SF Puppy Prep

While our rescue dog’s heart is the very sweetest, he needed a bit of work on his manners as well as socialization. The trainers at SF Puppy Prep so clearly love their dog students and we got great individualized attention, training, and advice even though we were in a small group class. After finishing his first set of classes, our pup’s manners are much improved and he loves following commands. I recommend SF Puppy Prep without hesitation and we’ll be returning for advanced classes.

I’m writing this review prior to even bringing our puppy to this class (I promise to update once we do!!) but this review is based solely on how AMAZING the customer service is here. I’ve called several times with dumb, new puppy mom questions and they’ve answered all of them, without making me feel bothersome. I had to change the class we were enrolled in DAY OF due to a puppy emergency and they were SO nice about making the change for me, again without making me feel bothersome. I’ve heard such wonderful things about this puppy school, and they have the most wonderful customer service as the cherry on top. We can’t wait to start our puppy class on ⁶⁄₂₃ with our new french bulldog puppy!!!

Not happy at all. I should have gone with my gut. When I first walked in, the place smelled of urine and I wanted to leave but I was really busy with work and needed some puppy care. Now, 10 days later, my puppy has kennel cough. THEY DID NOT EVEN TELL ME that kennel cough was going around their facility. I could understand having an outbreak but they should tell you.. Then, I read more on puppies and it says there is no way you can train puppies at this young age to do what this place claimed. I think sf puppy is an over priced daycare center for puppies. I since have found someone that is going to take my puppy on some walks and socialize her for about half the price as this smelly place.

My puppy graduated from SF Puppy Prep last week and I couldn’t be happier. There’s no way I could have done as good of a job socializing and starting training my super sweet, but very headstrong puppy She is a completely different, way more confident and well mannered little girl because of the people at SF Puppy Prep who couldn’t have loved and taken care of my little girl any better over the last month. I couldn’t recommend them more.

THE BEST DECISION we made for our baby Doberman Penny was enrolling her in SF Puppy Prep’s day school. When we first brought her home, she was a nippy and overly excited pup who had no manners with other dogs. After just one week of day school (5 days a week), she completely stopped nipping and played so much better with all of our friend’s dogs. She also responded really well to all of our commands, commands we learned from the trainers, and it made training with her a total JOY. I definitely think this was due to her being able to get all of her energy out during the day which is so important for a puppy.
After two weeks at Puppy Prep, her confidence went up dramatically. I never really thought about a dog’s confidence when it came to behavior but that has been the key to everything. At SFP, they introduced her to all kinds of objects, people, and dogs and now, 5 weeks later, she isn’t afraid of ANYTHING. Every experience is positive for her because she knows it will result in praise and friends and treats. We now don’t have to offer praise or treats because her confidence is so natural. When we brought her to a lake, she just jumped in. When we walked by a jack hammer, she wanted the jack hammer guy to pet her. The confidence she learned at SFP really nurtured her curiosity and trust in the outside world.
The best part of SFP day school has to be the TRAINERS. What wonderful, thoughtful, responsible, and CONSISTENT people. Every trainer was on point with whatever any other trainer told us. Talk about continuity and system. They also showed that POSITIVE training DOES WORK!!! I also appreciate the time they took to talk to me and my partner about Penny’s behavior during the day and what to work on every time we picked her up. It was never rushed and always fruitful. The parent teacher conferences were also great and her weekly report card.
I am forever grateful for their guidance and love.
We were also so impressed by the results from day school that we also enrolled Penny into their 6-​week Kindergarten Puppy class. She just graduated today (!) and we are going to enroll her into Junior High as soon as possible. IN ADDITION, we also began their Outdoor Ed program where their trainers continue what she’s learned with one on one daily excursions. They pick up and drop Penny off and communicate everything she did well, could work on, and deal with our complicated entry process to our property with no problems. I am really happy about this program because we would like new people to be able to handle and command Penny in case of emergencies or vacations.
Penny, thanks to her SFP family, has helped her become one of the most sweetest and obedient dogs imaginable. This is especially important due to the misconceptions of her breed. Because she is confident and well behaved, she can immediately signal to strangers that she is friendly. She noodles her body and lays her ears down which tells people: I AM EXPECTING THIS TO BE POSITIVE SO LET’S BE FRANDS!!!
Side note: one night one our cats escaped our house and was roaming the neighborhood for the first time and we were so freaked out. My partner and I felt comfortable enough to text MARIE, one of their fantastic and warm trainers, to ask about tips on our CAT. She was so responsive and comforting and in true guidance nature, Marie offered us a tip on how to get our cat back. She told us to bring familiar items with us on our search and to leave them out. We left our cat’s toys in front of our house and hours later, OUR CAT CAME BACK!!! Thank you Marie!!!
I wish I could become a SFP cheerleader because I just have so much praise for them I feel like I need some kind of outlet to express it all, lol

The team at SF Puppy Prep was awesome when my dog Zephyr was a puppy so when we urgently needed a walker for her as an adult, I contacted them. I thought they only worked with puppies, so I was hoping they would have a good referral. Good news is, they did have someone who could walk Zephyr while we were gone for a week. I knew she would be in great hands with someone from SF Puppy Prep, so I was very comfortable when they sent Amrit over to meet us. Amrit was awesome, and it worked out beautifully. We got text messages with pictures every day showing us how great Zephyr was doing. She got 30 minutes of one on one walking and play time twice a day. Having someone who knows dogs and is also a trainer is important when you leave your dog. I could have just called some dog walker on the internet, but getting someone who is also a trainer was great because they know how to handle a dog in many situations and provide positive reinforcement. I also liked that Zephyr got one on one attention and walks, she wasn’t just one dog in a group of ten that get dumped into a dog park. The one on one time is great and helped her not feel abandoned. Thanks SF Puppy Prep!

We love SF Puppy Prep! Their programs are fantastic. We enrolled our puppy in Puppy Day School because she had a ton of energy and could not go out for walks until she was 16 weeks old. She spent the days playing with other puppies and learning how to be a well behaved dog from the trainers. She loved it so much that she groaned all the way to the car when we picked her up each day. She came exhausted and very cooperative. The trainers are so good with the dogs and with their owners. We also take classes at SF Puppy prep with our dog and have learned great skills for training and managing our pup. I would highly recommend SF Puppy Prep, is a fantastic resource.

When my boyfriend and I brought our Shiba Inu puppy, Kira, home at 2 months old, we knew how important it was to socialize her as much as possible before she was 4 months old. After visiting many different puppy socials around, we decided that SF Puppy Prep was hands down the best place to socialize our little furball!
The trainers obviously love dogs and make sure all the pups and parents learn the rules of good puppy etiquette and social behavior. Your pup will leave well-​exercised, socialized, and tired (in a good way)!
Thanks, SF Puppy Prep, for providing a safe and fun environment for Kira to grow up in!

Absolutely love this facility. The instructor is so sweet and professional. She is amazing at training dogs i call her a dog whisperer. They always make sure your dog is safe. Always separate the big and small dogs for play time and are very caring towards them. Would recommend them to everyone.

I’m not one to write reviews, but I had a recent experience here that’s really been eating at me and I feel I should share it. Our first attempt at SF Puppy Prep we were turned away at the door because the class was too full. Completely understand and we did receive a free puppy social ticket that we were able to use in the future. We were excited to return and tried again a week or so later. As other reviewers mentioned, it wreaked of pee when we first entered, which we completely disregarded given all the great reviews about everything else. We waited in line for a while to get checked in and when it was finally our turn, the staff never even asked to see our puppy shot record. It being in my hand, I handed it over anyway. The puppy social itself went well and was fun with all the pups and everything else seemed to be fine.
About 3 days later, I noticed my frenchie had a super runny nose and had an occasional cough. I knew she had to have gotten it from SF Puppy Pre because we hadn’t taken her anywhere else. The vet confirmed she had kennel cough (& here’s the part that REALLY upsets me), so I decided to call SF Puppy Prep to make them aware that my puppy contracted kennel cough there, so they could ensure to clean the area so other pups aren’t at risk. The manager who answered the phone responded with «we know, we’ve had a bit of an outbreak lately but are doing our best to keep the place clean…». Wait, what? I’m glad they are aware and trying to keep the place clean but WHY did they decide not to disclose the risk of kennel cough to anyone at the PUPPY social? These puppies aren’t fully vaccinated! If they didn’t know, I would understand. But the fact they knew and decided not to forewarn us that our pup could possibly contract kennel cough is completely irresponsible. Now our dog is sick and unable to get her last set of vaccinations for another week.
BEYOND irritated. Needless to say I will not be back and I suggest you ask about the risk of your puppy contracting kennel cough or another sickness since they clearly don’t do their due diligence and let you know.

Our first dog, Dani, who is now 3 years old was a day school and kindergarten and Jr. High graduate of SF Puppy Prep and now we’re bringing our puppy, Jackson to classes and puppy socials. I’m reminded of just how fantastic these programs are.
In the classes they teach you all the basics you need to know to have a courteous and well mannered dog and if you do the work between classes, you’ll be sure to have one. Of course it’s not all up to the dog, as much of the work is as much to train the parents to be the best guardians they can be.
And what’s cuter than 7 puppies in a room playing? It’s worth it just for that.

This business did followup with me and offered some free socials. I get that businesses mess up from time to time, and SF Puppy Prep tried to make it right. Kudos for that.

I honestly can not say enough good things about Puppy Prep!
When my husband and I first got our puppy, Cam we were super overwhelmed by how much energy he had and all of the training information. A friend recommended Puppy Prep to us and I am so glad we took her advice.
Cam is also a very little dog (full grown he is 4.5lbs) and we had not really anticipated how much socialization he would need to become a confident puppy.
All the trainers did such an amazing job with him. It took time but after a month he wasn’t afraid to walk down a busy street or try to run and hide every time another dog approached him. Every time I would pick him up the trainers were happy to give me a brief update on his day, they would even send weekly progress reports! They were also available when I would email about random questions or any issues we would have at home or while we were out.
After day school we enrolled him in the small dog daycare. He gets SO excited when they pick him up and we also don’t feel guilty about going to work. Puppy Prep also sends a text when they drop him off.
You still have to do the work at home. We still go to classes because Cam LOVES training. And yeah, I’ll admit I am pretty proud when he advances so quickly in a Tricks or Agility class because Puppy Prep gave him the solid foundation and good manners. ;)
I feel like they love him (almost) as much as us!

If you have a puppy in the SF Bay area, you NEED to check out SF Puppy prep. Whether just for a puppy social, for their basic training classes or for day school, they are hands down the best advocate for your new pup.
We adopted a shepherd mix puppy from a shelter not knowing she had fear based issues with people. When we brought her home she barked at everyone and started showing some troubling signs. Other trainers we reached out to had nothing but negative things to say about her issues. We brought her to a puppy social at SF Puppy Prep and was immediately able to speak with an experienced amazing trainer, Dominika, about Lucy’s issues. Dominika cleared her schedule and made time to start helping Lucy immediately. Dominika was able to pin point Lucy’s triggers and showed us how to manage them and teach her the tools she needed to learn how to relax around people. Soon we put her in SF puppy preps day school program– the best thing we ever did!
The staff is compassionate and encouraging. They always have positive and motivating things to say to both the dogs and their owners. They all treat Lucy as if she’s their own. They taught us how to manage her fear before it became a real issue and then worked with her at day school on how to associate people as a positive in her life and not as something to fear. The whole staff has become like family to us and to Lucy. It’s wonderful to see a dog who was so afraid of people run up to the staff members wiggling her tail and giving them kisses.
SF Puppy prep not only helped save Lucy’s behavior, but taught us as owners the best positive way to train her so that we didn’t make hear fear issues worse. They forever changed the way Lucy will see the world around her and we are forever grateful to them.

The story of our relationship with Puppy Prep starts like how you gain a new family member. Actually, we did gain a new family member, our darling Penny. She is a maltipoo and she is a sweet little soul. When we first got her, we were dumbfounded and didn’t know which blog to read, which techniques to follow, nor the type of treats/​toys/​food for her to eat! And, when it came to potty training, manners, and shoot– how DO you teach a pup to learn her name, we were totally freaked out! All the cuddling and puppy kisses in the world wouldn’t address those needs. So we tried it out with Aishe and her team. We did the puppy socials. Winner. They taught us how to monitor safe play versus risky play. They taught us how to have our pups focus on us. And we sensed how attentive they were to our nervous questions. As we watched Penny play with the other pups, we realized we could see her here for longer periods. So — we took the Saturday puppy classes starting with PreK, then Kindergarten. Both series were so extremely helpful. But I advise you this — study your manuals, practice, and go to class! Going every Saturday for an hour, for 5 – 6 week is worth it for your puppy’s lifetime.
Next, we realized we had work to go to. We had day jobs! So, we signed her up for the day school series. She went 3 – 4 times a week and we received semi-​regular reports on her progress. One thing we wished for was a daily report after each class on what key learnings were made so we could reinforce them as soon as she came home. Not to worry, we got downloads at the Parent-​Teacher meetings and they were helpful!
They have a service to assist with pick up and drop off to/​from home to Puppy Prep. So that is there for you as well. Check out their package deals, take advantage of promos, and just be genuine! They are always there to talk things through. They are also extremely passionate and work hard at what they do — set you and your puppy up for a lifetime of love and play. Nothing beats this feeling.
We are so extremely grateful for Aishe and her team. Aishe taught the Saturday classes, and we had an extra credit off-​leash outing too… where we got to learn more about Aishe’s approach and philosophy of puppy training. They believe in positive reinforcement approaches, and they have the science down!
Even more so — Aishe and her team will listen to your concerns and if they have recommendations there is no ego and there is no hesitation for them to refer you to other resources for training and support. We didn’t realize how close-​knit the pup training organizations were out there! The love for animals is a strong bond.
Again, we’d never hesitate recommending SF Puppy Prep. They give solid lessons, they listen, and they pay attention to you and your pups. Let’s be real for a second– they’re training us too. :)
Next for us, is getting some behavioral training in, for Penny’s barking issue. We already know they will give us amazing tools for her development. So as I mentioned in the very beginning, SF Puppy Prep and Aishe are pretty much Penny’s aunts and uncles, and her fellow classmates are her pup sisters and brothers. We’ve gained some great relationships from them.

Not a fan of their trainers.
I was taking my pup to the socials for a while. He was initially petrified… Hiding and running away from other dogs.
Eventually he found his voice and went to the other extreme of being too excited.
Rather than help me in training him, their advice was that he isn’t listening to me because my treats are not yummy enough.
No BS. That was actually what Mac said — your treats are not good enough.
No dog trainer worth a penny would rely exclusively on treats. But that’s what they do! Their mantra is feed feed feed. Dog does something good? Treat. Dog something bad? Pull him by the collar and give him a treat!
If your dog is smart enough, and rambunctious enough, he will figure out that all he has to do is behave badly and then he gets a treat popped in his mouth.
The puppy socials are a good idea but don’t listen to their trainers.

SF Puppy prep is as good it gets! Dasher was both a frequent Social attendee and a Day School member and we couldn’t be happier puppy parents. TLDR; Just go ahead and sign up for their programs — you won’t regret it!
First up, puppy socials. We went to a number of puppy socials all over the city and the ones at SF Puppy Prep were by far the best run. There was always an excellent trainer to pup ratio, and they separate the small /​shier pups from the big /​confident ones, which helps ensure all the pups have well-​matched play buddies. The trainers did a great job not only supervising the pups, but also teaching us what was ‘good puppy play’ and when we should step in — this was extremely helpful far beyond the puppy social settings! Dasher started out as a very shy pup, but through Socials (and day school) he’s now an extremely confident pup who loves to play with almost any dog he meets (including those 5x his size!)
Next up, Day School. Day School is where SF Puppy Prep really shines. Yes, it is expensive, but it’s worth every single penny. I think there are two equally important pieces puppy prep excels with:
* Training: Training a puppy takes a LOT of work and a LOT of time — you can take a few classes on weekends, but it takes constant practice to really solidify these skills. With Dayschool, Dasher built up a really solid foundation of skills (sit, down, stay, drop it, leave it, come) that we were then able to build upon in our weekend classes (which I also recommend!). He’s now a (mostly ;)) model citizen who has great recall and will even walk away from a dead bird on the beach when we tell him to leave it! They also worked on crate training and potty training which was a really nice bonus.
* Socialization: Early puppy socialization is so, so important and Puppy Prep covers all the bases! They’ll introduce your dog to all sorts of strange things they may encounter in the city — skateboards and wheelchairs, loud noises (like a balloon popping), people in hats of all sizes, uniforms, you name it. They also work on grooming socialization (nail clipping, sitting on the groomers table, putting their head in the harness, etc) and can arrange your puppies first groom with Max — I highly recommend this. Many dogs are terrified of the groomers, but Dasher’s eyes lightup and he gets so excited every time he sees Max (their groomer)!
Dasher came home everyday a very happy and tired pup — puppies have an endless amount of energy, and a single walk or 30 min play session wouldn’t have cut it. A tired pup is a well behaved pup!
Beyond the work they do with the pups, the team at SF puppy prep is just amazing. They helped us set up transportation to and from school (we both work outside the city so drop off and pickup was hard) and when it was time for Dasher to graduate they gave us a great recommendation for a doggy day care service (the Art of Dog — also 5* folks!).
Aishe (the owner) in particular goes above and beyond in every way she can. She came over to our house before Dasher’s first day at school for a meet and greet — she brought him a bunch of tasty treats and gave me some really helpful tips on potty training, crate training, resource guarding and more. When we wanted a little extra training time on some specific issues (like barking at the doorbell) she came over for a 1:1 session. Though puppy prep we’ve also made a number of contacts (Max the groomer, our current walkers /​daycare folks, boarding for when we’re out of town, etc) which has made our lives as puppy parents so, so much easier.
I can’t recommend SF Puppy Prep enough — if we ever decide to grow our furry family, they will be the very first people we call!

We send our dog Grover to the daycare for small dogs under 2, and he absolutely loves it and can’t wait to play with his pals. At first, I was nervous about sending him, because he is fearful and a rescue. But he’s really come out of his shell and we believe that SF puppy prep has played a big role in this. Angela, is the ring leader who takes care of Grover, whenever he sees her his tail is uncontrollable. You can tell she really cares about her clan. He comes home tired and happy.
Everyone who works there goes out of there way to help you out, and you just feel good about sending your dog there. Nicole, has been very helpful helping us w/​last min. issues & communicative.
I also highly recommend the classes and puppy socials (which we were all over when he was a pup). It’s Disneyland for your dog + the manners.

Our Boxer puppy, Leo, just completed the one month puppy day school at SF Puppy Prep and it was an amazing experience for both our puppy and us as parents. The team is amazingly caring, we received constant updates on our pup and they even had a few parent/​teacher/​pup conferences during the process for us all to review how they were doing in school, how they were doing at home and what they coudl do to assist us.
We now have him attending their Pup 101 class which is more for my partners training then Leo’s but its also continued healthy socialization.
They also hold speacil ON Leash and Recall workshops which can be very useful. Especially if you have a Boxer which is such an easily distrcated breed.
I highly recommend this facility to anyone with a new pup in the city. They will take care of, train and love your pup like it was their own and what new parent doesn’t want that piece of mind. My dog and we are better off as a result of this experience and that was more than I expected!

We just completed the young puppy day school program in Jan 2015 — so this review applies to the day school specifically:
While we were exploring puppy training programs in SF, I had multiple people (fellow dog owners in our neighborhood) highly recommend SFPuppyPrep for our new puppy… and I’m so happy that we took their advice!!!
SF Puppy Prep is hands down the best investment we’ve made! Our 10 week old golden retreiver was just learning the basics and still house training before we enrolled her in the program and we were specifically looking for a program that would help not only improve her behavior, but also give her the much needed socialization with other dogs her size. SF Puppy Prep not only covers the basics, but also was great for teaching our pup proper play behavior — something I never knew was important until I saw how different dogs react when they have not been properly trained. Plus, it’s such an important time for your puppy to develop and grow and we immediately saw a difference in our pup as soon as she enrolled in the program.
The facility is awesome — seriously it’s a dog heaven (so many toys and it’s very clean)! Our pup loved going to the trainings and usually was exhausted from all of the playtime at the end of the day. And all of the trainers and staff are amazing and you can tell they love being there! It was great to see so many friendly faces everyday — we already miss them! I’ve heard people complaining about parking, but we would drop off everyday and never had a problem getting a space in the front entrance for a quick drop off.
The only negative thing I could say about the program is that it ends at 2:30pm — and if you work full-​time it’s often hard to get out in time for pick-​up. But we were able to use a pet taxi service recommended by Puppy Prep and it worked out perfectly!
Don’t talk yourself out of it — just enroll, it’s totally worth it!