Owner: Aishe Berger
Aishe is a graduate of Jean Donaldson’s world-renowned SF SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, holds a post-graduate honors Certificate in Curriculum Development & Design, and is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Aishe has been training dogs and their people since 2001. After her post-graduate certification, she stayed on at the SPCA as a public class teacher and on-call trainer for the next 3 years before starting SF Puppy Prep with Stephanie Miller. Alongside her work with rescue dogs at the SPCA, Aishe was the behaviorist at the East Bay Berkeley Humane Society. Aishe is passionate about teaching and supporting dog owners as much as the dogs themselves. She strives to make SF Puppy Prep’s classes and curriculum practical, doable, and enjoyable.
She lives in San Francisco with her mini poodle, Farfel, and her rescue dog, Lola. |
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Owner: Stephanie Miller
Stephanie is an honors graduate of Jean Donaldson’s world-renowned SF SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, holds a post-graduate honors Certificate in Curriculum Development & Design, and is a professional member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Stephanie has worked with dogs and their owners for over a decade, first in a pet hospital, then as a staff trainer and public class instructor for Perfect Paws Dog Training Academy, and finally as a private trainer and dog walker. Together with business partner Aishe Berger, Stephanie opened SF Puppy Prep daycare and training facility in 2005. She wholeheartedly believes in the power of positive training methods for all animals, and has witnessed its successful implementation on dogs as well as husbands.
She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Ian, and two mixed-breed rescue dogs, Ruby and Alberta. |
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What Our Clients Say
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Our Fabulous Staff
All SF Puppy Prep staff, from the highly qualified trainers teaching our classes to our daycare Puppy Counselors, are committed to positive reinforcement dog training methods. |
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Marissa Martino: Training Programs Manager
Marissa Martino graduated from the SFSPCA Academy for Dog Trainers in San Francisco and went off to work for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Colorado. For two years, Marissa trained and implemented positive behavior modification techniques for shelter dogs with various behavioral issues, such as resource guarding, fear and dog-dog aggression. Marissa has developed curriculum and taught many different types of classes. Her passion is educating the public. She is thrilled to be back in her favorite city with her new black lab mix, Sully. |
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Brenda Cawley: SF/SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT member
Brenda is an honors graduate of The San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers and holds a Masters Degree in Communication. Brenda lives in San Francisco but is originally from Northern Ireland. Brenda also offers group off-leash dog walking for small dogs. |
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Kim Moeller: SF/SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT member
Kim is a certified professional dog trainer and dog walker. She graduated from the renowned SF/SPCA Dog Training Academy in 1999. Her speciality is dog-dog aggression and for which she has become a nationally recognized expert. Kim has written articles and given lectures all over the world, and recently published the book on the topic titled, “Reactive Rover”. She developed the Growly Dog Curriculum for the SF SPCA, and is a highly experienced instructor on all areas of dog-training. Kim also co-founded the Dog Walking Academy in 2003, which gives dog walkers the necessary training to become certified dog walkers in their community. She lives with her two Bichons, Willy and Kitty, who are sometimes used as therapy dogs, to help teach reactive dogs play-skills. |
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Mac: SF SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT Member
Mac in an honors graduate of The San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, and upon completion, returned to the Academy as a coach and to the SPCA as an intern trainer. Mac also offers private training, daily off-leash adventures, and boarding.
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Ruthanna Levy: SF SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT Member
Ruthanna’s love for dog training was ignited after she adopted rescue pup Ziggy 7 years ago. She has been a professional dog trainer for 5 years. Before joining us at SF Puppy Prep, she taught puppy classes at Sirius as well as her famous Canine Freestyle classes, which have become sell-out events throughout the Bay Area.
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Jenn Loayza: Daycare Office Manager
Jenn has lent her heart and hands to the puppy Puppy Daycare fun for 2 1/2 years now, starting as a Puppy Counselor and currently as daycare Office Manager. Before coming to SF Puppy Prep, she worked at an East Bay doggy daycare. Jenn has also volunteered at the San Francisco SPCA, the Oakland Zoo, and even a cat shelter called De Poezenboot in Amsterdam. |
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Michelle Martens: Daycare Head Trainer
SF SPCA Certified Trainer, APDT Member
Michelle is an honors graduate of the San Francisco SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers. After graduating from the Academy, Michelle completed an internship with the San Francisco SPCA Behavior and Training Department. In addition to training shelter dogs during her internship, she earned certificates in Curriculum Design and Puppy Socialization. She runs the daycare training program at SF Puppy Prep, making sure all the pups are in appropriate play groups and learning their ABCs. She is also one of SF Puppy Prep's public dog training class instructors. Michelle lives in San Francisco with her rescue pup Bai Bee and her cats Miss Melody and Leo. |
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Vicki Chatham: Puppy Counselor
Vicki offers pet sitting services. Her bio will follow shortly.
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Athena Gabriel: Puppy Counselor
Athena is a San Francisco native, and has always been involved with animals. Her knowledge and attention to detail are great assets for SF Puppy Prep. Athena's attachment to her daycare puppies is strong: She often sheds a tear when an older pup graduates into the adult world. Athena offers pet sitting services. |
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Susie Leni: Puppy Counselor
Before joining the team at SF Puppy Prep, Susie shared her love of dogs as a handler at multiple San Francisco dog daycares, as well as one in Paris, France. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering with local bay area rescues and with San Francisco Animal Care and Control's Give A Dog A Bone program. Now having graduated from SF State with a bachelors degree in French and Spanish, she is focusing on furthering her understanding of companion animals, to later apply her acquired knowledge to a dog behavior counseling certification or a masters degree in animal shelter administration. |
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Kevin Roth: Puppy Counselor
Kevin is one of our newest members at SF Puppy Prep, but his desire to learn about training and his love of puppies is inherent. His past experience includes 1 ½ years at an East Bay Dog Daycare, where he was a Doggy Attendant and Boarding Manager. His energetic, can-do attitude makes him a welcome addition to our team! |
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Josh Boutelle
dogTEC Certified Dog Walker
Josh has a long history working around animals, starting his volunteer work at the San Francisco SPCA at the age of 9. The training staff there took him under their wing, and for many years he helped run play groups, socialize puppies, walk dogs, and even help out in behavioral testing sessions. So it was no surprise that he should choose to work in the field. A graduate of the dogTEC Dog Walking Academy, Josh particularly enjoys helping dogs practice their manners and learn new tricks. Josh offers pet sitting services. |
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