Kate has trained my four dogs over the past 20 years. I only have good feedback for her and her colleague Sheridan. I was about to put my rescue Charlie down as he nipped one of my dog walkers on the thumb. Charlie had a rough three years before we adopted him. He was beaten by his former owner, who lives on the streets and abuses drugs and alcohol. Cocker Rescue got him off the streets, and we adopted him, not realizing how traumatized he was. I finally decided to take him to Adult Dog Training with Kate and her South Bark Dog Wash staff. I am blown away by how my dogs behave differently now. I took our latest rescue, Lulu, there before I brought Charlie, so Kate trained my dogs and me. My groomer told me yesterday that he NO longer has to muzzle Charlie while he gets groomed. He said that Charlie had turned into this beautiful, loving dog. Charlie has even stopped nipping at my husband's heels and no longer "guards me" when my husband gets home. Thank you Kate and Sheridan for everything, I am literally crying as I write this. To those of you who are kind enough to read this review, I am being genuine when I say that if you love your dog, you will take the time to train them properly. You may be saving their lives. I highly recommend Kate. read more

K8's Gr8 K9s - Lulu and Charlie, proud graduates of Adult Dog Training with Kate - Pet Training Near Me - San Diego, California

Kate's a true dog whisperer. She is also wonderful at teaching us humans how to interact and work with with our four legged family members. I highly recommend her. read more

DOG TRAINING: I am giving Kate Palese, the trainer one star. The training area. Floor needs cleaning, and my dog started having flees when we started coming here. The downside is that there is a bus route that goes by and the busses noise distracts the dogs and even causes them anxiety. Also worth mentioning is that the planes pass right above the training area and you can imagine all the dogs trembling at the extreme noise of the airplane engines. Another negative to this school is that the training is not completely hidden from the street view so any dogs walking by distract the dogs that are in training. I saw many incidents where dogs in training became uncontrollable and very aggressive when they saw dogs passing in front of the sidewalk. In fact, in one of the classes one of the dogs became overly excited and aggressive when he saw another dog walking by in the sidewalk, when this happened another dog in the class joined in the barking and this led to the first dog viciously attacking the second dog. There seems to be no criteria as to allowing aggressive or nervous dogs into the class and this poses a very serious problem for the other dogs. I was so nervous about one of the dogs that was severely anxious and aggressive that I did not enjoy these classes. There are no text handouts or book recommendations..... Kate Palese, does have good advice and is knowledgable but her class structure needs lots of work. There is no structure,no program..... So don't expect to follow any given training program. This is what Kate's web site says she will teach your dog... (Thru positive reinforcement, learn loose lead walking, sit, stay, come, dog to dog greeting, dog to human greeting, and how to properly socialize your dog with other dogs and humans. We specifically address the challenges of getting a small dog to come on command, how to play with larger dogs, and what to do with any "snarky" behavior). We only learn the training techniques for come, sit, touch and leave it! If your serious about training your dog and passing the canine good citizen certification course read citizen canine by the American kennel club. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY, THERE ARE BETTER TRAINERS!!! read more

I was referred to Kate by a friend that took both her dogs to Kate's obedience and CGC courses. Kate was beyond amazing with my dog Dallas whom I adopted from the shelter. Dallas was very shy and defensive - Kate was so patient and kind with her. Kate understood Dallas' deficiencies and worked around them. Dallas improved so much with Kate during her first class, that I enrolled her in second. Dallas came away with obedience training and so much more. Her confidence in herself increased drastically. Dallas is now enjoying her Tracking Class and her Parkour Class. Thank you so much Kate for your patience and genuine love for her and the other dogs in class. read more

Kate is absolutely amazing with dogs! My husband and I adopted a dog from the Humane Society. The dog was rescued, along with its mother and some siblings (not all the siblings made it, neither did the dad dog) from a terribly abusive environment. Apparently the ones that did the damage were men, because my dog was very scared of them -including my husband -who's had dogs of his own before; stray dogs from the streets he'd take in and give them a home. But no matter how loving he was with this dog, he was still petrified of him. Even whenever I'd walk him, if a woman approached us he was a normal friendly dog, but whenever a man would approach us, he'd walk behind me. This is when Kate came in. She came home, met our dog, assessed the situation, and gave us some props and many hints as how to deal with the situation. We also brought the dog to take one of her classes and through out the class we could see how much the dog was learning. Needless to say, we learned a lot with her too because training a dog is also about training the owner and Kate is remarkable with this process. Kate is truly knowledgeable about dog behavior and very loving with every single one of them. No matter which type of dog it is, where they come from, or what personality they might have, she is always willing to reach out to that dog with the perfect balance between being caring, firm, understanding, determined and tremendously patient. Having her as your dog trainer is certainly a valuable experience you and your dog will be thankful for life. read more

Kate is excellent with any kind of dog. Note the many kinds she herself has that are all under great control and even help her teach the class. I trained my two older dogs with her years ago and am now back with a new pooch. Yes, you do need to do homework during the week. Kate goes over a few more commands and behavioral points every week, and then you practice them and get better. To the person who gave one star below and talks about distractions near the training area: There couldn't be anything better than distractions when training. Usually you have to go looking for them to make sure you've trained your dog not only under the best situation but when distractions are going on in every day life. Do you want your dog to come to you only in your backyard? Don't you want your dog to come to you when some big commotion occurs and his safety is at stake? Can't recommend Kate highly enough. read more

Kate was very professional and helpful with certifying my dog for the CGC test, Canine Good Citizen. I now get to volunteer with my dog, he brightens everyone's day. Thank you Kate for making this experience very convenient, easy, and professional! I definitely recommend her to anyone needing dog assistance. read more

Bongo drumming, playing the piano, bang or playing dead, jumping through hoops, turning on the lights, socialization, puppy 101 and good citizen skills are just a few things of many skills we've learned from Kate! Kate's positive approach to dog training (or people training, as I call it) has helped me teach and work with my dogs Max & Murphy on so many levels. We started puppy class back in November when Max was a few months old. Then we moved on to trick class which was just plain old good fun to see what he could learn to do! And recently we just finished Good Citizen training and we were delighted when he passed the test! Max just turned a year and we are just amazed at what a great dog he has turned out to be so far! I owe Kate a lot of credit for taking the time to work with us to help him get the most out of training. Kate's fun, upbeat and quirky personality make the classes extremely entertaining and very educational. I like that the class feels 'free form' meaning there's not a ridged agenda for the day - it's more going with the flow of the dogs & people in the class' energy and every class I leave with a new 'ah-ha' moment. I'm blown away by the depth of knowledge she has on dogs (and on people) because let's be honest, we learn a lot about ourselves when we're learning something new, to teach something new! Mainly patience! I've had a great experience thus far with Kate and of course I absolutely ADORE South Bark Dog Wash what a wonderful community for animal lovers. Big thanks to Kate & South Bark!!! Max gives it two paws up too! read more

K8's Gr8 K9s - Max with his AKC Good Citizen diploma :) - Pet Training Near Me - San Diego, California

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Kate's classes are great. She is great with dogs (and humans!). Pixel (the amazing pomeranian) and I have taken two classes and are currently taking a third. I love how Kate takes the time to help the more challenging students. Her methods work. It's amazing to see the transformation in the dogs in just a few short weeks. Kate makes it fun! read more

My dog is living a happier life because of Kate's classes. I have a 6 year old pit mix that's nervous about other dogs due to an attack. Her classes are a safe way to socialize dogs of any temperament. If you have a super grumpy pup, she eve has a class to help with that! The things she teaches you in class help provide structure for your relationship with your dog; make your dog work for their food, pets and toys. We've been to two classes and plan on taking many more. But please realize, the success of the class,and really any dog training class, is dependent on you and your willingness to work with your dog on the things learned in class during the weekin many different settings. read more

I was looking for an experienced trainer that focused on positive reinforcement methods only. Kate Palese came highly recommended by my dog's previous trainer. I was pleased with Kate's expertise, outlook, and ability to make me feel comfortable from our first brief meeting when she evaluated my dog to determine the best course of action (e.g. group class, private lesson). She even taught me the "Look at That" (LAT) exercise to work on with my dog prior to our first class starting. Kate recommended her upcoming CGC (Canine Good Citizen) class at South Bark Dog Wash in San Diego. I will admit I was a little nervous about a group class setting because my dog has hit her 2nd teenage phase. She is a little over a year and a 1/2 old and knows all her basic commands, but recently has become distracted working around other dogs. Kate was right - this was the perfect environment/class for her. Kate's teaching style was very impressive in the classroom setting. There were dogs in our class that did not yet know basic commands such as "leave it" or "down". There were other dogs in the class (like mine) who needed more assistance with the activities that required attention/focus when working around other dogs. Regardless of the task, Kate was able to give each owner and dog individual attention when necessary. Kate was very knowledgable about all of the different breeds of dogs in our class and the best way to work with them. She was able to give different advice to the owner of a Border Collie about how to train a task versus the owner of a Rottweiler based off of how the breed works or approaches certain tasks. She was also great about working with dogs of all different sizes in the class (e.g. English Mastiff, German Shepherd, Dachshund). Not only did Kate make sure all dogs learned their basic commands (sit, down, stay, leave it), but all along the way she was building on those skills to prepare each of us for the CGC test. During each class, Kate was slowly introducing us to other parts that would be on the CGC test. She made sure that we had time for our dogs to work on loose leash walking skills, being pet by a stranger, groomed by a stranger, work with distractions and everything else necessary to prepare us for the test. Kate provided handouts that explained each command, troubleshooting teaching the commands with your dog, and helpful tips. At the end of each class, Kate would let each of us know what we needed to work on before the next class. She would even give us a plan of action for how to work on it. If you are looking for a dog trainer that is great with both dogs and humans, then look no further! I would definitely not take my dog anywhere else. The hardest decision I need to make now is which class to take next! read more

Kate really is GR8!! We adopted a 4 month old boxer about three years ago, and didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into! We enrolled in Kate's puppy class through South Bark Dog Wash and were told on the first day that we had a very challenging dog and that we had a long road ahead. To our surprise, however, the training skills we learned in class were the best thing that could've happened to us! Our Bella turned out to be the star of the class, as well as every one of Kate's classes we enrolled her in since! Bella now knows over 20 tricks, is the sweetest and most gentle dog on the planet, and has been invited to be a "Doggie Ambassador" at recent classes at South Bark -- meaning she goes into class and acts as a role model for other dogs. :) Recently we adopted a second dog, Penny, who is a pit bull mix and an even bigger challenge than Bella was. Penny was on the streets and in shelters for the first 6 months of her life and was very scared of humans. She had a tendency to bite at people that would invade her personal space. We immediately enrolled Penny in Kate's classes and were put on the "aggressive dog" track. In these classes we were surrounded by other dogs with similar aggression issues and were taught skills needed to keep our Penny calm around people, other dogs, loud noises, and moving objects. Again we were pleasantly surprised with Penny's progress after taking Kate's classes! Penny went from running after moving cars on walks to completely ignoring any moving object that passes us now! She is also much more comfortable around strangers, even letting them pet her within a few minutes of introduction! The biting has subsided as well, and she only nips when pushed to her limit (which is not her fault most of the time!). Needless to say, we are true believers in Kate and her training expertise! She has helped us turn TWO difficult dogs into some of the best dogs we've ever known! We recommend Kate and her classes (through South Bark and otherwise) to EVERYONE that owns a dog and needs a little guidance, regardless of age! Thank you Kate!!!! read more

weather you want the best relationship possible with your dog, or plan to compete- this is where it all starts! your dog will learn how to learn, how much FUN it is to pay attention to you & you will learn to communicate. Kate & co. amazing! read more