Derby Dogs

Tanya and Eric are responsible, energetic, and have the dog training skills to ensure a dog’s safety and enjoyment of off-​leash pack walks. Additionally, their boarding system gives me peace of mind when I am forced to leave my girl behind. She always comes back to me happy to see me, but never anxious or unruly. I have a difficult dog. I love her, but I have interviewed and tried a number of dog walkers and it just has not worked out as my dog requires a higher dog IQ level than most. Tanya and Eric, on the other hand, both handle her beautifully and make me feel good about my dog. I cannot say enough good things about their dog walking and dog boarding programs. I highly recommend them.

Great service. Always ready to accommodate to our needs. Highly recommended!!!

We have had the pleasure of working with Tanya and Eric for the past 6 months. With the birth of our first child, our german wire-​haired pointer/​border collie mix pup was not getting all of the exercise and extended outdoor time that she truly needed and deserved. We were nervous about finding the right match for our dog as she is a rescue who is very sensitive, takes her time building trust, and has a few skittish quirks that make her a bit more of a handful than other canine companions. Tanya and Eric were patient with us and our dog. Eric showed just the right amount of commanding strength and sensitivity that our dog needed to feel comfortable being part of the pack. Since becoming clients of Derby Dogs, we have boarded our dog twice with zero hesitation and the utmost confidence that she is getting the best care possible. We could not recommend them any more highly!

Tanya contacted me regarding the missed e-​mail/​calls. She stated that she was on vacation and wasn’t able to respond. She then proceeds to blame me for not trying again to contact them and just giving them a 1 star rating.
To be clear… Their website didn’t not state they were away. There was no automated response from their e-​mail that stated they were on vacation. Also, their voicemail for their business didn’t indicate anything either. So of course I thought that they just didn’t response.
I cannot recommend this business due to my interactions with Tanya. I do not believe that this business owner handled this situation well. I would of just said «I’m sorry we were unable to get back to you sooner. We were on vacation. Are you still interested in our services?»
That would of be just fine! And I would of changed my rating. But instead I felt that she attacked me with accusations of trying to bring down her business. Be cautious everyone!

I am a dog walker in San Francisco and one of my pups is moving to Berkeley where she will be walked by Derby Dogs. It’s always hard to say goodbye to any of my dogs but Tanya with Derby Dogs made the process a lot more comforting. I sent her an e-​mail with info. and pics of her new dog and that same day I got a phone call from Tanya to thank me for the info. She was so kind and warm on the phone, she spoke articulately and certainly seemed like the person to trust with one of my dogs. If you live in Berkeley or the surrounding area with your pup, I recommend that your dog join the Derby Dog pack!

I sometimes run across Derby Dogs folks when I walk my two mutts at our favorite hidden gem park. I haven’t seen them in a bit, but I was on Unilocal and have been meaning to write this for over a year now… so there ya go…
These walkers have solid control on the pack they have, and know which ones are ready to play with my dogs and which ones are not. They’re always checked in with the behavior of the pack they’re walking, keeping them under control at all times. I wish I could say this about all of the dog walking folks I run across…(I just had a run-​in with one and it prompted me to write this review of Derby Dogs)
Since I have one geriatric old man dog and a bonkers little boxer dog, there’s quite a curve there, and it’s often hard to blend into a pack to socialize, or even pass by a dog walker without some sort of interaction.
I never board my dogs or need a walker, but if I did, I have a feeling that DD would be my first choice.

Derby Dogs is the best. My 12-​year old Westie has been doing pack walks with Tanya, Eric, and Ellie for the last year and we both love them. Since joining Derby Dogs, she has lost four pounds, is more spry and energetic, recalls better, is more obedient in general, and is much better socially with other dogs. I used to have to worry about her unpredictable social skills. Not anymore! The health benefits for my senior dog are what keep me coming back. She is fitter and happier, and I am happy knowing she gets to have fun with her buddies while I’m at work. Tanya is open and communicative, always flexible when I have a schedule change, and a super nice person overall.

These guys are amazing! My dog Tesla goes on pack walks regularly. Tanya and her crew take them to lots of different places, and they give them training too. Boarding is excellent also. Highly recommended for your peace of mind, and your dog’s happiness.

Dinga and Wiley (aka, the «girls») joined the Derby Dogs pack for an extended two week boarding after meeting with Tanya and Eric and their super well-​behaved, mellow and joyful pack. Tanya and Eric are in control and exude calm and confidence. They also clearly love what they do. Even on our first walk together, our dogs found their place in the pack, and we knew right away that this would be the best possible, safest and most nurturing situation for them.
After a few more walks, Dinga and Wiley stayed with Tanya and Eric for two weeks and I cannot say enough about their level of care, patience, and professionalism! They went above and beyond to help our dogs settle; their generosity and dedication are just outstanding. They even took the time to work with Wiley, the aptly named, who is now crate trained! Yup. They did that.
We came back to two very happy, healthy doggies who look forward to their bi-​weekly walks with their new pack. They clearly love and listen to Tanya and Eric and come back mellow and tired from their romps, the way we like them. I swear, these dogs smile when they return from their walks :-)
If I could give Derby Dogs 6 stars, I would!

Tanya and Eric truly are as good as it gets when it comes to dog socialization and care. My dogs love their pack walks and always come home happy and relaxed. When I need dog boarding, I feel confident leaving my beloved pooches in their care. They treat my dogs with love and kindness, and provide safety and structure. What more could you ask for!!!

We just boarded our dog Ella with Tanya and Eric over the x-​mas holiday. Before then, we went on two wonderful walks with the whole pack to ensure that Ella got along well with the other dogs.
As we expected, our dog Ella just loved it! And we could not be happier with how well Tanya and Eric kept the whole pack under control. Tanya got to know Ella, and we talked over how we’ve trained Ella so far, and what we could improve on (Tanya worked with her over vacation a little bit).
Anyway — we could not be happier, and we look forward to boarding Ella with Derby Dogs again very soon.

We have boarded our dog with Tanya and Eric twice, for a total of about 14 days, and will be happy to do so again the next time we are out of town!
I had interacted with Tanya in her role as a volunteer assistant in Albany’s Recreational Agility class. I liked her because she is open, friendly, and genuine, «reads» dogs very well, and helped my dog ENJOY learning the obstacles.
Before each boarding, I joined a «pack walk.» Tanya and Eric are able to keep track of individual dogs’ responses to recall, food allergies, etc. It was fun and my dog enjoyed it. At one point, we recalled the dogs, and my dog followed the pack to Tanya, going right past me!
They supplied updates of our dog’s progress via text messaging, email, and photos. When we ran into an emergency, Tanya and Eric were both very accommodating.
Mostly, though, our dog had a great time playing and making friends.

Tanya and Eric have been walking our two dogs four times a week for the past year and have boarded our dogs when we are out of town. Quite simply — they rock! I have full confidence in both Tanya and Eric when it comes to taking care of our dogs. And, Tanya and Eric are both really nice people.
Tanya and Eric are dog lovers and enthusiasts and consistently go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the best care for our dogs. Examples: They consistently work with one of our dogs on the daily walks to improve her recall skills. They provide updates on our dog’s behavior and let us know if there is any changes in health or attitude. They fill the dogs’ water dish if it is running low upon return from the walk. They even occasionally feed our dogs’ dinner if we are running late.
I completely trust Tanya and Eric. I highly recommend Derby Dogs.

I contacted Derby Dogs based on their five-​star reviews, and the short story is that I didn’t have a five-​star experience. It seems the owners were having a bad day, and that reflected poorly on my visit with them. From all the five-​star reviews of their business here on Unilocal,it seems that I am in the minority. I did not pursue business with Derby Dogs after my first experience, so I can’t say if the next time would have been better.

Derby Dogs is awesome, they take really good care of your dog, and they are very helpful, even working with our dog on specific training and helping us to learn about our dogs behavior. They let us know when anything is out of the ordinary with our dog, and watch over her attentively. They have helped her to stop charging, something which we couldn’t seem to get our dog to stop doing.
All of which they have taken on without any sort of request from us.
Simply because they really care, and pay attention to all the dogs individually. Our dog loves the walkers! She is always happy to see them, and is excited to get out the door.
They are extremely talented dog walkers! We love them!

I’d like to address the 1 star review Derby Dogs received because ironically, my husband ran into the pack today when he was taking our dog out of for a hike. (He had the day off, which is the only reason we weren’t using Derby Dogs.) Today, as well as other days that we’ve walked with the pack everything was 100% professional.
Yes, Derby Dogs uses long lines to train and help recall some dogs who may have trouble being totally off leash, but this is something that is safe and effective, not a sign of being out of control.
The dogs are being DOGS — running around, having fun, playing with each other — which is what you want your dog to do on a walk. If my dog were to march around on leash without any interaction with the other dogs and no play time it would do nothing to wear her out. I’m glad we can always depend on Derby Dogs to provide her with a safe, stimulating, and fun outing!

We adopted our dog, Helix, earlier this year from a rescue and have been with Derby Dogs for over 6 months now. And we love it; we love them and so does Helix.
He is a high energy dog and definitely needs the walks. Tanya, Eric and Jake take them out to all sort of places and leave notes about where they’ve been and how the walk went. They also take photos pretty regularly and they are really great shots.
As it always does at first, Helix had some training issues with recall; but they worked with him and trained him and he improved for them and for us.
They pay attention to your dog. Helix had an eye infection, we had started him on drops but it hadn’t gone away quite yet before his next walk. I appreciated that they made note of his guppy eyes; one more person looking after him, all the help you can get, right?
We’ve also had Helix board with them over a long weekend. He came back so much calmer than if we had put him at a doggie day care center. Being able to stay with familiar people and familiar dogs really benefited him.
I would recommend their walking and boarding service without hesitation.

We have been using Derby Dogs for our new GS rescue for a little over a month and they are the best! I have used dog walkers elsewhere before and got NOTHING close to the service we’ve gotten from DD– and they are an amazing value
Our dog Ghost LOVES his pack walks, and the walkers leave us tips and reports about his progress everyday. Thankfully, he is beat after his walks and is a much more peaceful pup in the evenings because of it!
They help with training info as well which is much appreciated, as this «puppy» is quite a handful. It is also great to have him socialize with other pups while on the walks.
Overall, you won’t be dissapointed with Derby Dogs– Tanya and Eric are great with dogs and they really love them, which shows in their work everyday.

It’s hard to add much to these glowing reviews, but I will try.
First off, Derby Dogs is FABULOUS!!! Everything outlined here is true.
My story is somewhat different, though, and I want to tell it because I think it reflects on the kind of business that Tanya and Eric run — and the kind of people they are.
Last year I determined that I wanted to adopt a dog. I have put this off for years, waiting for a time that I felt settled enough to take on the responsibility. But, it was something that I had wanted for a very, very long time.
I have a love for Labs and having made the decision to adopt, that’s what I wanted. I also wanted a rescue dog.
When I submitted to the first organization, I was crushed to be denied — almost immediately. It seems that the fact I worked away from the home, and would leave the dog alone for periods of time, was a disqualifier, despite the fact that I could provide a safe, loving and abundant environment. On my application I had stated that I would absolutely hire a dog-​walker, and listed that as a priority. (I also said would eventually take the dog to my place of business, since I own and operate my own company — but, I would only do that after the adopted dog was fully trained.)
These points didn’t seem to matter to this organization, and I admit to being a bit angry, so I determined the best thing to do was to find the best dog walker possible, prior to submitting any more applications. I researched and talked to lots of folks — but Tanya and Eric were the obvious choices.
And, here’s what I want to say about their service: they run an exceptional business that corresponds with my own business values. Here’s what happened.
Tanya took up my cause like a crusader, immediately linking me with multiple rescue organizations and contacts in that community, including her own favorite rescue organization. (She almost seemed more offended than I was by the denial.) She offered constant advice on possible ‘picks’ that I met, and held my hand through a daunting and challenging process. She offered guidance for training, feeding, vet care and what seemed like hundreds of other issues, sometimes answering my lengthy emails late in the night. And, she did this all without the promise of pay — without a dog to walk, without being retained. She did it because she believed in me and my family, believed that all dogs can find a good home and believed in rescue.
And, this went on for a long time — nearly two months. I was about to give up, just because the search was exhausting, and I thought I should take a break, and resume my search in the spring. But, then I met Lucky, my new best friend in the whole world.
Lucky is lucky indeed. He’s got a great home, a best friend, and has become a ‘full member of the pack’. You can check out his photos on the site — and you can see how freakin’ happy he is to be hanging out with his buddies, and his pack leaders — Tanya and Eric.
One final note — coming home from work has never been such fun. Reading the reports from Eric and Tanya, particularly in the early days when Lucky was still learning the ropes (and, admittedly, having a few behavior challenges, because of past neglect by prior owners who abandoned him), is like getting report cards from school. When Lucky had a great ‘recall’ day — we celebrated that night. And, when Lucky ‘graduated’ to full pack member — it was a great day for our family.
Tanya and Eric provide more than just a service — they provide love and structure to new pets, and an ongoing source of advice and counsel for engaged pet-​owners.
I just can’t thank them enough for their help. And, I so much appreciate their patience as they guided me through this process. They are really terrific people, and they run their business like I try to run mine: with ethics, hard work, faith and good will.
P. S. Check out these pictures of one VERY happy dog. Lucky LOVES Tanya and Eric.

This is where you want your dog to be when they’re not with you. No joke. They come back tired, and socialize better with other dogs. Thats big when your dog is high energy and you work too much :/​. Derby pays attention to the dogs, and it shows– ours has been doing much better at recall since. On top of that, they are easy to get a hold of via text/​email, which is great.
Go meet them with your dog sometime, and see what you think. I bet you’ll like them.