SmartyPup!

We thoroughly enjoyed our puppy kindergarten classes here and had a great experience. The instructors were very helpful, hands on and overall great people. The facility seemed as clean as could be for housing pups :) price is pretty standard and in line with all the other puppy courses in the city. Would highly recommend!

Fawn is AMAZING! We just finished Puppy 1 with our little girl Charlie, she’s a husky and so we’ve been haunted that with the breed, it comes with a lot of problems: unreliable recall, independent attitude, and refusal to listen 90% of the time. However after our classes and the wealth of knowledge of all of the instructors with Smarty Pup (you get to meet other trainers by coming to socials and such) Charlie has become such a good puppy! She was «that dog» in our first few classes, not wanting to sit still, not wanting to listen or do anything just wanting to play and very vocal about it, but through listening to everything Fawn has said and worked and worked on it, by our 4^th class Charlie has been such an Angel! Sitting and staying politely, giving me all of her attention, and by her graduation time, she’s been able to reliably recall 300 ft away! at the park too with lots of distractions! I was thoroughly impressed and amazed haha though it could just be my pup’s personality. but nonetheless her recall was one of the worst in the class when we started haha
I also love their philosophy in puppy play, they let all the puppies be able to figure out all of the problems themselves and only intervening when it is truly necessary because at the dog park you can’t always be there to save your puppy. This really sets up your puppy to being able to read cues from other dogs and learning what is appropriate or not and since then we have gotten lots of surprising comments how well behaved and respectful our pup is in dog parks.
It really took me a long time to decide which puppy school to go to but after going to Smarty Pup, meeting Fawn and the other trainers, and experiencing everything, Charlie and I are both incredibly happy that we decided to go with them!

We loved Puppy 1 (Jan/​Feb ’16) at the newest SmartyPup! location at 3119 Vicente in the Sunset. Easy street parking. Bright, clean studio for the training. Friendly, capable, enthusiastic instructors – Fawn, Sylvia, Martha. They keep the classes fast-​paced and fun for the puppies AND their people. Riggins the Bernedoodle loved his puppy pals on Saturday mornings at SmartyPup! We will definitely enroll in Puppy 2 to keep up the good work.

Horrible school and very poor people’s skills. Brought my dog here Afew times for puppy social and didn’t have a good experience. Even had enrolled her in the puppy kindergarten hoping the instructor would be more attentive and care about the dogs but had to stop going after the first class and get a refund. Overall I found them insensitive to dogs and very inconsiderate towards dog owner.

Me and my puppy Mila love Sylvia! She is wonderful! When we are in puppy social class, she gives attention to every single puppy, observes their behavior and tell the parents how to help their puppies grow into a better happier puppy.
Also, my puppy is a shy and fearful dog which needs additional help. We decided to have a private session with Sylvia besides from puppy social because she already met our puppy a few time, she understand what we really need. Sylvie was punctual, patience, sweet, and professional! My puppy absolutely loves her!!! She even lick Sylvia’s face which she never did to anyone except my family members (since she is a shy and fearful puppy)! And I learned a lot from her to build up my baby’s confidence.

Recently finished Puppy 1 Class with Joe and Martha! Couldn’t have picked a better place to take our little stinky Tofu: D Originally, we came in just for the classes and learned some tips on how to train my puppy, but I was encouraged to stay for puppy socials. During the socials, Martha was very helpful in introducing us to parents of other shy puppies. We ended up learning from them and slowly helping Tofu come out of his shell a bit.
He’s learned how to sit, lay down, high-​5, and (kind of) stay. We’re still working on it, thanks to some training advice we received in class! Classes were divided into watch and practice, with the trainers walking around and helping out when necessary. The best part is that during Tofu’s last puppy social, he actually initiated play, and with a much larger puppy too! That’s a huge deal for a usually cautious and shy puppy, so we were super excited to see that huge step in improvement.
Smarty Pup! takes a very positive approach to training and showed us how to slowly get our puppy off his treats. We are happy to have found a safe environment to learn in and the puppy socials were so fun (imagine a roomful of PUPPIES!) for both humans and animals. We were taught to observe our dogs and learn when it’s just play and when it’s gone beyond. Many thanks to everyone at Smarty Pup! for making this experience so great!

Took my baby pitbull to his first puppy social and he loved it! He was so tired from playing that he fell asleep in the car right after we left!

We used SmartyPup! for the puppy socials and loved it. They are much more laid back than some of the others around the city. The staff is super friendly and helps you understand when your puppy is playing well, but the focus is on letting the dogs work things out for themselves whenever possible.

We’ve completed Puppy 1 and Puppy 2… and Fawn, Martha and Sylvie are fantastic. Fawn is like this magic doggie mind reader. Our puppy, Maddie, was acting a little differently than usual at one class and Fawn picked up on her slightly different attitude. Maddie had taken a bit of a tumble in the park while playing with a dog who got too rough with her that day, and Fawn could tell that Maddie was just a little off. She’s in tune with her puppy students, that’s for sure.
The classes are a really great mix of train-​the-​people time (because that’s what she’s doing — training us to train our dogs) and play-​with-​the-​puppies time. Fawn gave individual attention to each person to make sure that everyone knew the right way to teach whatever behavior we were working on at the time. Watching our puppy figure out a new behavior is so cool.
We take Maddie almost everywhere with us, and people constantly tell us how they can’t believe she’s just a baby still because she’s SO good. We’re really glad we found Fawn and her team, and we’ll probably do a Puppy 3 class when it comes up.

We’ve been taking our labradoodle puppy, Violet, to several of the Puppy Socials and they’re fantastic.
SmartyPup socials have a good mix of dogs (big and small) and I like their approach to playtime. They are fairly hands off in comparison to SPCA’s puppy socials where the trainer is regularly breaking up play. I can’t say if one approach is better than another, but I do feel like SmartyPup is better in touch with how dogs play in the real world and teaching dogs to learn their limits themselves.
The trainers provide advice, are available for questions and are always watching the group. I highly recommend their socials for any puppy!

Puppy class was fantastic. Can’t believe my 3 ½ month old pup could learn to do so much so fast. He’s a star at the dog park now. This class is a must for pups and puparents

My puppy is in the middle of Puppy 1 training and it’s amazing to see the progress she’s made in a couple of weeks. Definitely will be taking her back for more classes when she completes this series.

Our puppy, Charlie Brown, loves Fawn and her staff. We do too. We started at the puppy socials when he was 10 weeks old and graduated Puppy 1 and are now in Puppy 2. Fawn knows her stuff and Charlie is a better pup for it! We will continue to take classes with Fawn, including Tricks, Come, etc. Very highly recommended!!!

fawn seriously knows what she’s doing and since we’re being honest, it’s the humans she’s training — and doing a damn fine job of it while making it fun and informative for all of us!
my dog, olive and i took lessons several years ago and since finishing our classes i am constantly complimented on what a gentle, well-​behaved dog she is. olive is always invited to parties and weekends away with me and that’s a testament to fawn and what we learned from her.
if only we could do something about her gas (olive’s, that is)…

I went to a SmartyPup! puppy social at Jeffrey’s in North Beach.
I learned a lot during the social, like how to pet my pup to prepare her for the Vet and what good play looks like.
As like other socials, it costs $ 15 and requires proof of vaccination.

Fawn and the rest of the team are superb. They teach you, the humans, how to learn with your puppy. Classes are the right size — not to small, as your puppy needs others to socialize with — and not too big. Highly, superbly recommended.

Smarty Pup is absolutely the BEST. Having taken various «puppy socialization classes» over the years with various people in the city with our pups — I have to say Smarty Pup provides the most practical advice and training methods on bringing up your pup. The trainers approach it from a pup’s point of view and how they see things in the world — which is most enlightening. Sounds simple and it is!!! — but as humans we so often forget to see it that way. We expect immediate results and hope by learning various commands by «rote» — our puppys will understand. NOT!!! Which is why I really like the Smarty Pup approach. You get practical advice and amazing insight, as well as plenty of training opportunities within the set class time. And what is great is that they provide Puppy Socials — where it’s all play time BUT a perfect time to try out your training skills in the real world. The Puppy Classes when combined with the Puppy Socials provides the most comprehensive training you need to raise your pup.
What really «hit» me was how effective it can be to «catch your pup doing good things» and PRAISING them for that. A nice alternative to the other situation — where you’re always on the look out for them to do «wrong» and correct them. But Smarty Pups approach is to be «aware of your dog» and «stay in touch with your dog» during their play time. And praise them when you catch them doing good. Or make contact with them during their playtime with other dogs and reward them. Hey, isn’t that how humans like to be treated — and yet so often we fail to do that with other people.
For me — it was an enlightening moment — and really changed the dynamics between me and my two pups. And I must say it improved my pups behaviours. Amazing how such a «simple thing» can be so effective.
I highly recommend Smarty Pup — and again, take advantage of both the Classes and the Socials.

Let me just start by saying, Fawn is amazing. As are all of her trainers that, I just unfortunately can’t remember their names, but they all deserve major kudos!
We recently adopted a pitbull/​lab puppy, who when we first got her, had some behaviors that we didn’t like, and we wanted to make sure that we got her the best training possible, especially because of all the stigma that goes with having a pitbull. We where so nervous when we went to our first puppy social, worried that our puppy would be too mean, or we would be asked to leave. As first time dog owners, I am sure that is everyone’s concern. We where pleasantly surprised when that turned out to not be the case!
Fawn is so very friendly, always smiling, and made us feel very welcome there. She understands the stigma around pitbulls and works with us, and our puppy to make sure we have the best dog possible. We have never felt uncomfortable at the socials, and even the people who bring their puppies there are great as well.
We are also enrolled in Puppy 101 and have been learning so much. Fawn always takes the time to answer our questions and even during socials, she will help us with information on how to train for certain behaviors that we see during play as well.
Oh and most importantly, our puppy loves Fawn as well!
So if you want someone who truly loves dogs, and people, this is the place to go, for socials and classes. We will certainly be bringing all of our future puppies to Fawn as well.

If you are looking for the best trainer in SF — you’ve found her. Fawn Pierre is awesome! (and John too!)
My mom is a trainer in Seattle and I grew up with lots of dogs, including show dogs, so I was very picky and honestly thought I didn’t really need a class. Upon my mom’s insistence that it would be worth every penny, I did a ton of research online about about classes, then went and audited 5 different classes and trainers. I highly recommend you do this b/​c there is a difference. There are some great classes offered through the City, but this one is the best.
When we finally did bring our English Cocker Spaniel puppy home, we were ready. We signed her up for Puppy 101 and started attending the socials immediately. She was TERRIFIED at her first social, but Fawn said it’s okay to let them sit on your lap and just watch. Even though she didn’t even play at the first one, she was exhausted when we got home. By the third social she was zipping around having fun with all the other puppies. Either Fawn and John attend the socials, so there is always a very knowledgeable trainer overseeing the play.
The Puppy 101 class was also phenomenal and provided my fiancé and me structure for training. The techniques and socialization were beyond my expectations. I’d strongly encourage SmartyPup to anyone who’s looking to get a new puppy or just brought one home. Our puppy is well socialized, well mannered, and well adjusted. We’re looking forward to Puppy 201 in a few weeks!

Positively the Best Puppy Training Possible! Being the persnickety person I often am, I made sure to do a ton of research before committing to any SF puppy training program. As I did, one thing became arf-​rageously clear during my thorough online searches: The name FAWN PIERRE kept coming up… Again and again. It took a few more clicks to realize that Fawn now has her own school called SmartyPup! so I promptly registered for Puppy 101. (She used to teach for other companies, but it’s clear she’s more than earned her own billing by now!) Because Fawn made training FUN for both me and my puppy, I now have a solid foundation for a lifetime of good learning and a darn well-​behaved dog now! I have also taken the second Puppy class, and even did the Canine Good Citizen course in case I want to take my dog to hospitals, etc.
If I were you, I’d squeeze in every last one of the Puppy Socials that you can (before your baby is all «grown up»!). They are so much fun and leave you smiling every time. You and your dog will be blessed if you’re lucky enough to work with Fawn.

We just finished Puppy 101 with Fawn at Fort Mason and are SO happy that we did it! Our puppy learned lots, yes… but more importantly, WE learned so much. He is only a few months old, but knows lots of ‘tricks’ that not only look cool, but are extremely practical & useful in ‘real world’ situations. We already recieve so many compliments on how well behaved he is, and he’s only 4 months old!
Fawn is fabulous and she’s amazing with dogs & people alike– she engages the class without being boring, she’s funny, she’s outgoing, she’s EXTREMELY knowledgeable, and she’s so approachable. In short– she’s the best! We would highly recommend SmartyPup 101 to anyone with a new puppy… And if you have an older dog, check out her other classes!

Lucy just graduated from puppy 201 tonight. It was a tough class for my little beebee, but in the end I think we both learned a lot!
Fawn is great, and so talented at dog dogs and humans. I love her direct yet gentle approach. Despite a full class Fawn and her assistant John were able to give everyone in the class the individual attention we needed.
I particularly appreciated the attention that was paid to training dogs and their owners in to be city dwellers. There was a lot of good useful information and training in consideration of all the nuances of city living.
Lucy is passed out from complete exhaustion! a day at now playing and then smartypup! 201 and you got one pooped pup!
If you have a new furry little friend SmartyPup! is definitely the way to go for an awesome learning and bonding expereince!

SmartyPup is a great program. Fawn is wonderful: observant, caring, experienced and knowledgeable.
I’ve learned so much from taking my pup to her socials as well as Puppy One. We are starting Puppy Two next week and I’m very excited to see what my Puppy will be able to learn next.
Basically, when regular humans get frustrated with a dog «my dog won’t do this… my dog is crazy… my dog won’t sit… my dog disobeys… etc», Fawn and her team have a solid solution and will teach you how to approach the situation with practical advice that works every time.
I highly recommend SmartyPup and Fawn Pierre’s team.