ZenHound K9 | Dog Training, Monterey Bay

Programs

Start where your dog is. We'll take it from there.

Flagship Program

Board & Train

Your dog lives and trains with us full-time, immersed in structure from morning to night. Choose 3 weeks for a solid foundation or 6 weeks for full off-leash immersion. Every day includes obedience work, real-world outings, and, just as importantly, learning to settle and stay calm when nothing is happening. They come home transformed, and we train you at turnover so the results stick at home, not just with us.

Two programs: 3-week foundation or 6-week full immersion
Daily real-world exposure: trails, town, beach
Owner turnover lesson so the results stick at home
One free refresher session every year, for the life of the dog

Ask about Board & Train

Three ZenHound board and train dogs holding a stay together on a Monterey beach

Is B&T right for you? Best for pulling, ignoring recall, reactivity, jumping, and door bolting. Also for owners who simply want the fastest, deepest results.

Three happy client dogs loaded up in the ZenHound vehicle after a training session

Hands-on

Private Lessons

One-on-one sessions where you learn to handle your own dog. We coach the human end of the leash as much as the dog, because most training problems are really communication problems. You'll learn leash skills, manners, timing, and how to follow through, week by week, until your dog listens to you and not just to a trainer.

Book a lesson consult →

Three dogs of different sizes holding a stay together on a Monterey Bay beach during a ZenHound pack walk

Everyday structure

Scheduled Pack Walks

We pick your dog up for scheduled, structured walks with our trained pack, and every walk doubles as a training session. Heel work, neutrality around other dogs, and calm in public, reinforced week after week. It's also the perfect way to keep a Board and Train graduate sharp, or to give a busy household a dog that comes home tired and settled instead of wired.

Ask about pack walks →

Miguel, ZenHound trainer, with his dogs Copper and Canella at a Monterey park

About

Respect on both ends of the leash.

ZenHound is run by Miguel, born and raised in Monterey. A true local, he trains dogs in the same parks, trails, and beaches he grew up on. At 25, he's built ZenHound around one belief: training isn't about control for its own sake. It's about giving owners the skills to grow the friendship, bond, and love they have with their dog.

That means proper commands, clear structure, and respect on both ends of the leash. Miguel's own dogs, Copper and Canella, work alongside client dogs every day, so your dog learns calm from dogs who already live it. Structure creates calm, and calm creates freedom.

Meet us. Book a free consult

How it works

Four steps from chaos to calm.

1. Free consultation

We meet you and your dog, hear what's actually going on, and tell you honestly which program fits, even if that's the cheaper one.

2. Reserve your spot

A deposit and a signed training agreement lock in your dog's dates. Then we schedule everything, from drop-off to turnover to your lesson series.

3. Train

Your dog learns through clear structure and real rewards, proofed on trails, in town, and at the beach, not just in a quiet backyard.

4. Transfer & refresh

We hand the skills to you at turnover, and every dog gets one free refresher session every year. The training holds for years, not weeks.

Why training matters

Your dog isn't giving you a hard time. They're having a hard time.

Behavior problems are the single most common reason dogs are surrendered to shelters, ahead of moving, money, or anything else. Almost every one of those dogs could have stayed home with the right training. Whatever your dog is doing right now, you are not too late and they are not too far gone.

Structure creates calm

Trainers across every method agree: dogs relax when expectations are clear and consistent. Most "stubborn" dogs are just confused dogs.

Consistency beats intensity

Short, repeated work in real environments outperforms occasional marathon sessions. That's why our programs train daily on trails, in town, and at the beach.

Training is the intervention

Shelter research consistently shows aggression, conflict with other animals, and poor manners drive surrenders. Those are the exact problems obedience training fixes.

Start with a free consultation

Free advice from Miguel

Five things you can start doing today.

You don't have to wait for a program to start helping your dog. These are the fundamentals we build every program on, and they cost you nothing.

Make them work for it

Ask for a sit before every meal, before the door opens, and before the leash goes on. When nothing in life is free, your dog starts looking to you for permission instead of making their own decisions, and that one habit changes the whole relationship.

Correct the behavior, not the emotion

You can't correct an emotion. Fear, excitement, and frustration aren't disobedience; they're simply how your dog feels. What you can correct is the behavior that comes out of those feelings: the lunging, the jumping, the barking. Address what the dog does, give them something better to do instead, and the emotion settles on its own.

Reward calm, not chaos

Most owners accidentally pet, talk to, and feed their dog when it's excited, then wonder why it's always excited. Flip it. The calm dog on its bed gets the attention. The jumping dog gets nothing. Watch what happens in a week.

Walks are work, then play

Start with a structured heel for the first part of the walk, then give a release to sniff and just be a dog. Letting them drag you from bush to bush the whole time isn't a walk; that's the dog walking you. Structure comes first, and freedom is the reward.

Practice where it's boring

A sit in your kitchen means nothing at the beach. But you can't start at the beach either. Train in the living room, then the yard, then the sidewalk, then the park. Add distraction one step at a time and the obedience actually holds.

Want the rest of it?

This is just the surface. The deeper work, like fixing reactivity, building real off-leash reliability, and undoing years of bad habits, is what the programs are for.

Book a free consultation

Common questions

What dog owners ask us most.

Is my dog too old to train?

No. Puppies learn fastest, but adult and senior dogs train successfully every day. Older dogs often focus better than puppies. What matters is consistency going forward, not the years behind you.

My dog is reactive around other dogs. Can you help?

Reactivity is one of the most common things we work with, and it's exactly where training alongside a calm, trained pack makes the difference. We start at a distance your dog can handle and build from there. The free consultation is where we assess what your dog needs.

What's the difference between the 3-week and 6-week Board and Train?

Three weeks builds a solid obedience foundation: leash manners, place, recall, calm in the house and in public. Six weeks goes further into off-leash reliability and proofing around heavy distraction. At your consultation we'll tell you honestly which one your dog actually needs.

Will the training stick once my dog comes home?

That's what the turnover lesson is for. We don't just hand the dog back, we teach you the commands, the rules, and the follow-through so the structure continues at home. Every dog also gets one free refresher session a year, so if things slip, we tune it back up.

What breeds do you work with?

All of them. From toy breeds to working dogs to bully breeds, every dog is different, so we train the dog in front of us, not a one-size-fits-all program.

What training tools do you use?

Whatever the dog in front of us needs. That ranges from harnesses, slip leads, and long lines to prong collars and e-collars when a dog calls for them. Every dog is different and every tool is different, so nothing is automatic. What helps one dog can overwhelm another. At your consultation we'll show you exactly what we'd use with your dog and walk you through why.

How do I get started and what does it cost?

Start with the free consultation. We meet you and your dog, see what's going on, and quote the right program for your situation. If you decide to move forward, a deposit and a signed training agreement reserve your dog's dates.

A calm dog is a free dog.