Francis Metcalf Dog Training -

Catherine A.

Highly recommend! Francis is FANTASTIC. I appreciate the fact that he takes a holistic approach to your dog (background, personality type, current issues etc.) His recommendations for training and behavior modification are tailored to fit each dog specifically.

I came to see Francis for some behavioral issues with my 1 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Mia. After she turned 1 year, she became aggressive towards other dogs in certain circumstances and towards particular "types" of dogs. She also became leash reactive (snarling, lunging, the whole deal) during walks when another dog would walk by. I could tell she really wanted to say "Hello!" but it was coming across very aggressive. It was embarrassing to say the least. Being a first time dog owner, I felt overwhelmed and cried a lot because I didn't know how to fix it.

Then came Francis! He offers so much insight into your dogs behavior. I learned that not all personality types are good play mates for Mia and that I should pick her friends for her. I also use his advice for our walks and have noticed an improvement over the last couple of months. I am so grateful to have Francis in my corner. I will definitely schedule another training session in the future.

Marybeth N.

I highly recommend Francis Metcalf. He is a renaissance man of dog training and life. His approach is thoughtful, creative, effective and fun. The training I’ve done with Francis only taps a fraction of the knowledge and skill he possesses. He isn’t stuck in one camp. Every dog, every situation and every handler is different. It takes an open mind to find the potential.

My dog is a cattle dog mix rescue and we’ve worked regularly with Francis since 2019. We started with group circus classes (1-3) and then moved to semi private, private and zoom during Covid. This is the first dog I’ve delved this deep in to training and it’s been a blast. Yes, I’ve got a pretty smart dog but I think Francis could could tease out the best in any dog really. Dang it, I wish I had Francis helping me with the previous dogs in my life. All dogs have have the possibility to be great.

Tricks are fun and what the hell, you might as well try some that are useful! One of the first tricks we worked on via zoom was to have my dog close our sliding glass door. He knew how to open it to come in but he’d leave it open and we don’t live in a barn! Francis broke down the steps necessary for him to get into position and then to get up using his paws to close it. Now our dog will come in and we can ask him from any room in the house to close it and boom, he does it. He closes it sometimes without us even asking. Try getting your kids to do that!!

Here are some of the tricks and things we have work on with Francis:

Pulling a pin out of grenade (you never know when you might need this)
Picking up coins in order of size
Tool use (pushing a treat out of a tube with a stick)
Go dead
Achoo, get me a handkerchief please
Crawling
Limping
Jump and roll
Putting coins in a piggy bank
Trapping a mechanical rat in a figure 4 trap
Holding objects
High Jump
Foot stall (jumping up on my feet while I’m on my back)
Stacking hoops on a stick
Opening/closing mailbox & getting out mail
Rope hoist trick
Pouring wine
Ball balancing
Indian Goat Trick
Sorting coins
Turn pages in a book
Scent discrimination

Francis also worked with us for a performance with the ODC dance company in SF where we had to learn a routine to music that was done in synch with dancers and performed in front of an audience. Francis also prepared me and my dog to perform on a Stupid Pet Trick show on TV. His experience on movie sets has been very valuable as a friend and I have been making youtube videos with our dogs and he always has great ideas and a good theatrical eye.

Francis is crazy good at coming up with prop ideas and design. I learned how critical props are to executing tricks well. They have to work for the dog, look cool and be safe.

Last but not least, I’ve done some serious behavioral training with Francis and have worked out in the field to turn my coyote chasing, livestock hassling dog into a model citizen. I’m happy to say that he can now hike safely off leash in open spaces and behave.

Have fun with your dog and learn cool stuff, whatever it is.

Gretchen H.

Everywhere I go lately, people say "What a well-adjusted, well-trained dog." I just smile and let them know it's because I have the best dog trainer in the whole world!

I can't recommend Francis Metcalf highly enough. I am a lifelong dog owner who ended up with a puppy that had me stumped.

9 months ago, my rescue puppy Fozzie was barking constantly, aggressive with small children, guests, and the elderly. He was also highly reactive and fearful at home and didn't give a fig about any command I would give him.

All the tools I had used on my past dogs weren't working. I had been told he had separation anxiety by another trainer and the prescribed exposure therapy was making him more anxious. The drugs that my vet was throwing at the problem weren't working.
The trainers I had hired were clearly out of their depth.

I couldn't take my dog anywhere and I couldn't leave him alone. Everything I tried to do to make it better just seemed to make it worse. I felt imprisoned and worse, Fozzie grew more and more fearful and reactive the more I tried to do what everyone told me was right for him. Then someone on Oakland Dog Owners Group recommended Francis. Thank goodness they did!

Francis showed up, really listened to what was going on, and asked really good questions. Then he did some observations and tests with Fozzie. It was clear that he really really understood dog behavior and was really diagnosing what was going on with Fozzie's anxiety. He then gave me a clear list of things to do to get Fozzie ok with being left alone and they really worked - like really worked! I went from not being able to go out without hiring a dog sitter to confidently saying "be back soon boy!" knowing he had the tools to be ok.

From there, Francis has worked with me on every aspect of Fozzie's training - helping me shift Fozzie's fear to confidence, reactivity to self-control, and he's got lots of cool tricks to boot! Francis uses these methods for confidence, trust, and bonding building. He is a wealth of dog training knowledge.

My previously dysfunctional dog now is the dog everyone wishes they had. He does card tricks with me for guests, chills confidently at home while I go out, comes when I call him, and is able to calmly walk down busy city streets while ignoring all kinds of triggers.

With Francis's deep knowledge and kind guidance, Fozzie and I really trust and understand each other. I'm so grateful I kept trying until I found a solution.

I'm a much more confident dog owner and it's wonderful to know I'm doing the right things by my boy! I have learned so much about dogs and dog training that I can't believe I hadn't known before. Working with Francis is definitely well worth it! If you work with him, do what he says! The only times things didn't work is when I didn't.