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.

I cannot recommend Bay Area Balanced Dog Training and Meryl enough!…read more In November of 2023 my husband and I adopted our adorable 3-year-old Pitbull-mix, Midnight, from our local shelter. Unfortunately, pretty much everything the shelter told us in regards to his behaviors/needs was incorrect. For example: he was over-aroused all day every day, had lots of destructive behaviors with our furniture/household items, did not respond to verbal commands/corrections, jumped on us and on top of tables/counters frequently, had zoomies where he would body slam us and progressively get more aggressive, tried to run full force after any dog/cat/squirrel/bird we saw on walks, tried to redirect bite me on walks and landed one of them (which broke my skin), frequently ate inedible things (like leaves and cat poop - yuck!) no matter how hard we tried to prevent him from doing so, and landed a bite that broke the skin on my husband's hand too when he was resource guarding a treat-stuffed toy. My husband and I have owned and trained pet dogs in the past, but Midnight's behaviors/needs were at a level that was way over our heads. After six weeks of trying to work with Midnight on our own, we were beside ourselves from trying to figure out how to safely meet his needs and began to fear that we may have to try to rehome him or bring him back to the shelter, which we desperately didn't want to do. So, I did some research and found Bay Area Balanced Dog Training's website. I reached out to Meryl and from our first phone conversation she put me at ease and began educating my husband and I about Midnight's behavior and needs. Midnight did a 4-week board and train program with Meryl, during which time she continued to educate my husband and I on how we could be the best owners possible for our energetic, willful pup. When Midnight came back home with us, he and we were finally speaking the same language and understood each other so much better, all because of Meryl's training. My household is peaceful again, Midnight is so much happier/content, and we have been able to bond with him in a much deeper way than we were able to before. Walks are a dream (he even ignores cats now!), my husband and I are doing a much better job of properly taking care of Midnight's activity/energy needs, and we feel certain since Meryl's training that we are a good fit for him and he is a good fit for us. Our little family is going to be just fine, due to the gift of Meryl's expertise and skill. Although things are going so well with Midnight, I still worried about who would take care of him if we have to go out of town and can't take him with us, due to his unique behavioral needs. Meryl boarded him for a week for us recently and Midnight had the best time! The little videos Meryl sent us of how he was doing erased any worries I still had in the back of my mind about him, and I felt so much relief knowing that Midnight was being cared for so well with so much love. Another time we needed to board Midnight was last-minute, and unfortunately Meryl was all booked up and didn't have space at that time. Meryl went above and beyond in suggesting another skilled trainer that she knows well that had space during the time we would be away - that boarding experience was great too, and Meryl was spot-on in regards to the other trainer being a great boarding fit for Midnight. Meryl has been an absolute blessing for Midnight, my husband and me. We look forward to taking more lessons from her in the future and feel lucky to have her support and expertise in our corner. Please, if you find yourselves in a situation even somewhat like ours, don't hesitate to reach out to Bay Area Balanced Dog Training - it'll be the best call you can make for you and your dog.

Everything went so well. What everybody says about her is true. She is really an amazing dog…read morehandler and a good teacher for me and isn't that the most important thing. Just ask your friends with dogs and I'm sure her name will come up and everything they say about her is true. And no, I'm not a relative just a happy customer who's getting his dog under control Kim mc

We heard about Marge and her business from a friend and decided to give her a try. We took our dog…read moreto a private session with her and saw fantastic results within 20 minutes of the training. Our dog is an Aussie doodle and very high strong. She was able to get our dog to calm down and showed us a bunch of ways to work with her. It has made an unbelievable difference, and how our dog acts towards us and others, as well as how she works on a leash. Thank you for helping us with our dog.

I sent my dog to Eleza for 6 weeks while I was recovering from surgery. He had the best time in…read morethe world! She sent me pictures and recommendations on care, training and activities for him to continue when he is back home. He came back better behaved and very healthy. I did a private lesson with her when I picked him up and have already implemented many of the techniques she recommended with great success. He's a happier dog for having clear boundaries and he now has a second home if I ever need to board him again. He is not the easiest dog and other places that I enquired would have not given him as much attention, exercise, boundaries and care. She even took him camping I highly recommend Eleza and her team at Paws In Progress.

I highly recommend Eleza. She has trained our GoldenDoodle. Bella is a completely different dog…read more She is highly obedient and a very well trained dog. And Bella loves Eleza so much. So if you need a caring, very awesome trainer, give her a call.

We have used a variety of Alert K-9's services from puppy training, day care and train, as well as…read moreboarding. Our pup Oliver is not only excited every time we get there, but he's also one step closer to being fully trained. If you put in the work, and do what these trainers suggest, you won't regret it. Our 7 month old puppy doesn't bark at every little thing, he knows sit, park it, down and wait really well. His loose leash walking has improved immensely. Overall, great experience and we will continue to use Alert K-9.

Our experience with Alert K9 has been great! We took our new shelter puppy to the puppy obedience…read morecourse here. The course taught us the basics and foundational skills for handling and future training. We decided to go ahead and try out the daycare & train as well. Today was his first day of daycare and he did great! We were nervous as he is pretty crazy and rambunctious but he was able to play with other dogs in a controlled safe environment which made me feel at ease. They have a lot of experience with dogs and know their stuff! Would recommend to anyone I know. Our puppy is such a good listener now with the skills he has learned!

I cannot say enough about Brad Wilhelm and the incredible work he did with my Cavalier puppy,…read moreOlivia. At just 6 months old, Olivia was exhibiting serious resource guarding and aggressive behavior -- to the point where I was afraid to get close to her and she actually bit me once. I've had seven dogs in my lifetime and had never experienced anything like this before. Cavaliers are known for being loving, gentle dogs, so having an 11-pound puppy that I felt nervous around was heartbreaking. I truly wasn't sure Olivia and I would ever have a good relationship again. I was scheduled to travel to Mexico over Christmas but couldn't take her due to her behavior. Brad went above and beyond -- he kindly arranged to pick her up the very night I left on a red-eye flight and enrolled her in a 4-week board-and-train bootcamp. Yes, the program is an investment, but it is absolutely worth every penny. Brad and Camille worked their magic. Olivia came back a completely different puppy -- loving, responsive, and happy. It honestly feels like night and day. I know I still need to do my homework and stay consistent, but just one week after her return, the transformation has been incredible. One thing I really appreciate is the ongoing support. Brad offers unlimited texts and calls for questions and guidance, which has been invaluable as we continue reinforcing her training at home. This also wasn't my first experience with Brad. He was recommended to us years ago when we got our older dog, a yellow Labrador named Bourbon. While Bourbon has always been mellow, Brad helped us with practical training -- including teaching him to jump into my sedan in less than 10 minutes! That stuck with me and is why I trusted him when we needed serious help with Olivia. Brad once told me that good training makes dogs happier, and now I truly understand what he meant. Olivia is more confident, more relaxed, and clearly happier -- and so am I. I wholeheartedly recommend Brad to anyone dealing with behavioral issues or simply looking for solid obedience training. His knowledge, patience, and genuine care make all the difference. I am incredibly grateful for the impact he and Camille have had on both Olivia and me.

My review might be more unconventional, but given the service I received, I felt it was important…read moreto share my experience. Every now and again Brad's facility will take in rescue dogs who will undergo the full board and train program. I was lucky enough to be able to adopt Tarkin, a a cattle dog mix. I believe he had been under the care of Brad and his team for almost (maybe more?) a year but did not have much like in finding a potential adopter until I saw a post on Instagram and reached out. Right off the bat, Tarkin was very well behaved, knew the basic commands (sit, down-stay, leave it, wait, place, etc). Brad even provided a collar to continue with his training, was responsive via text MONTHS after adoption, and would always offer to come by for a follow-up training session. Fortunately, we have not needed an in-person session, but to be able to continue having him as resource by phone has been amazing and I am so grateful. Brad and Camille (Tarkin's other main trainer) have created such a wonderful foundation of training that I've been able to build off of, even as a new dog owner. Given my experience with Tarkin, I would highly recommend reaching out to Brad and his team about potential rescues available for adoption, or to see what training packages they have to offer. I couldn't have asked for a better first dog!

Maddie was wonderful. Our dog was having aggression issues with people and other dogs. After…read moretraining with Maddie, she interacts with people and dogs without any problems, and we have even taken our dog out to breakfast and dinner several times without any problems. She is very well behaved. The change has been remarkable. We are so appreciative of the great work Maddie has done with her.

Maddie is amazing! I had adopted a Malinios puppy at the…read morespca. I had done what I thought was quite a bit of research and tried to train with her a bit daily but I just couldn't figure out exactly how to work with her, her smarts and energy are off the charts.i just couldn't get her to focus on what I wanted. Maddie did a month long board and train with Sage and Sage can back so much happier with her energy more focused and workable. while Sage was with Maddie I received email updates including pictures(that was so important for me). when Maddie brought Sage home she went through how to keep working with Sage the way she had. I feel Sage is so much better and I look forward to going to some of the group classes to see what else we can accomplish.

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

My 15-month-old has been attending the programs here for more than 10 months. They have done a…read morespectacular job socializing and training her, first at the puppy socials and then graduating into Mini-Day School as a teenager. She now weighs 115lbs+ and is an active and intense mix of breeds. Because of David (positively the most patient person on the planet) and the supporting staff here, she is well behaved at home and in public. I constantly get compliments about her general manners and also behavior around other dogs. People are often surprised about the command I have over such a large and strong dog. I think things would have been a nightmare for us without this program. Tailored has not only worked with her directly, but they have educated me about ways to work with her on my own. I can't imagine getting another puppy without sending them through this program. These classes are always a priority in my schedule. Well worth the drive and very reasonable cost, and she loves it!

A wonderful socializing experience for our puppy. I only wish there had been a couple of more…read morepuppies closer to our dog's age (3 months)

I highly recommend Dog Soul! We've noticed a big change in our puppy's social skills. She started…read moreoff timid but now loves to socialize, thanks to the great tips from Susi. Not only does our puppy love the classes, but my husband and I enjoy them as well. We are so happy to have found Susi--she is an excellent trainer, and we love her training style! This class has been a great support, helping us with any questions we had, and the sessions are always fun to attend. We've even signed up for another four weeks. It's been a fantastic experience!

TAKE YOUR MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE!…read more I am very surprised by all the 5 star reviews....Jack was extremely unprofessional. He made many rude, racially insensitive jokes. Smoked cigarettes throughout the entire one hour training session. Mind u he was smoking so close to my daughter who was attending the class with me with not a care in the world. We had to move away from him because he kept chain smoking throughout the lesson. He was telling endless stories about his childhood and how his dad would beat him with a belt and how he voted for trump and other political topics. (There's nothing wrong with talking politics, but there is a time and place and this was not it) he was very loud and obnoxious he cussed like a sailor. No professionalism. There is some very serious redneck culture here.Put down the cigarettes for an hour and have some respect for the people paying good money to learn from you. It was a Very unfortunate experience. My daughter and I were really looking forward to training our puppy and learning with him but after the first class i just could not return. I will not be back. No thank you. Even my daughter felt uncomfortable when leaving the facility. Not cool.

They are very knowledgeable about dog training, their facility is very…read moreClean! You can tell they love what they do!!

Thanks to BratPak team, Duke had an awesome time with the water and his pup friends at the camp. I…read moreloved how they keep close parents sending pics and notices about our pup. The only thing I could ask for next time is to be more flexible about drop off time. I understand the process at BratPak but I thing what all the parents want is having a nice welcome when drop off their baby's. Besides that, Thanks to all the team!

I am so happy I found BratPak & definitely wishing I had found them sooner! I'm excited to start my…read moredog in the daycare but as of right now I started him off with training & I can't say nothing less than Sean the trainer, was amazing !! He was very thorough with everything and I'm glad the tips and tricks were focused on what I could do BETTER . I like his methods and have been using them, & they have been working . I also like that they do in home training and the pricing is very affordable in comparison to a lot of other places I have looked into.. thank you Sean for helping me & my Milo! We look forward to working with you again & hopefully getting Milo into daycare soon :) !!