Carla is just the best!…read more Our overactive border collie absolutely loves her. Carla takes the dog pack out for super long off leash walks and when Jack comes home he naps for hours. She's very flexible with scheduling and always accommodates us if we're out of town or have a change in our schedule. She also does boarding which has worked great for us on weekend getaways when we can't bring Jack. They get kongs every night and we think Jack may start to like Carla more than us

I have been using Bark About Town for almost 2yrs now (this review is long overdue!)…read moreMy dog was adopted as a rescue, full of anxiety, fear aggression, and very cautious of men. Carla has been a blessing in helping socialize him and refer me to an excellent trainer to continue his skills and curb his behavior. My dog loves the pack walks/hikes and occasional overnights. Carla is an excellent communicator and alerts you if one of the pack dogs might be sick so you can keep an eye out for your own pup. She's thoughtful, responsible and loves my dog like her own.

OMG, Alia is incredible! We had to leave our 14 month old puppy for a 12 day work trip (SO GLAD TO…read moreFINALLY BE HOME!) and we had so much anxiety leaving him for this long for the first time. I cannot even begin to tell you how reassuring it was to see photos and videos of Moose playing and romping around in Golden Gate park and Alia's amazing backyard. Because of those regular updates we were able to really focus on our trip and let go of that worry. MOST importantly though.. we cannot say thank you to Alia enough. Moose is an 80+lb monster and we hadn't been the greatest at training him as much as we would have liked. He pulled, his recall was bad, and he lunged happily at new dogs a lot. NONE OF THAT EXISTS anymore. He stays when he's told, he doesn't pull, and he comes when called almost immediately. We were flabbergasted on our morning walk with him after coming home. Just wow. Alia, thank you thank you thank you thank you. You've not only given us peace of mind but you've given us a happier and more well behaved puppy. We're eternally grateful and so thankful for you.

We have been with Alia & SF Doggers for over two years now, and we couldn't be happier. Our dog,…read moreKona, is HIGH energy and has issues with anxiety and aggression. We spent a lot of time and energy training her, and were very nervous to leave her in anyone else's care, but Alia and the rest of her team quickly put us at ease. Alia worked with us to understand and improve upon Kona's training, and she continues to lend us her professional expertise as Kona grows. Alia and her team are responsible, calm, and incredibly good at what they do. I know that they genuinely care about my dog, and she absolutely adores them. Plus, Alia works hard to go the extra mile for her clients. She maintains a very active instagram where we (and all of my friends and family across the country) go to check on Kona's day, she always sends updates and pics whenever we leave Kona for an overnight, and she truly takes the time to get to know us and our dog. After witnessing how well she takes care of Kona, my parents and my brother both hired her for their own pups, and now all the family dogs get to hang out a couple times a week at SF Doggers daycare. Alia is seriously a part of our family, and we would be lost without her.

Mirla is a phenomenal trainer and I cannot recommend her highly enough. She's extremely…read moreknowledgeable, compassionate, thorough, and professional and I am so grateful to be working with her. Mirla's approach to training is patient, kind, evidence-based, and methodical. Her extensive experience really comes through and yields incredible results. I recently got a new puppy and Mirla has walked me through every single step of the way with sage guidance, calming reassurance, ample reference materials, and unwavering support. She has always made me and my puppy Luna feel like a priority even though I know she's juggling many other clients. In addition to being a fantastic trainer, Mirla has also developed a true connection with Luna. It warms my heart to see how fond they are of each other and I know my girl is in loving, capable hands that I trust implicitly. With Mirla's help and expertise, I am raising a confident, obedient, sweet, and very happy puppy who's going to be a wonderful companion to me for the next ~15 years. I have learned so much from and with Mirla and look forward to continuing our work together. She truly is the best!

We were fortunate to hear about Mirla through several positive recommendations. Our Goldendoodle,…read moreEinstein, joined the Tailblazers pack for walks in Golden Gate Park and was always eager to go, joining the pack without hesitation. Einstein can be cautious around other dogs, Mirla is thoughtful about the pack energy and tends to each animal with care. Mirla is patient, dedicated, and committed to working with you and your companion. She has treated Einstein and our entire family with genuine care and kindness. We hope you have the opportunity to work with Mirla!

Betty has been wonderful to our dog Lovie. She's been very accommodating, even when we call her…read morelast minute, she's been willing to take her in. When we are away Betty sends us status updates on how our pup is doing. She'll send us photos/videos of Lovie either having a great time with other dogs or just relaxing on the couch. It's a good feeling to know that when you're away... Your dog is in good hands and being very well taken care off. Every time we pick up Lovie from Betty's place she's just exhausted! Which is nice because half the time we are too! But it just shows that she enjoyed herself while we were away and got plenty of play time in... If you're looking for a great place for your dog stay while you are away... You can trust Betty! -Lindsey, Brandon & Lovie

Betty has been my go-to dog sitter for nearly ten years. She boarded my yellow lab nearly every…read moreweek when I lived in San Francisco and traveled for business and pleasure. Over the last couple of years, she has sat both of my yellow labs whenever my wife and I travel on vacation. Even though I now live south of San Jose, I still make the trip to San Francisco for boarding because the dogs love her and I trust her completely. Without fail, Betty provides a diary of my dogs' stay, complete with fun pictures! I always hate to leave my "kids" behind, but the diary makes me feel like I was right there with them. Thank you Betty!

We used Dog Tales for the past 4 years for our senior pup, Pablo, and they were absolutely…read morewonderful to him. Pedro was our walker and was always so patient and sweet to Pablo, even when he got too slow for the senior dog group and had to be moved to individual walks. We are so grateful for the care he got from Pedro and the Dog Tales team over the years.

I am so happy I found Deborah and Dog Tales!…read more I recently changes jobs, and my new office does not allow dogs...I was so worried about leaving my little guy at home all day. Suffice to say, all my worries are gone! My dog LOVES Deborah and his walks with her group. He's a small/old guy, so this group is perfect for his energy/social level. He's gone for a few hours each day, and always comes back very happy and exhausted, sleeping the rest of the afternoon. Deborah is professional, reliable, and very kind. I highly recommend for anyone with a small dog looking for a regular walking group!

Jenni has been an amazing dog walker for our dog, Bruin, for nearly 4 years. Beginning from when he…read morewas a 6month old puppy, Jenni became one of Bruin's favorite humans and an individual we trusted unequivocally with our dog. She is super reliable, friendly and has been everything and more we could ever want for Bruin. From daily walks, to weeklong stays, she has been a great part of Bruin (and our) lives. Would 100% recommend!

Jenni is an amazing dog walker. She is communicative and kind, and our dogs absolutely love her…read more Whenever we'd be out of town and came back home, it was clear that our dogs were most excited to be home cause that meant it was Jenni time! Truly a critical part of our life while we lived in SF. My fur babies miss her a lot.

Aimee is the best dog trainer in SF! I got my puppy during the pandemic and having Aimee help me…read morenavigate new dog dad doodies was a life saver! I started off by doing Puppy 101 with Aimee where I learned so many of the fundamentals that I still practice today. She provides amazing guidance on all potential scenarios that crop up when your pup is 8-20 weeks old. The absolute hardest time period! I also did puppy socials that Aimee managed at the Noe Jeffreys. These were great because you get to learn how to interact with pups while they play, when to step in, when to let them do their thing, etc. Even though puppy socials are meant for the pup - I found them incredibly educational as well. I still remember Aimee telling me to stop calling for my pup while it was trying to play. My pup is over 2 years old now and its been a while since our last class with Aimee but she truly cares and constantly keeps in touch with us making sure Mumble grows up to be a gentleman... except for his jumping.... that I will blame SF for...

Zak George ain't got sh%t on Aimee Porter. She is THE dog whisperer of San Francisco. If you have a…read morenew fur baby, do yourself a favor and sign up for Aimee's Puppy Love class and Social at Jeffreys. She's great at explaining the science behind your puppy's behavior and why they do the things they do. I'm going to take all of the knowledge that Aimee shared with me and pass it along. P.S. Aimee is hillarious, be prepared to do a lot of laughing during your time with her.

I am so pleased with the results I've had sending clients to awesome pawesome! As a dog trainer, it…read morecan be difficult to find reliable pack walks or hikes for dogs and I hear nothing but good things back. If you're looking for your dog to have a solid, enriching outing and stay safe, you've found em!

TLDR: My family and I have used this business for nearly a decade. We had a dog die in their care…read morein April 2023 but had such a high degree of trust in the business and the business owner that we continued to use them. In October 2023, the business lost one of our other dogs and my husband and I were the ones to find her. When we found her, she had a shock collar with huge prongs on it tied tightly around her neck and a leash looped onto itself as a choke chain. We never would have known that this was happening if we hadn't been the ones to find her. We want other dog owners to know what's happening. We hate posting online, but this is important. Longer Story: My family and I have used Awesome Pawsome for about a decade. In April 2023, one of our dogs died in their care. The only information we received was that the dog "went limp" and was rushed to an emergency veterinary hospital. The dog regularly received veterinary care and had no known heart, breathing, or other issues at the time he passed away. Given that we've used Awesome Pawsome for nearly 10 years and had a lot of trust in them, we continued to use the business. We would not have believed any negative stories about the business prior to this because we had such faith in them. On October 14, 2023, we sent our two dogs (one of which was a newer dog) to board with Awesome Pawsome. The dogs were to be returned on Tuesday, October 17. At 8 p.m. that evening, the dogs had not been returned. When I called and texted the owner, she told me there was a "glitch" in scheduling and that the dogs would be returned in about 45 minutes. At 9:23 p.m., she called to tell us that the dog walkers had lost one of the dogs and blamed it on the dog, stating the dog had tried to bite the dog walker. We rushed to the boarding house in the Sunset neighborhood, which is where the dog had been lost. The dog walker that lost this dog was the same dog walker that had been with our other dog at the time he passed away. He and another dog walker helped us look for our dog, which we were thankful for. We made sure to ask them whether they had been bitten by our dog because we were willing to pay for medical bills if this had happened, and both stated no. We looked at their hands and saw no bite marks. After a long search, my husband and I were the ones that found our dog at around 11:30 p.m. and put her in our car to go back to the boarding house to retrieve our other dog. During the car ride back to the dog boarding house, my husband noticed that our dog had an extra collar around her neck and asked what it was. The collar was very tight around the dog's neck and when we removed it, we realized that it was a huge shock collar with multiple prongs that were digging into our dog's neck. I have attached photos of the shock collar to this review (taken by my husband while confronting the dog walkers) and as you will see, it is inappropriate for a dog that is about 10-12 pounds. As we pulled up to the dog boarding house, we also noticed a leash around our dog's neck and realized it was looped onto itself as a choke chain instead of being clipped to her harness, which she was wearing at the time we found her. The leash was very short, to the point that if our dog were to take more than 1-2 steps away from the dog walker, the leash would be choking her. We got out of the car to confront the dog walkers and one told us that it wasn't a shock collar, that it just vibrates, then switched to telling us that the shock collar was on a "low setting." Then he asked for us to return the leash and said that any issues we had were "with the business," meaning the owner. I immediately texted the owner and asked for a meeting to discuss the use of the devices. At the time we were scheduled to talk, the owner casually stated that the timing "wasn't lining up" and said we should reschedule. I canceled because the owner clearly wasn't taking our concerns seriously. We would not have believed this review if someone else had posted it. We have calendars they've given us with photos of our dogs over the years all throughout our home. Our family does not post online reviews generally, but we never would have known this was happening if we hadn't been the ones to find our dog, so we want to make sure to let other dog owners know that Awesome Pawsome may be using these devices on their dogs without their knowledge. Regardless of whether or not a dog has behavioral issues (which doesn't seem accurate here given the lack of bite marks on any dog walkers), Awesome Pawsome should reach out to owners to let them know or return the dogs, not use shock collars and choke chains on the dogs.