropped off food and was told training had slowed because the trainer "assumed" I was extending--something I never confirmed. Then on June 15, I received a text saying she had mild nasal discharge and would see a vet. By 4:00 PM, I was called by that vet: Athena had a 106°F fever and was in critical conditionwith suspected pneumonia. I found her barely breathing, still wearing a prong collar, and rushed her to the ER. She required oxygen sewn into her nostrils, IV fluids, and overnight emergency care totaling $7,500. Vets confirmed pneumonia typically incubates over 2-14 days, meaning she was likely sick long before staff noticed. I was later told there had been an increase in kennel cough cases at the facility--yet I was never informed. No one at Specialty Dog Training has taken responsibility--financially or emotionally. I was left with: * A dog who nearly died * A traumatized animal with worsened behavioral issues * Thousands in emergency bills * A sick dog I had to isolate from my terminally ill Great Dane * And zero visible results from the training I paid for This experience was devastating, both emotionally and financially. Specialty Dog Training failed my dog, failed my trust, and offered no support or resolution in return. I strongly caution others to think twice before enrolling a pet in their care.