Bay Area K9 Association

We had our puppy evaluated by Steve as soon as we got our dog, our dog was 8 weeks and 2 days old, a GSD from West German SV lines, and we wanted to start training him immediately. Steve suggested starting our training in two weeks to give the puppy time to adjust to his new home and his new family and to give us time to enjoy and adjust to having him. We started our regular training sessions two weeks later. Our puppy is now going to be 16 months old in a few days and we do not know how we would have done it without Steve. Steve is so patient with all of us, the humans, and our puppy. He will tell you outright what needs to be done and improved upon and how to do it. He will assign you homework and WILL check on your progress in the next session and address any concerns/difficulties you are having. So many things set Steve apart from other trainers as a trainer, but in talking to others about their dogs and their experiences with other trainers, no one has told me that they were sent home because their trainer thought their dog was not in the right condition to train at that moment. Steve did just that. We were in his office and our puppy was tired and just wanted to take a nap. After several minutes of all of us trying to get him interested and Steve observing us and our dog, Steve told us to bring him home because our puppy was too sleepy to engage at that moment. We could see it too. Steve also told us that he was NOT going to charge us for the session because he wasn't able to work with our dog. Mind you, it was OUR PUPPY that was sleepy, NOT Steve. He advised us to observe our dog in the next few days and note what time he takes his naps and what time he is the most active and playful as those times may have changed. He offered to reschedule all of our future training sessions to meet on those active and playful times. I have shared this story with so many people and I have yet to hear of anyone else sharing this kind of story about their trainers. Steve is an excellent trainer. He knows dogs. He knows how to train dogs. He knows how to train the humans who own the dogs. He is an honest person who genuinely cares about the dogs and their families. He will do what it takes to get the best results from both the dog and the owner in EVERY session, even if it means telling you to wait two weeks before starting training, and NOT charging you and sending you home because it's not the best time for your puppy. We have been training with him regularly for more than a year and Steve has never disappointed us or our puppy. THANK YOU, STEVE! YOU ARE THE BEST!

We have trained and boarded our dog hear countless times for years, and have NEVER had a problem. The trainers are all very friendly, down to earth and professional. Our dog loves being boarded with BAK9A so much so that he gets extremely excited to see the trainers when we arrive. Our dog also had aggression problems with other male dogs and they helped get that in check. I have nothing but good things to say about their whole staff. I feel like a lot of the negative posts are from people who have never even worked with their trainers or brought their dog here. After reading some of the reviews about the dog who died, of course my heart goes out to the owner, it’s never easy losing a pet. It sounds like something heartbreaking happened that can happen at ANY boarding place. I would trust my dog with them any day of the week. The love and care about all dogs.