Primepaw Dog Training: San Francisco's BEST!

We had been going to PrimePaw shortly after we first adopted our puppy in Jan 2024. We couldn't be more thrilled with how everything went. Our puppy had started with their Puppy First Steps course when she was 9 weeks old, where we attended weekly classes with our puppy, and learned the basics of early puppy training (or in our case, training the humans). Dom was the instructor for that course, and had set us down the path to success. As first-time dog owners, Dom explained to us dog psychology and gave us foundation and confidence to care for our new dog. Once we completed Puppy First Steps, we were so thrilled with the experience, that we enrolled her in their Prime Puppy Play School course. We dropped her off for the day, where she learned socialization with other puppies. They initially placed her with other dogs with similar vaccination statuses until she was fully vaccinated, at which they moved her into their fully-vaccinated kindergarten group. During this course, we got to know many of the other trainers -- a wonderful group that really loves and cares for dogs. Our puppy completed the Play School course, and after a short break, we enrolled her in the more intensive Adolescent Academy. By now, our puppy was 8 months old and ready to take on more nuanced training. Stephanie and her training team discussed some key behavioral skills we wanted our puppy to learn, and really worked with her over 4 intensive weeks. Throughout these weeks, we would see noticeable improvements in how our dog interacted with the world -- from being calmer and composed during walks, to building recall confidence, to just generally being a well-adjusted city dog. We really think those four weeks of intense training sharpened her brain and taught her structure, not unlike what a child learns in school. We have been thrilled to have had this wonderful primary experience with PrimePaw. They set us all down the path to successfully coexisting with our dog as an integral member of our family.

As a new dog-mom, I have had a chance to talk to a couple of Primepaw folks, and they've been terrific. Entirely non-judgmental, friendly, and most of all, helpful! I left both conversations with concrete advice on how to begin to curb or encourage dog behaviors of my adolescent dog, and when I asked about further training ideas, they struck a great balance of giving me resources without being "salesy." I will definitely be working with them more!