SmartyPup!

I have two dogs and both have trained at Smarty Pup from Puppy 1-3. This was the best thing I did for them and myself. Smarty taught them manners, helped them socialize, and gave them a huge boost in confidence. It helped me connect better with my dogs and understand how to give them structure— it also made training fun. The coaches here have so much experience and have heard and seen a bunch of strange dog behaviors. One of my favorite parts of class is when they weave in stories that identify a dog behavior and explain why the dog is doing what it’s doing. It really helps understand the context, and shows your role in the training. The class sizes are small, which give you plenty of space to move and get feedback from the trainers. At the end of each class there is a recap email with skills to practice and prepare for next class. Compared to other training classes (yes I’ve tried others), Smarty had a nice build on foundations that didn’t feel overwhelming or unachievable. Classes I’ve taken at smarty: Puppy Social - time to meet and socialize with other puppies. This is a great community event to meet people and the trainers. Puppy 1 Puppy 2 Puppy 3 Happy Leash - loose leash walking

After scouring the internet for great dog training in SF - I’m so glad we found SmartyPup! Our puppy Frankie completed 3 courses at SmartyPup, all with Nicole. What luck because Frankie LOVES Nicole and so do we! She was the perfect blend between expertise and compassion. Puppy training can feel so difficult but Nicole always felt empathetic, approachable and down to earth. She made a sometimes frustrating situation fun and normalized all our feelings and challenges. Our lil pup has some special reactivity issues that were outside the scope of our paid classes. Nicole went out of her way to consult other expert colleagues and generated ideas for us to try. We felt much less alone with her on our team. She truly went above and beyond. I’m sure everyone at SmartyPup is amazing but I can only speak for our experience with Nicole - and it was exceptional.

A very late review but this place is AMAZING! Fawn and her team are the best. We can in super overwhelmed with our growing puppy. We signed our dog up for the Puppy 1 class and visited a couple of puppy socials. Really helped teach us pawrents tips and tricks! Our Benny boy was so nervous when he first started going. Really nervous with other dogs but loved people. He slowly started to gain his confidence and learn to play with other dogs. Really recommend the group training and the puppy classes!

Wow where do I begin with this review! My fiance and I rescued our puppy Josie at 8 weeks old and we were in over our heads with how much work a puppy that age entails. We were STRUGGLING the first 2 weeks with lack of sleep; I think I cried every other day. A colleague suggested Smartypup and we immediately enrolled her in the day school. SMARTYPUP SAVED US! Not only did Josie get extensive socialization during her critical puppy phase but we also learned so much about puppy behavior and how to communicate with her and to reset our expectations and be patient with consistent training and goal setting. The first day of school, Josie was so scared and timid, frantically jumping at my fiance to be held by him. By the end of the day, she opened up and played with the other pups. The SmartyPup trainers are always so patient with us and our never-ending questions and always providing consistent reassurance before and after day school! The whole team is AWESOME; special shout out to Fawn, Tyler, Lisa, Mario, Kelly, Jenni, and Rana! You can tell they really care about the puppies. Josie has completed 4 weeks of day school as well as Puppy 1 Saturday classes and it has been so fun to watch her confidence grow. She has also attended a handful of puppy socials. Our new favorite Saturday ritual is going to get coffee before puppy class followed by a social after then getting brunch. We just enrolled in Puppy 2 and can’t wait to start it. We’ll be taking as many courses with Smartypup as possible. Although there are still a few challenges to work on, Josie has made MAJOR growth and we feel so much more equipped to help her through them. Thank you Smartypup for building confidence not only in our Josie girl but also in US!!

SmartyPup! Was awesome. I've only been to their small dog socials, and both me and my pup have loved them. Fawn and team have been knowledgeable, supportive, and generally fantastic.