San Francisco Bay Area Dog Training and Canine Behavior Consulting

By Jeff Stallings

My name is Jeff Stallings and I work throughout the San Francisco Bay Area to train puppies and rehabilitate dogs using proven methods, including positive reinforcement and other natural means of behavior modification. My humane and holistic approach takes into account all aspects of each individual dog’s situation, including breed, background, temperament and—very importantly—household environment, to guide you towards a more gratifying, healthy relationship with your four-legged friends.

Effective training is an on-going process of growth and understanding between you and your canine companion. In the privacy of your home or in outdoor areas and parks across the Bay Area, I’ll show you how each interaction with your dog builds upon and enhances desired behaviors. I create custom, success-focused dog training programs and then stay in close contact with you until you've achieved your goals.

San Francisco Dog Trainer Jeff Stallings Glacier National Park / September 2012

Let me teach you how to combine positive communication with your calm leadership to understand and correct:

• Leash pulling

• Jumping on people

• Housebreaking / potty training issues

• Excessive barking

• Aggression and fearfulness

• Separation issues

• Biting, chewing and digging

• Puppy 101: Sit / Down / Stay / Come

Effective dog training using clear communication with your best friend

Dogs are spectacular communicators, their “words” formed by rumps, heads, legs and, most notably, tails and ears. Observe any two dogs (or a park full of dogs) greeting and interacting, and you’re watching precise and complex conversations regarding social order, invitations to play, instructions to stay away, etc.

I’ll teach you how you can take advantage of this dog language (and the dog’s capacity to sense human emotional energy) to clearly tell your dog what you want her to do and know. I draw on a number of different methods, depending on the issue at hand:

My dog and co-worker Otis, recipient of
the AKC Canine Good Citizen award.

• Puppy training, such as the sit, lay down and stay commands—as well as trick-training for older dogs—is best accomplished with classic “operant conditioning”, or positive reinforcement.

• Potty training is fast and effective when you set your home up for success then consistently follow “no mistake” guidelines.

• To teach more advanced commands such as heel (not pulling on the leash), off (not jumping on people) and recalls, we’ll combine simple tools—training collars, short leashes and long lines—with specific, behavior-modifying exercises.

• Serious behavioral problems, such as aggression, fearfulness and separation anxiety, require more intensive work, both on my part and yours. These issues can usually be fixed, or at least mitigated, but the specific plan depends on each dog’s particular circumstance.

Teaching you to train your dog

My training style takes advantage of many aspects of dog behavior—the way they think, learn and communicate; their ability to read our emotions; social behavior; and so forth—to successfully rehabilitate and train dogs.

This Brazilian oil painting is my constant reminder of the importance of dog rituals. Read more about why you should encourage this important canine greeting.

Following a free in-depth and informative phone consultation, my focus on teaching people how to effectively interact with and train their dogs.  After that I am your coach and support group, available by text, phone and email to help you along and answer any questions.  I chose this strategy because my focus is your success in the on-going (and highly rewarding) process of shaping and molding the relationship with your dog into a more perfect union.   

I work with clients all over the San Francisco Bay Area.  Please contact me for more information or to schedule an appointment.

For more information about my dog training methods, please read through the training philosophy section of this site and check out the frequent posts on my Dog Blog.