K8’s Gr8 K9s

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!

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.

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!!!

My old roommate adopted a basenji-​shepherd mix from the San Diego Humane Society and it became clear within a couple of weeks that we were going to need some help training her. Enter: Kate.
In the interest of full disclosure — Kate’s a friend of ours. Though there had been no reason to take classes prior to my roommate’s new acquisition, we’d heard nothing but good things from people who had taken her classes. [Additionally, to know Kate is to know her dogs — she has three of her own and is often boarding one or two for clients. Not only are they well-​behaved, but you can tell she knows what she’s doing when it comes to handling them all.]
Classes with Kate are never boring — she makes them fun, but keeps things straightforward and realistic. She also strikes a great balance between helping you recognize that dogs are, in fact, dogs [and not humans like some of us are wont to believe], but acknowledging that regardless of all that they still become part of your family.
All dogs are different, so you should check out her class listing to see what may suit you — she offers several, including some specialized to specific behavioral issues. Like other reviewers have mentioned, it does require consistency and work outside of the classes, but we couldn’t have been more satisfied with the results and it led to a much happier existence for myself, my roommate, AND her dog when I was still living with them. I can’t recommend her more highly.

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.

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!

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!!!