Start free
Puppy Training Taster
Free mini-course: the marker method primer plus the first four real exercises from Puppy Foundations. No card required. Just create an account.
Courses
Self-paced certificates for working dog professionals, and at-home training for pet parents. Positive reinforcement throughout.
- 4.9★ from 200+ reviewsof Top Dog SF
- SPCA-certifiedtrainers
- One paymentlifetime access
Professional track
Certificates and business programs for working dog professionals.
The certification
Certified Professional Dog Walker
Walk into any dog-care job knowing exactly what you're doing. The standalone field qualification: safe handling, group and solo walks, reading body language, and the right call when something goes wrong. Assessed, certified, and yours for life.
Includes 6 assessed courses
- Learning Theory & Reward
- Canine Body Language
- Fear & Aggression
- Local Laws & Park Etiquette
- Dog Safety
- Solo Walks
Certifying a team? Seats are $149 per walker for 3+
The business school
Run it like a business.
Marketing, client retention, pricing and operations. The programs that turn a good dog professional into a durable business, built from how Top Dog SF actually runs.
After certification
Growth & Marketing Bundle
Get clients: the usual next step after certification. The six-tool Growth System that runs in three 30-minute blocks a week, a script pack for every partner and channel, the Borrow My Audience method with the Fetch Clients plugin, the client-retention playbook we train our own walkers with, and a zero-budget channel plan. 25 lessons in 10 modules, a working toolkit you keep, and an optional self-check at the end.
$345EnrollAfter certification
Top Dog Operator
Run the operation: the owner's operating system, getting legitimate where you live, the money map done from net rather than gross, pricing and packages, policies and contracts, the day and the software, duty of care and crisis, and the team, scale and exit. Built from twenty years of Top Dog SF and written to work in any US city. 8 modules, 26 lessons, and seven files you keep: the workbook, policy pack, intake pack, incident playbook, walker handbook, newsletter kit and your year on one page.
$345Enroll
Free workshops and 1-on-1 help
- Business Pillars WorkshopFree
Free interactive workshop: define your dog-walking business in four decisions and see your price-per-walk calculated live. No card, no login.
- Borrow My Audience WorkshopFree
Free interactive workshop: map the borrowable audiences in your neighborhood, write your first partner pitch, and leave with a 15-minute weekly routine. No ad budget required. No card, no login.
- 1-on-1 Business Consult$99/session
A private 45-minute consultation about your own business (pricing, packages, client pipeline, operations) with a trainer from the team that has run San Francisco's standard-setting dog-care company for twenty years. Certified alumni pay $79, applied automatically.
Pet Parent track
Train your own dog with the marker method, at home.
The full course
Puppy Foundations
One-time foundational course with lifetime access: 40+ short at-home exercises across 8 modules: marker & food-handling foundations, recall & play, crate & place, core obedience, handling & grooming prep, loose-lead walking, tricks, and manners. Follow-along videos included.
$39$59
Membership
Good Dog Club
A Top Dog SF trainer in your pocket: ask anything about your pup, with a reply within one business day. Plus the full at-home course library, a live monthly group Q&A, member pricing on 1-on-1s, and first access to new lessons. Cancel anytime.
$24/mo or $228/yr, save $60À la carte
- 1-on-1 Add-on$45/session
Private 30-minute live session with a trainer, bookable à la carte. Good Dog Club members pay $35, applied automatically.
Built by trainers who hold
