I have a question about owning a dog in the bay area.  We need to find a puppy 
school as well as places to take our dogs out to play once they are trained - 
especially beaches or parks where they can run around without a leash.

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Request for Question Clarification by firefly-ga on 19 Apr 2002 10:25 PDT

Is there a specific area of the Bay area where you would prefer to train your 
pet(s)? Also, do have a preference for dog schools that may cater to certain 
sized pets -- such as small dogs (small beagles) or large dogs (golden 
retrievers)?

Hi Brooke!

I have answered your question in two parts: Part I = Puppy Schools and Part II 
= Places to take your pet. 

[Part 1] Puppy Schools 
There a number of quality dog training schools in the bay area, I have included 
a sample of ones that are relatively close to you below. Additionally, The 
Association of Pet Dog Trainers  (APDT) provides a guide on “how to choose a 
dog trainer” on their website. I highly recommend reading these guidelines 
before selecting a pet trainer. A direct link to these guidelines is below. 
Please note that this page also has a comprehensive trainer search: 
http://www.apdt.com/cgi/trainer-search?m=0


Puppy Schools: 

Perfect Paws – Menlo Park & San Francisco 
http://www.perfectpaws.org/

Perfect Paws offers courses (Puppy I, Older Puppy I, and Puppy II) that are 
aimed at young puppies or small dogs. The courses address: household manners, 
handling, socialization and training. According to their site, Puppy II focuses 
on putting the “polish” on skills learned in Puppy I / Kindergarten training. 
Courses are available in either Menlo Park or San Francisco. The next set of 
courses begin next Monday and run from April 22 to June 3rd.  Puppy 
Kindergarten (i.e. Puppy I) is a 6-week, once-a-week course for $175. 
Private training and a puppy social hour (for currently enrolled students) are 
also available. 
To see a list of available courses visit:
http://www.perfectpaws.org/id46.htm
To register for a class visit:
http://www.perfectpaws.org/id4.htm or call them directly at 415.647.8000.


Stacy’s Wag‘N’Train – San Jose
http://www.wagntrain.com/

Stacy is a certified “Pet Dog Trainer” and offers courses from Puppy 
Kindergarten to Companion Dog II to Fun Tricks. A complete description of the 
classes offered can be found at:
http://www.wagntrain.com/Classes.htm
Her current classes are full, but she expects to be able to take new students 
in her June and July sessions. Puppy Kindegarten costs $120. Dates for the June 
and July classes have yet to be announced. 


Adobe Animal Hospital
http://www.adobe-animal.com/

Adobe Animal Hospital also offers Puppy training. Their next available sessions 
begin tomorrow (Saturday, April 20th) at 10:30, or the following week (April 
27th) at 9:30. These sessions last 6 weeks, cost $100 and will be taught by 
Lynn Crosby. To register for the class call 650.948.9661.

My friend Pat had private lessons through the Adobe Animal Hospital. She worked 
with a woman, Cerena Zutis. Cerena is not currently scheduled to teach a class 
at Adobe, but can be reached by phone at 650.574.9246 for private lessons.


[Part 2] Places to take your dogs…
Places to take your pets for leash-free adventuring have become severely 
limited over the last few years, but there are still a number of places where 
your pet can roam freely. The SF Dog website provides a fairly comprehensive 
listing of places where you can take your dogs in the bay area. You can check 
out this list at:
http://www.sfdog.org/links.htm#offleash1
The “Run Free” section of SF Dog provides information on leash-free parks in 
San Francisco:
http://www.sfdog.org/features/wild.htm


The Mountain View Dog Park site had information on where to take your dog in 
and around Mountain View: 
http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/9983/


Lighthouse Dogs provides a variety of information on dogs as well as a listing 
to dog-friendly parks, restaurants and lodging in the Santa Cruz area: 
http://lighthousedogs.com/friendly.html


Additional Websites that may interest you: 

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers website: 
http://www.apdt.com/

San Francisco Dog Owners Group (SF Dog) – a comprehensive site giving 
information on a variety of dog related issues, activities and events. 
http://www.sfdog.org/

Peninsula Access for Dogs is an organization working to increase open space for 
Dogs on the SF Peninsula. Their site provides information on places to take 
your dog and how to protect your dog’s leash-free rights: 
http://www.prusik.com/pads/

Palo Alto People for Unleashed Pet Space: 
http://www.canineworld.com/pups/

DogPark.com lists dog-friendly parks throughout the US. 
http://www.dogpark.com/

Search Terms Used: 
Mountain view canine schools
San Francisco dog owners 


Best of luck with your dog training!
Firefly

Thank you for the comprehensive answer!