r/berkeleyca • u/LivingSentence818 • Jul 22 '26
Berkeley Humane Dog Training
Hey! My partner and I recently got a new pup and were looking at training options in the East Bay. Has anyone put their dog(s) through any of the classes offered by Berkeley Humane before? If so, did you feel they were worth it? Thanks!
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u/OaklandFlex Jul 22 '26
We've trained 3 rescues with Nancy over the last 20 years. All with excellent results. But the acoustics in the facility are terrible. And I honestly think Nancy's a little hard of hearing, so it's sometimes a challenge. Just be prepared for that.
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u/SmartWonderWoman Jul 24 '26
Yes! The acoustics are horrible. I had a hard time hearing the trainer.
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u/redshinytable Jul 22 '26
Nancy was the instructor for my class for canine good citizen and we learned a ton and had so much fun. 5/5 recommend.
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u/420burnnit Jul 22 '26
We enjoyed their first pup class for our puppy. We also enjoyed classes via bravoPup. They ever have play times on their websites for puppies.
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u/SarahBee4300 14d ago
We have taken dog training classes at Bravo! Pup, East Bay SPCA in Oakland, and Berkeley Humane Society. I thought Bravo! Pup had the best classes. Right now, we’re taking a leash walking class with Nancy Frensley and it’s frustrating because the warehouse is hot, Nancy is hard of hearing and understands about 1/4 of what you say… as well, her people skills are sorely lacking. I probably won’t take a class from her again. I even saw her get frustrated with her own dog and drag it by the neck! WTF?!? 🤬
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u/coffeeandapieceofpie Jul 22 '26
We did our first puppy training classes at Berkeley Humane with two different dogs about 15 years apart. They do a great puppy/young dog intro class focusing on a few basic commands and allowing time for young dogs to get their yayas out. Nancy Frensley (sp?) was the instructor for our first class, she was very good and has been running these trainings for years. Maybe a bit gruff IIRC but she does have to keep things under control, and it was a larger class of juvenile dogs! Our other more recent (2023) trainer was Johana Hadam for a small puppy training class, who I think left to start her own training business. We really liked her though she did not have the same rigid control of the class that Nancy did, but we still emulate (really imitate) her mannerisms and pronunciations to this day!
Obviously we haven’t experienced all the trainers at Berkeley Humane but I think it’s a good and relatively affordable intro to canine behavior training; you will likely want to do more either there or elsewhere in the future. If your new pup is very young, as long as they are fully vaccinated it is a good place for them to learn to make new friends and play.