Dan Perata Training

Here to give a shout out to Dan Perata Dog Training in San Francisco. We adopted a seven year old Great Pyrenees who, unbeknownst to us, was super leash reactive. We tried treat training, which not only did not work, but made his stomach awful. When we found Dan Perata, we were desperate. First, this facility does not use treats or awful methods like shock collars. They simply use praise- and they train you to set up an environment where dogs respond to praise. We enrolled Milo in Dan Camp, a 5-6 week intensive training program where our pup was at the facility M-Th, and we had training class to learn what he had learned when we picked him up. Best thing we ever could have done. We learned how to be the parents our pup needed, and he settled in that new and improved environment. if you are struggling with your dog, this is the place to go. We schlepped all the way from San Jose for six weeks, and we still board zmo there when we travel. Worth every mile! Give them a try- you won’t regret it!!

If you're reading reviews to decide whether you and your dog should go to DPT, the answer is yes. No amount of reading will fully convey how much you'll both learn and bond with your dog. I got my second dog, Odin, expecting a chill lab mix like my first pup. Instead I got an intelligent, anxious, reactive, hilariously high-energy military asset who found new ways to be a disaster every single day. It was clear early on he needed real training, and after striking out with an online program (great content, but no help for a dog this unusual), a neighbor pointed me to board-and-train, and after a lot of research I landed on DPT. I was skeptical walking in, Odin was bouncing off the walls, I was mortified, but Natasha was totally unfazed, and the whole place had a clear no-BS, dogs-first vibe. We enrolled him in Dan Camp shortly after. Odin ended up there 8 weeks, and honestly it changed both of us. The DPT crew gave us hours beyond class, working through every weird issue Odin threw at them. Somewhere in there I realized what he needed from me wasn't more coddling but structure and clear guidance. He was the worst behaved dog in group class for a long time, but the progress never stopped. Now, he's a completely different dog: walks well, goes off-leash camping, still goofy and willful but so much easier to live with. The DPT team's commitment has been unlike anything I've seen; they clearly love the dogs they work with. Odin still goes to DPT for daycare and boarding. It is a pleasure to watch him walk in without ever glancing back, he truly loves it there! If you've read this far: go check them out. Nothing to lose.

We were near the end of the line w one our dogs and his “fear based aggression”. Dan came down and spent three days with us working with him and completely turned the dog around. He taught us about many mistakes that we were making and helped us understand our dogs much better. Our family was there and we all worked with Dan. He has a great sense of humor and a no BS approach to dog training. We truly feel that he helped us save our dog. Dan had an amazing ability to communicate with animals. We would strongly recommend him.

Extremely disappointing experience with Dan Perata Training. We enrolled our dog in their full-board training program expecting exactly what they advertise: high-quality, intensive training, hands-on coaching, and meaningful results. We got essentially none of that. The biggest issue was the lack of actual training. Our dog was left in a crate for much of the time, and when we did work on training, there was little to no coaching or instruction on how to actually improve. We repeatedly found ourselves doing the same task without meaningful feedback, correction, or guidance. There was no sense of a thoughtful training plan or measurable progress. That is particularly frustrating because the company's website presents a very different picture. They market themselves as a training-based facility focused on building reliable behavior, developing healthy habits, and working closely with owners. They explicitly emphasize hands-on instruction and results. Our experience did not remotely match those promises. Instead, the whole operation felt like a factory: get as many dogs through the door as possible, keep them moving through the program, and invest as little individual attention as possible. When you're paying a premium for full-board training, you expect your dog to actually be trained—not primarily housed in a crate. I would strongly encourage anyone considering this program to ask very specific questions about how many hours per day their dog will actually be training, who will be training them, what individualized coaching they will receive, and how progress will be measured. Based on our experience, the marketing and the reality were two very different things. For us, this was an expensive lesson in the importance of looking beyond the promises. We paid for training and results. We received minimal training, minimal coaching, and no meaningful improvement. 1 star.