Certified Dog Trainers in San Francisco, California

Empawthy- positive reinforcement training for pups and their people. Specializing in reactive, fearful, sensitive dogs, as well as those navigating adolescence.

My services include Teaching Owner-Trained Service Dogs, Behavior modification, Abatement legal assessments, and dog special needs training. My goal is to give clients the confidence to be comfortable in public, which benefits the dog's safety and the owner's peace of mind. I use science-based, cognitive, game-oriented, fear-free methods to eliminate the guesswork in teaching humans and their dogs to shape behavior transformations that can improve their family and communities' quality of life. Dan Broin, MSc. Applied Behavior Analysis, B.S. Assistance Dog Training

Since 2017, Lindsay Dellas has been a dedicated force-free and fear-free dog trainer and behavior consultant. A graduate of the Dog Training Internship Academy, Lindsay takes a holistic approach that gets to the root of behavioral issues to create lasting, effective change. Lindsay specializes in working with reactive and aggressive dogs, and dogs showing various signs of anxiety and fearfulness. She also has a passion for helping senior dogs live their best lives. Her thoughtful methodology focuses on opening clear lines of communication between dogs and their guardians, ensuring both ends of the leash can thrive together. As a lifelong learner who holds extensive continuing education credits, Lindsay believes that collaboration with other dog professionals is critical to achieving the best outcomes. Her compassionate, science-based approach has helped countless families transform challenging behaviors into confident, happy relationships. Specialties: ReactivityAggression, including dogs with bite historiesAnxiety and fearfulnessSenior dog care

I am a rewards-based dog trainer with a passion for training dogs and their humans- in a way that is fun, constructive, and low-stress for everyone involved. Training should be a joyful experience that strengthens bonds between dogs and humans. Modern, science-based training emphasizes setting up a dog’s environment to maximize their likelihood of success, creating new, desirable behaviors to replace undesirable ones. With an educated approach, I can help you create a dog who understands your expectations and actually wants to behave in the way you would like them to. I can also teach you to condition your dog’s emotional response to certain sights and sounds, turning fear and explosive reactivity into joyful confidence and emotional stability. I work to create a training environment that is exciting, fluid, and engaging for dogs and their humans alike. Every subtlety about training, from the animation in our voice to the mechanics of the way we move, ultimately makes a difference. I became deeply involved with animal rescue at a young age, personally rescuing, transporting, fostering, or finding placement for over 1,000 animals. In college, I worked as an Animal Care Technician at a high-welfare rescue shelter, caring for animals alongside highly skilled reinforcement-based trainers. My worldviews about animals were challenged deeply during my time at the animal shelter. I learned of the complexities of real-world decision-making in animal rescue; I yearned to keep learning and to make a greater difference. My formal education has come through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, the FENZI Dog Sports Academy, world-renowned trainer Susan Garrett's educational programs, and more. I am a Fear-Free Certified Pet Professional as well as a CPDT-KA certificate holder and an IAABC supporting member. I specialize in healthy puppy starts, fear-based reactivity, recall skills, sound conditioning, cooperative care, trick training, enrichment, leash skills, foundational household skills and general problem solving/troubleshooting, scentwork, and more. Please do not hesitate to reach out!

I am a San Francisco native, and I have been a full time employee at Top Dog SF since February of 2024, working closely with Natalie Tondeli-Walsh, CTC, and the Top Dog SF team. I am the Facilty Trainer at Top Dog SF and I run the Puppy Head Start Program, an early socialization and training program for puppies 8 weeks to 6 months old. We also offer private training, group training classes, puppy socials, small dog socials, small dog playcare and off-leash adventure walks. I am an Animal Behavior College Certified Dog Trainer, an approved AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, a Top Dog University Certified Dog Walker, and I am Pet CPR and Pet First Aid Certified. I passed the CPDT-KA exam in September of 2025 and the CPDT-KSA exam in March of 2026. I continue to study the works of some of the world’s leading experts in dog training and canine behavior, including Dr Ian Dunbar, Dr Pamela Reid, Dr Melodie Uhde, Jean Donaldson, Ivan Balabanov, Michael Ellis, Susan Garret and Nino Drowaert. After working in the music industry as a touring musician and band manager for over a decade, and owning multiple dogs for nearly 20 years, I developed a passion for dog training as a hobby in 2015. I decided to become a professional dog trainer during Covid, in 2020, after helping several of my friends with their dogs during lockdown. I bring fun, enthusiasm, patience, empathy and science with me on my dog training journey.

We help people and dogs thrive together. We are on a mission to improve communication between humans & dogs. Dogs and people speak different languages. We use words, but dogs communicate non-verbally. They see the world at a higher frame-rate than we do. Every little twitch of an eyebrow or an ear can have meaning to our pups. We help you understand how dogs communicate, so you and your pup can be on the same page every time you interact. This helps unlock better behavior and a more fulfilling relationship. Our philosophy: P.E.T. Partnership: we help you strengthen your bond with your dog, by creating open communication and clear understanding of each other’s needs Empathy: we help you unlock the meaning in non-verbal communication, so you can hear what your dog is saying and respond to their needs Trust: when you understand each other, behavior and relationships improve, and everyone becomes more at-ease

Prickly Pear Dog Care LLC: VIP boarding, board&train, day training, behavior consultations

Dog Trainer and Behavior Consultant(CBCC-KA) Certified Behavior Consultant Canine-Knowledge Assessed(CSAT) Certified Separation Anxiety TrainerFear Free Certified ProfessionalDogTec Certified Dog WalkerPet Professional Guild and Shock-Free Coalition Member

Profile: Certified by Animal Behavior College, Taj Panganiban at Nor Cal Dog Academy covers the entire city of San Francisco and daily focusing on reliable obedience, exercise, socialization and attention – all the things that dogs love and make them enjoyable. Unfortunately when a dog is not mentally/physically exercised or socialized they don’t act in a manner that is appropriate around humans. Nor Cal Dog Academy makes personal and professional effort to improve life quality for humans through their pets by offering stimulation for the dog, and direction for the human. Learning obedience can be served through group class or private training for specialized need and/or attention. Above all, puppy class is by far the best class as it sets you off in the right direction – an ounce of prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure. Nor Cal Dog Academy uses positive reinforcement to increase good behavior and control dog behaviors such as barking, chewing and jumping around humans. Positive reinforcement is rewarding the dog with something he likes after he does something you like. It is not always with treats but encompasses all rewards such as walks, attention and acting like a dog – jumping, pulling and barking. Our group walks are an excellent complement to the training your dog may already have or is receiving – or just a productive way to release energy while you’re away as the old proven adage says “A tired dog is a GOOD dog”. You’ll be glad to know that our groups are always transported and monitored in a safe, fun way without allowing any bad habits to occur or be reinforced. Feel free to browse through the site for training tips, recommendations and sign up for training and/or exercise so you can get started on improving the quality of you and your pet’s life!

Matt is a certified dog trainer with the Animal Behavior College, fully insured and bonded and is certified in Animal First Aid/CPR with the American Red Cross. He offers a wide range of services all over San Francisco including: Dog Obedience Classes, Pet Sitting, Boarding, Walking and Private Instruction.