We did a lot of research before selecting a dog trainer. We showed a good friend of mine who teaches classes to other dog trainers the various options in SF, and he said Karyn by far had completed the most effective courses compared to everyone else. Some credentials are a dime a dozen, but Karyn has taken the additional courses that help her to be effective. She helped us address issues, but more importantly, we learned how to communicate with our dog in a way he could understand (and he is SO PROUD of himself when he understands what behavior you're asking for and does his part). I only wish that we had started working with Karyn sooner - and I say that whether your dog is having issues or not. If you are on the fence about spending money on training, don't hold off or try to just watch a ton of videos. The dog trainer does what videos can't, which is to observe YOU and coach YOU on what you are doing wrong and how to do it correctly. It's an investment that is more than worth it, and you'll learn things you can apply to your future dogs as well. read more

Karyn was fantastic! She helped us train both our anxious golden doodle, Monty, and our reactive rescue dog, Colin. We were able to develop best practices for our leash reactive dogs so now they focus on us instead of getting amped up by other dogs, even when the other dog is barking and lunging. Karyn teaches you the tools so you can work with your dogs to help them overcome any anxious situation with training. Just today we were able to practice desensitization for our golden doodle while walking at Funston and suddenly there was shooting at the gun range. Normally our dog would shut down, shaking and trying to go back to the car. But this time I clicked and treated each time he heard the noise and Monty recovered so much faster than he ever did before. He was even able to fetch and play like normal once we walked past the gun range! My husband and I felt like we learned so much from Karyn and were very supported the entire time working with her. I highly recommend Karyn for any level of dog training you need from basic training to dogs who are reactive, anxious or adverse. She's the best! read more

Moxie Mutts - Two better behaved dogs! - Pet Training Near Me

Karyn is amazing both as a trainer of dogs and dog parents. She is patient, kind, nonjudgmental and a delight to work with. When I moved to San Francisco in the fall of 2024, I began looking for a trainer to help me with my 1 1/2 year old mini-Bernedoodle, Kobe Bryant. Lots of research and meetings with several trainers I was just not finding what I was looking for. Just what was it that I wanted? FORCE FREE TRAINING and training that met my dog's needs and the goals I have for him. I did not want a 'one size fits all' concept. Karyn first spoke with me on the phone to make sure we were in alignment with what I was looking for. Then she came to meet Kobe and me and did an assessment of his existing skill levels. After that, I was sent her assessment with recommendations of each of the lessons that would be needed to meet my goals for him. Each lesson/skill was clearly outlined. At no time was I pressured to sign a contract which required agreeing to all of lessons. I was able to select those that I felt most important. And of course, the pricing was very clear and length of time needed to meet the goals were discussed and agreed upon. Karyn taught me how to listen to and observe Kobe to understand what his body language was saying to me. Kobe and I have learned so much from Karyn and he is well on his way to being able to work with school children helping with their reading and visiting people in residential settings. And he is still a happy, friendly, smart and VERY curious dog. AND he LOVES Karyn! When he saw her walking towards us at a park, he smiled and went running to greet her. Karyn will help you help your dog be the best version of themself. read more

Karyn and Moxie Mutts have been a great resource for our dog Java! She taught us so much in a few weeks and we are eager to re-enlist her services now that we have a baby in the family. Karyn did a great job listening to our needs, wants and desires. In turn she taught us how to listen to our dog and speak his language, so to speak. The dog owners are really the ones that need to be trained and she gave us lots of positive reinforcement along the journey. Moxie Mutts is highly recommended! read more

Karayn is amazing. She walked our dogs for a long time and was more than just a dog walker, she was caring and attentive. If you have the opportunity to use her services, you should. The gods loved her and we do too. Such a superstar! read more

Karyn is the BEST! I spoke to several trainers for my scared little rescue dog Ruben, and as soon as we spoke on the phone for the first time, I could feel her warmth and patience, and love her dogs. Once we started our sessions together, she had an immediate bond with Ruben and I quickly saw improvements on his comfort level on a daily basis. She meets you where you and your dog are, is realistic, and adapts the training to your lifestyle and your dog's behavior. She just wants the best for you and dogs and roots for you along the way! She was always available for a text question in between our sessions and also flexible when needing to reschedule. I am going to continue to work with her on specific behaviors because me and Ruben will miss her too much! read more

I've been a dog owner all my long-in-the-tooth life and thought I knew a thing or two about dog training having had three previous Australian Cattledogs. But when I adopted my current dog, Soba, who had been a breeding dog in a puppy mill and had never had a bit of training, even potty training, I felt immediately frustrated with my ability to manage her reactivity. I was fearful that she would get to a point of fear biting. I felt like I was letting this beautiful dog down, and my frustrations started to break my habits of positive training approaches. I could see the sweet core of this dog but, felt over my head. I didn't know where to turn. On a series of desperate searching for where to turn, I found Karyn and Moxie Mutts. On the evaluation session she displayed an ability to read Soba that was kind of jaw-dropping. She presented me with a written plan and cost estimate for moving forward. Over the course of the training she expertly taught me a toolset for reading Soba's moods and understanding how to reach this beautiful dog to help us toward a positive happy life together all without fear-based "training" or "alpha" based bullpucky, allowing Soba to feel safe and express her beautiful self more and more. After several sessions people started to compliment me on how well trained Soba is when we are out on walks. I feel deeply like Karyn and Moxie Mutts has saved us both and gave us the gift of a very loving relationship. I am so grateful. read more

We used Karyn to walk our dog Angus for over a year until she started her training business and now we use her for training. She is very knowledgable about techniques and also the psychology behind dogs behaviors. She has always been very attentive to our dog's mood, behaviors and spotted anything out of the ordinary that he may have done and very communicative. Before training we received reminder emails, during trying she was fun and easy to work with and after training, I was very impressed by how quickly she sent the detailed written assessment and follow up emails etc. She takes her work seriously and is always on top of it. We plan on continuing to use her and also highly recommend her if your dog needs training. read more

Karyn was very helpful with our dog Domino! He had reactivity towards other dogs, and would eat off of our table. Karyn is loving, kind, and helpful. Domino immediately liked her, and they worked well together. It is clear that Karyn loves dogs and truly wants them to fit into their family easily and without stress. She sends videos and instructions to help remember the training, and she reinforces it with the owners, not just the dogs! read more

Our new rescue dog, Marley, is a two- or three year-old Schnauzer mix with separation anxiety and barking issues. Oh, and he wasn't potty trained. In short, he's been a pawful, and after a month of our full-time attention, we were considering returning him. Then came Moxie Mutts and Karyn. Experience, energy, positivity ... and lots of treats. As everybody says, this takes time (and money), but she has trained both Marley and us (although she doesn't give us treats), and we are in for the long haul, happy with our lovable, loyal and quite happy dog. We highly recommend Karyn and Moxie Mutts. read more

We love Moxie Mutts! Karyn has been such a great help to us with our sensitive and shy pup. Karyn has been walking her 5 days per week for us, we started with a lower amount but found that Karyn did such an amazing job that we wanted to increase our time with her. Our pup is sweet and lovable but a challenge due to how sensitive to sounds she is. Karyn always reports in any issues that come up and works to troubleshoot with us. When our pup had trouble with the high energy of a younger group Karyn was able to move her to a lower energy group where she felt safer and was much more responsive to cues. We love that she sends daily updates with photos and provides details if anything is off with your dog. Karyn only uses R+ which is essential for our dog (and all dogs if you ask me!) We have also used Karyn when we have gone out of town as she helps our pup feel safe and protected. She left our home cleaner than she found it and had awesome play time with our girl.We completely and totally recommend Karyn. We have tried several other dog walkers in the city and none compare to the level of professionalism, care and attention to detail that Karyn has. Not to mention the dogs LOVE her!! read more

Moxie Mutts - Puppy Party! - Pet Training Near Me

We used Moxie Mutts over the past few weeks and sadly had to part ways last week. Our biggest issue was that when we started working with Karyn, she immediately requested a key to our house. We live in a condo complex where the doorman holds all the keys for the units, and this is how we typically provide access for family, friends, previous dog walkers, house cleaners, etc. It's a simple and efficient way to give access without handing out keys to everyone. I had expressed to her that my husband and I did not feel comfortable giving her a key. She brought it up several times, and last week she got quite nasty with me because I told her that we STILL didn't feel comfortable with giving her a key. She threatened us and gave us an ultimatum, which resulted in her raising our prices. I understand that a key would provide efficiencies for her, but unfortunately, she's in the customer service business so it's critical to listen when a client says, "this isn't ok with me". It's clear that she wasn't hearing us. Had we been with her for several months or years, we might have felt differently, but we didn't appreciate how pushy and rude she was! Our dog enjoyed walks with her and she provided great updates after the walks, but she should probably work on her etiquette. That sort of attitude won't keep customers for too long! read more

Karyn has been an amazing walker for our beloved pup Mojo! We were referred to her by our former dog walker about 4 months ago when we needed to switch to one-on-one walks due to some behavioral issues Mojo had developed. She offers reasonable rates for one-on-one walks and accommodates our schedule as much as possible. More importantly she has made Mojo's life so much better since he now gets more attention and training reinforcement during his walks. We have noticed his on-leash temperament improve significantly and he is always tired and relaxed when we come home. Karyn goes out of her way to send us a text update and picture of Mojo after each walk. Getting a cute dog picture in the middle of a long day at the office is always appreciated! Moreover, since Mojo can still be reactive to loud noises and other barking dogs it is very helpful to know how he does on each walk. If you are looking for a walker who cares about your dog and can provide your pup with the love and attention they deserve then I highly recommend hiring Karyn! read more

If you're in search of some Pet-Peace-of-Mind while you're away on vacation this be it! Karyn took excellent care of our 2 energetic, high maintenance, large mutts, our 1 sassy Siamese cat, our house, numerous house and garden plants and all things associated while we were all the way across the world in India for 19 days. It was like summer camp around here while we were gone. Karyn totally spoiled the canines--with morning AND afternoon activities for them. Actually I'm somewhat surprised, given the extent of involvement, that we didn't come home to find a couple of doggie-made lanyards, or doggie-sewn sit-upons. I half-expected the dogs to start singing about going on a squeegee hunt and demanding s'mores and a bonfire in the backyard. We were able to check Karyn's daily blog to see what happened the day before--complete with pictures (!) so we could see what our manic mischief-makers had been up to. Also one of our dogs has epilepsy and she kept him properly dosed so he didn't have any seizures while we were away. A huge relief! We had an excellent vacation in part due to the fact that we'd left our domestic universe in such capable hands. With Karyn in charge, you can spend time enjoying the trip and not tripping on your pets' or plants' or house's welfare. THANKS LOADS KARYN!! read more

My dog has been a client of Moxie Mutts for the past 2 years and has loved all his adventures. I think he has been to more parks on San Francisco than I have! Karyn is so reliable and knowledgeable. I loved the daily pictures I would get to see all the fun Charlie was having while I was at work. read more

We worked with Karyn for our pup Bailey. She helped us train Bailey's recall during her off leash dog walks. This time that Karyn worked with Bailey had a remarkable impact on our pup's life. Bailey can navigate San Francisco parks with ease. I have always appreciated her clear communication and feedback. Bailey defaults to auto check-ins while hiking and has very good trail manners. One aspect that I really appreciate about Karyn is her focus on continuous learning and furthering her education and knowledge surrounding dogs. It is one of the ways I know she is providing us with the most up-to-date and latest dog science. read more

We are so happy to have found Karyn to care for our pups. She runs with our dogs to give them the exercise they need and she allows them off-leash time as well at dog-friendly parks. Karyn works with us as partners in training and we are lucky to have her! Our youngest pup was having leash and heel issues but he has made significant strides with her. We have seen him go from a busy-body, tugging at the leash to walking in a perfect heel - a pleasure to walk! Karyn provides well-detailed daily text updates of her outings along with beautifully posed pictures of our pups. We always look forward to her messages about their adventures and pictures in the middle of the day! Additionally, Karyn details training exercises we can do to reinforce on our time with the pups. We are so thrilled to have partnered with Karyn and we cannot overstate that she is THE PERSON to care for your little ones! read more

My fiance and I, with our combined pets moved to the bay area about a year and a half ago. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats. We used Karyn to watch all of our pets for a weekend trip. Our pets seemed to enjoy her, our "alpha" dog even warmed up to Karyn a few minutes after she arrived. We loved the blog Karyn has; we could check in on the pets and hear how things were going by looking online. She took the three of them on a walk and seem to be fine working with our deaf dog. I should also mention that all of our animals are senior citizens and all take many different medicines. Karyn did just fine with all of that. We definitely will use Karyn again, and we highly recommend her. read more

Karyn is fantastic. She picks up our pup 3x/week for off-leash adventures, and he always returns exhausted and happy. She is incredibly responsive via text/email/phone (always texts a thoughtful recap of the day's walk with a photo) and her rates are quite reasonable. I highly recommend her services! read more

I have had a number of dog walkers in the SF area and Karyn is top notch! She is very responsive and easy to deal with. She shares photos daily and somehow gets all the dogs to sit together for the picture (impressive). Cooper (my pooch) can be alpha and she knows how to handle him...probably better than me. She always fills his water bowl when she drops him off, which is a nice touch. Your fur-ball is in good hands - I recommend. read more

I couldn't be happier with Karyn's pet sitting services. The first time we hired her we went out of town a little longer than a week. We have a few older pets who are pretty high maintenance--needing daily medical care. Karyn came to the house before our trip to meet the pets and learn how to provide them with the care they needed, which includes insulin shots and oral med administration; she wasn't squeamish at all and her confidence made us feel more comfortable about leaving the little guys with her. It was obvious that our dog warmed up to her right away and even our cat, who is normally evil toward strangers, seemed to develop a mutual understanding with her. We were especially pleased with Karyn's detailed daily blog posts about our pets' activities while we were away. It was a comfort and a relief to be able to check the Moxie Mutts blog and read about walks and snuggle sessions and meals and meds. Last but not least, our house was in impeccable condition when we returned--in better shape, I think, than we left it. We are now planning a few more trips and are looking forward to having Karyn come again. I couldn't recommend her more highly. Thank you for everything, MoxieMutts! read more

Karyn has been walking our puppy for the past couple of weeks and there has been a marked improvement in her behaviour and manners. Amazing. I can't wait to see how much more she grows with her help. Awesome. read more

There is no one who I would rather talk about my dog with than Karyn. She is loving and insightful and she helped me tremendously with so many aspects of being a dog owner. The dogs love her as well. I highly recommend her to do anything with the dogs. More like a whisperer than a walker. read more

Moxie Mutts is the only business I would trust to watch my pets! After hearing about a friends horror stories of pet walkers/sitters not doing there job and being dishonest, I was thrilled to recommend Moxie Mutts to them! Not only were my pets in good health and care, I received blog updates that I could read about everything that transpired. She takes pictures of your pet so you can actually see them out in the world, having fun! My dogs were always thrilled to see her when I happened to see them together on my way out. If you are looking for a pet caretaker that will provide peace of find and proof of services, Moxie Mutts is the place! Buddy, Ava and I know you will love her services! read more

I was very happy to find out that Moxie Mutts could care for my son's bearded dragon while we were on vacation during the holidays. Not only was his habitat in tip top shape when we returned, but Karyn had some excellent suggestions for his care, as we are relative novices. We will definitely use Moxie Mutts for our future pet care needs and highly recommend their service. read more

Karyn has been walking our Dog for about 7 months now and we couldn't be happier. She is very reliable, sends amazing daily updates and has improved our dogs recall tremendously. She has also helped us out in a pinch several times, with short notice etc. Couldn't be happier! I've also worked from home a couple times and it's safe to say my dog didn't even look back when she showed up to pick him up- he adores Karyn!! read more

There are few people I trust with my dog and Karyn from Moxie Mutts is one of them. She readily established a warm and loving relationship with my dog Gypsy. She is professional dependable and likable. Gypsy ran to her every time she arrived. I received updates and cute photos during their daily adventures. Karyn also took the time to work with Gypsy during each walk on her recall and commands. I also trusted Gypsy in her care when I had to travel. I enthusiastically recommend Karyn and Moxie Mutts! Your dog will love you more for using their services! read more

Wow, we had such a bad experience with Karyn watching our dog and two cats for the day I still can't quite believe it. I hate to write a negative review but I really feel that she has no business watching anyone's home or animals. We have a rescue dog with fear issues that Karyn had come over to the house to meet before the housesit. We were very clear about his issues, both verbally and in very detailed written notes we left for her. I reiterated things she could do to make him more comfortable with her when she arrived to house-sit. A few minutes later, Karyn was sitting on the couch and our dog came up to her with his tail wagging and she grabbed him around the head, petting him roughly looking directly into his eyes. He handled it well so I told him he was good and didn't want to make a big deal about it but I had JUST finished telling her that sort of thing, while no big deal for most dogs, was not ok with him. My husband called her at about three in the afternoon and asked how things were going and she said "Everything is fine here." We then stopped by to pick up some things and I called out to her- she didn't come out to talk to us when we came home- and said "How was your walk?" She replied curtly "Did you read the blog?" She knew I had spent the morning kayaking down a river and it wasn't likely that I was reading a blog. I said no and she didn't respond- she had just told my husband on the phone all was well so I figured all was well and we left again. My husband called her again at eight pm and asked how thing were going. Again, she said "Everything is fine here." Ten minutes later I got a text from her saying I should read the blog so I stepped out of my birthday party and read the blog, which left me fighting tears and I left my own party early to go straight home. She had written that our dog was barking at her all day and she described her day with him which made it very clear that she had not read-or chose to ignore- the instructions I had left for her regarding where to walk him, where and how to feed him, how to handle him generally, etc. She wrote that she felt he was acting aggressively towards her and it was making her uncomfortable. That is clearly unacceptable behavior- not good for her or for him- and we should have been notified, directly by phone, IMMEDIATELY when the behavior began! Our neighbor, an elderly woman, saw our back door had been left open and heard our dog barking a lot and told us later she came over to check on things. Karyn didn't respond to her calling over the fence or knocking on the door. The very first line of the notes I left for her read: "CATS: Our biggest concern is them getting out so please, above all, make sure you only open the front and back doors when you have to go in and out and watch because they are often right there." We are very lucky they didn't go out the door when it was left open. Our dog has been though a lot and has been making really good progress with people so this was a big, disappointing setback. After her first house-sit with our animals, our previous house-sitter said of our dog: "He was a little unsure at first but he loves his belly rubs, is a great foot warmer and follows me everywhere- I think he's in love with me." I expressed my disappointment with Karyn over the phone after she had gone home. She was defensive and a bit sarcastic; she said that I should be apologizing to her. I did apologize for my dog barking at her- it pains me that it happened, regardless of her part in it. She never did apologize to me, however. read more

karyn was recommended by our dog walker as a potential pet sitter and we couldn't have been more fortunate to have her looking after our two dogs and a cat. she stayed at our house for 19 days while we were out of the country on a long vacation and it was great to be able to read her posts about what she and the pets had done that day. she took them on runs, played fetch with them and took them on a lot of car rides with her which they love. also, the house was spotless when we came back which was really nice. in future, we will always try and plan our vacations far enough ahead so that we can have karyn stay at our house with our pets. she really is great and we feel so much better having her stay in the house with the pets than leaving the dogs at "doggie sleepover camp". thanks karyn read more

Although our pup is the apple of our eye, she does struggle with serious separation anxiety. Before Karyn started watching her I always left on trips with some trepidation. She has been known to destroy crates and homes when we leave her. I will never forget returning from an international trip and getting a call on voicemail that she had jumped out of our window and our neighbor had to chase her for a mile before catching her. So the first time we left her with Karyn, I was a little gun shy. Imagine my delight when the first day we were gone I received a photo of them hiking and then a second one of her curled up on the couch. When we returned Ngila was adjusted and happy. This was a big change from our other trips when it would take 2 weeks for her to get back to normal. Karyn watched her many times and each time their bond grew. Karyn has a touch with animals and I would highly recommend her as a sitter for any pet. read more

Full disclosure - I knew Karyn before she became a pet sitter/dog walker and already thought she was the bee's knees. But dang howdy! Who knew my fur babies would fall so deeply and helplessly in love with her so FAST?!? This review is woefully overdue, but we had Karyn watch our 3 big dogs and 1 pampered feline (he is truly the king of the castle!) a few weeks back while we slipped out of town for a long weekend. Every day we were greeted with blog updates of all the fun our furry family was having with Auntie Karyn in our absence, and it was CLEAR they weren't missing us at all! Karyn had them out and about every day running and jumping and chasing balls and playing with other dogs at the park. And each night they returned home happy, calm and exhausted - just the way we like 'em! And when we got home not only were our dogs and cat happy and calm, but our house was spotless and it was clear Karyn had gone above and beyond the call of duty in making sure we were able to just walk in the door and relax. I truly can't recommend Karyn at Moxie Mutts highly enough! She is such a wonderful person, has great instincts with the pets, and will absolutely make your time away from home SO much more relaxing just knowing she is there and in control. We loved her pet & house care so much we immediately booked her for another long weekend! Now THAT'S a recommendation you can take to the bank! read more

Your pets are in good hands with Karyn. If you have large dogs that need exercise she is a runner who will give them a workout. Small animals will get tender, loving care. She will take good care of your home and possessions. I highly recommend her service. read more

Karyn's services can be described in one word: awesome!! I've used her for pet and house sitting for over 10 years. She is great with my dog, a 60-pound yellow lab, who absolutely adores her. My trips are so much more enjoyable and relaxing knowing that my dog and my house are in her very capable and organized hands. Karyn posts daily pictures on her blog and is very responsive to emails and texts. I almost hate to recommend her so highly because I want to make sure she's available the next time I need her! : ) read more