Brianna and Taylor have helped us make much better lives for two verrrrry different rescue dogs…read more Brianna wound up training me more than the dogs, and really that was the key. She has wonderful communication skills with dogs and people. And Taylor's professionalism, warmth and willingness to help with every detail and any challenge have been invaluable and deeply appreciated. Brianna's encyclopedic understanding of dog behavior combined with her fluidity in decoding it for us has been so incredibly helpful. Her skills and intuition are pretty amazing. She absolutely speaks canine. Her enthusiasm for her work and the calm energy she radiates are contagious and extremely instructive. Both of our dogs (our older guy is gone now) benefited immensely from their work with Brianna. And we've had richer and dare I say less stressful relationships with both of them because we understand so much more, thanks to her. If you couldn't tell, I recommend Kapooch as highly as possible. Honest and lovely people doing great work.

Kapooch is 1000% the best place for our rescue dog, Keiko - she truly thrives there. The Kapooch…read moremethod has been such a great fit for her, and we've seen real progress: she's noticeably calmer, more confident, and her listening has improved sooo much - especially her recall, which has been a game-changer for us. And Brianna is the absolute best. We trust her completely, and the peace of mind we have knowing Keiko is safe, understood, and genuinely cared for is priceless. If you're considering Kapooch, I couldn't recommend them more highly!

I used Patti''s service when I was away for a week in July. She had Daniel, her worker, come over…read moreand take care of my two cats. Daniel came over prior to me leaving so I could introduce him to the cats. He came every day at the same time and fed them, took care of the kitty litter, played with them and send me pictures and videos. The cats were very happy when I came home. I cannot recommend Patti's services more highly.

Patti is great! She took our 2 small dogs on short notice for an overnight stay. They had a great…read moretime hanging out and cuddling with her. Clearly she is a dog-lover who enjoys the company of our, and hopefully your, dogs!

This outstanding review is long overdue. Johnny has been our friend and salvation since we moved to…read moreBrooklyn in August 2011. Upon the recommendation of another pitbull owner in Prospect Park, I called Johnny to see setting up regular care for my dog. Trying to get settled into a new life after a draining cross-country move was no easy feat, but Johnny eased the way for my sweet happy Roux, and for me. Johnny has great experience with all types of dogs, and a special love for bully breeds like mine. He is a strong yet kind pack leader, who lets the dogs have fun but also keeps them in line. I always felt confident when Roux was out with her friends, knowing that she'd get great exercise, stimulation, and care. He was also one of the few dogwalkers I met in NY that would cater the walk to the dog's needs (ie.- off-leash play time, fetch, riding the bike) rather than just marching Roux around on a leash til she did her business. Roux loves Johnny, and that's means the world to me. The level of care shows. Johnny was more than dependable, and so often flexible when I needed help in a pinch. He was a great friend to both of us, and now that we've moved out of the city, he's become irreplacable! If only I could clone him, and move him up north. Lucky Brooklynites... call The Prospect Dog while you can!

Reasons why Johnny rocks:…read more -He *gets* dogs in a way few people do. -My dog comes back tired. And not just chased-a-ball-for-an-hour-tired. She's physically and mentally exhausted. -He's super flexible. -100% trustworthy. -He gives great advice. Honestly, "dog walker" really undersells what Johnny and the pack provide. I created a Yelp account to leave this review -- look no further!

Vanessa has been walking my rescue chihuahuas for a few years now. They are absolutely smitten…read morewith her, and they do not love everyone truth be told. My bossy little chihuahua pug Irene knows not to pull her usual stunts around Vanessa LOL! Besides being AMAZING with my dogs, she is trustworthy and goes the extra mile for us. So happy that she is part of my doggies family, she is like their 2nd mom. She always sends the best photos of my dogs with huge smiles on their faces, and I get an update if they did their pees and poos. Would recommend without reservation!

I love Happy Pups! They are reliable and it's so easy to book services on their website. My dog…read moreRiley LOVES her walker Vanessa who takes great care of her and sends me the BEST pics. I appreciate the updates that are emailed after each walk. They also have pet sitting services and Karla was awesome when I went on vacation. I highly recommend Happy Pups to all dog owners!

Rachel at Leash and Learn was absolutely fantastic. Leash and Learn was recommended to us by our…read morevet directly, and we were specifically looking to work on better boundaries/strategies/positive interactions between our (quite old) dog and (quite young) toddler. Rachel was patient and professional, and our training process was very effective and really put us at ease - I can't say enough good things. I feel like she trained my kid as much as my dog! I also really appreciated that the relationship began with a very thorough assessment of our unique situation and needs, and the training package that was ultimately presented was not an oversell/upsell in any way, but rather, just what we needed.

Working with Leash & Learn has been the greatest experience! When I rescued my pit bull, Rocky,…read morefrom the ASPCA he was anxious, fearful, and couldn't settle. Neither of us were sleeping and it was very challenging to walk him. Not knowing how to help Rocky adjust I reached out to Leash & Learn. Rachel and Boris came to my apartment and did an assessment and created an individualized training plan. In our sessions they helped Rocky with noise desensitization, leash training, calming exercises, and basic commands. Rachel (the owner), who I call the dog whisper, is so knowledgeable, tactful, and compassionate. Her in-depth knowledge of dog behavior and ability to the read the smallest cues and adjust training accordingly is unreal. Boris, to whom Rocky took a very special liking, is so kind, personable, and skillful. In addition to their direct support of Rocky they taught me all the exercises and skills needed to continue training in between our sessions and beyond. I'm so grateful for their support and highly recommend their services.

We had such a good experience working with Jessica. She was responsive and helpful every step of…read morethe way, both in our three training sessions and via email. She was instantly in tune with our dog but _also_ really great as a collaborator with us humans, as we worked through our dog's issues with leash reactivity. She really listened to what we were going through, and she helped us with concrete action steps, resources, and a calming, fun presence. Our dog has become a completely new pup in the past three months, and he is so much better behaved now when we walk him, which makes our lives less stressful. I also feel comfortable reaching out any time with questions, as we continue working with our dog. Thank you, Jessica!

My little mutt, Ziggy, is as sweet as can be with people and his dog buddies at the park, but he…read morerecently developed some bad leash aggression habits and had become increasingly territorial in and around the house with regard to strange dogs walking by, etc. It was all becoming kind of stressful for me so I contacted Renee to get some professional help. Renee was very informative and extremely helpful with the situation. We did a private session where she showed me various methods that have proven very effective in helping him with his issues. I also signed up for two leash aggression group sessions, so I could see how he did with other dogs in the class. Renee explained to us how important it was to get the training method right and be consistent for as long as it takes. Zig is doing much better. He has his moments, but many times it's because I didn't catch and correct the behavior in time and I know we are still at the beginning of our little journey. I am confident in Renee's advice because I've seen it work and I know that eventually, with time, Ziggy will be as confident as I am. My favorite thing about working with Renee is that it is obvious she knows and understands dogs and she shares her knowledge in a very unique, funny manner. It's also obvious that she cares. After both the private session and the group sessions, Renee was wonderfully responsive to emails/questions, always inquired about Ziggy's progress and offered additional suggestions if certain things didn't seem to be working. Ziggy and I are both thankful we found her and will definitely be in touch with her for some of the other doggie classes she offers!!!

Took my dogs to Heavenly Pets and absolutely loved the service. They were very professional and…read morekind taking great care of my puppies, highly recommend!!!

I just learned this business operates under new ownership. I took my per there few years ago and…read morewasn't impressed but after I found out there are new owners I decided to give them a try. Such a huge difference! My doggy was so calm and relaxed and also got a very cute hair cut. From now on I will not hesitate to bring my pet there for a grooming. Thanks and see you soon!

Easy call on recommending Jessie. She's been around pets her whole life, and it's clear that…read moreanimals recognize that because they love her. She's always on time, and will not only walk your pet but help them behave a bit better if they're a little unruly. It all comes natural to her, so your pet is in good hands, guaranteed.

Entrusting Mr. Barkypants, my first-born son, to a dog walker is akin to how I imagine it might…read morefeel to someday entrust a less furry child of mine to a nanny: He/She sure as hell better be committed, conscientious, able to survive blizzards*, and love Mr. Barkypants as his/her own. Using this (perhaps slightly unreasonable) standard, I interviewed many, many dog walkers before I found Dean Gray of The Dog Train, a dog walking and training company that Dean and his business partner own and operate. Though I haven't yet had to put them to the blizzard test*, it is clear that Dean is an excellent dog walker and human being, more generally. Importantly to me, Dean and his business partner are the only dog walkers in their small company and they generally only walk one dog at once (or three dogs, together, at the most, who have had time to acclimate to one another). I feel strongly about not having just any random person walk Mr. Barkypants: I've witnessed how some walkers who work at larger operations treat (or rather mistreat) the 5-10 dogs they walk at once. Sadly, it doesn't seem uncommon for some dog walkers, on the Upper West Side at least, to roughly yank leashes or yell and scream at dogs, or to refuse to stop walking to allow one of their charges to use the little dog's room, or to tie dogs up to a post in the park while the walker enjoys a cigarette and long chat with his friends. I am confident that Dean does NOT do this; Mr. Barkypants would probably behave very differently with him than he does. Interestingly, though Mr. Barkypants isn't terribly fond of strangers and he is particularly non-fond of strangers who are male and who wear hats, he took to the hat-wearing Dean like he took to liver treats from the first or second walk on. Dean has a gentle, quiet, calm, non-domineering manner with dogs (and humans, really). He isn't embarrassed about speaking to dogs in goofy voices -- a talent I quite appreciate. Moreover, wrt his human dealings, too, Dean is prompt and as honest as Abe: He lets us know when he isn't able to walk a full hour (because of severe weather or sickness) and deducts from his pay despite our asking him to take the full amount. In truth, I do find Dean's business partner, Jessie, to be less conscientious. In contrast to Dean, who deducts whenever he does not walk the full hour -- even if it's due to circumstances beyond his control like extreme heat -- in our experience, Jessie consistently shaved time off of walks. I know this is not unusual for dog walkers in Manhattan, but it just highlighted for us the difference between a truly excellent walker and a more run of the mill one. In one instance, she also did not call us when she was unable to open the inner door of our home, until after the time for the walk had passed, claiming that she had called Dean for our number and that he didn't have it. (He does have it and texted it to her.) If she'd called when she'd arrived, we would've been able to arrange for her to get in the door. She insisted on charging us for the walk, anyway, because she had stopped by. Luckily, we have Dean almost all the time. Rates, by the way, are extremely reasonable for Manhattan dog walking, especially since Mr. Barkypants gets Dean all to himself on walks. According to their website, Dean is bonded and insured as a dog walker and is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Dean is also Animal Behavior College certified. I haven't hired Dean for dog training, since Mr. Barkypants is already perfect. ;) But I can speak with knowledge about Dean's excellent credentials as a dog walker. He *will* treat your dogs with respect and patience -- or at least I'm pretty sure they will based on how they've treated my first born son. I can't recommend him enough. ---------- *I've walked for an hour and a half through snowstorms while sleep deprived at midnight (uphill both ways, barefoot ;) to give my baby a good walk. Anyone who takes him out better give a shiznit -- or better, yet, two.