Sniff San Francisco

I love Sniff SF! I met Jim and Benny one day at a dog park when I noticed that my newly adopted border collie mix was so happy to see them and would literally not leave them alone. It turned out that she was a former client of theirs and obviously loved them! I had to find new walkers when I moved neighborhoods in SF and luckily, Jim, Benny, and Mike came to the rescue. The transition was so easy, since they already loved my border collie and quickly dazzled my husky, as well. I also felt extremely confident in their care of my babies because I was fortunate enough to see them in action at the park prior to becoming a client.
Sniff SF truly goes above and beyond to not only make sure your pups are having the best day ever, but they are also in constant training mode and will give you daily report cards with suggestions included. I am so grateful that my pups were in the care of these great guys.
I have since moved to Denver, but the guys still check in on how my dogs are doing from time to time. Now that’s love and dedication!

My husband and I love Sniff SF, and so does our dog!
We contacted Sniff in Fall 2015 to discuss training our dog. From the onset, Jim and Benny from Sniff have been incredibly communicative, enthusiastic and confident. Our dog has been fearful and sometimes aggressive since we adopted him over four years ago. Despite training at home, working with three other trainers and attending classes, he lacked confidence and was fearful of new people, dogs and city life. Dog parks were out of the question. We were turned away by dog walkers who wouldn’t take a risk on a potentially aggressive dog, so for a long time we’d been on our own to care for him. We managed that way for a while, making sure someone was always able to get home to take him for his walk and limiting travel. Once we moved from a quieter suburb to the city, we knew we had to make a change.
Our own training with our dog was clearly not working, so Jim and Benny suggested they work with him directly rather than only teaching us what to do. This entailed daily walks one on one where they took him out to face everyday fears – noisy buses, blowing trash, garbage bins! The kind of things that would have him tail-​tucked, trembling, and running for home are now no big deal. We now walk him through the Mission, for fun! Once he became more comfortable walking, they started to introduce him to new dogs and people. They took him out with dogs from their walking groups and were eventually able to bring him along with the whole pack for park outings! Now he’s one more happy dog in their regular walking pack. They make sure all of their dogs are recall trained and non-​reactive, so it’s a safe environment for everyone. We are completely in awe to see our dog out there happily trotting along and playing with all kinds of dogs. He even approaches strangers to see who might have a treat in their pockets!
Throughout it all, everyone at Sniff has been extremely helpful, professional and friendly. They send feedback and photos/​videos everyday to let us know how our dog is doing. They truly know and give attention to every dog in their pack. In terms of training, Sniff helps dogs overcome fears by exposure using positive reinforcement with treats and praise. They correct aggressive behavior verbally and with restraint (but never abuse!) and then give the dog an opportunity for a positive experience. While some dog owners are opposed to anything but positive redirection to resolve negative behavior, Sniff’s is the technique that has worked the best for us and our dog. He now knows that growling at other dogs is not ok, is friendly and interested in meeting new dogs.
It is no exaggeration to say that training our dog with Sniff has been life changing! Over the past several months, we’ve seen a huge transformation in our once fearful and aggressive dog. It took an investment of time, money and attention to hire Sniff, but it has been well worth it. Our whole family is enjoying a better quality of life now that we know our dog is safe, happy and being well cared for while we are away.

Sniff SF is the best! My 10-​year-​old coonhound is one of those dogs that stares out the front window watching the world go by and keeping an eye on the neighborhood. Every morning for over two years, Buster has waited for the arrival of Benny, Jim, or Mike.
These guys appreciate dogs — even an older dog with a very strong «Frisbee fetish.» Their backpacks always include at least one red Frisbee for Buster to chase as it sails across the slopes of Bernal Heights. Within a couple of hours a tired coonhound is dropped back home and ready for a long afternoon nap.
«You can’t teach an old dog new tricks» — the Sniff team proves that old saying wrong. Each day Sniff SF reinforces basic commands and works on my dog’s demand barking issue (throw my red Frisbee now).
I trust Sniff SF. When you hire a dog walking team, you are entrusting them with your pet and your home. The pre-​walk and post-​walk texts let me know when they are arriving and keeps me updated on any issues. Travel plans, no problem, Benny and Jim provide boarding services.
I work from home — during the last two years these guys have been professional, kind, and respectful of my job, my house, and my pet. After two years I am honored to call them friends.

I would give Sniff SF 7 stars if that were possible! Reason why? ATTENTION TO DETAIL :)
Benny, Jim and Mike are an amazing team that take care of our 4yo Bernese Mountain Dog. We were referred to them by another amazing team of Johnny and Cari Delaplane at FourLegged Fitness.
For the past 1.25 years, Sniff SF has been 100% reliable, they’ve taken amazing care of Alma and keep track of ALL the details that owners obsess about. Yes, I realize I’m a crazy dog owner.
1) They check for fox-​tails
2) They wipe off paws on wet SF days
3) if they see something off with Alma (e.g. stomach issues) they let us know ALWAYS
Whenever they’ve given us advice on choices for food /​supplements (glucosamine to help joints), their counsel is spot on and has immediately helped (e.g. a food switch to Taste of the Wild)
Every day that Alma is with the pack, we receive a quick text when they’re picking her up and a brief recap after she’s dropped off. These texts are the highlight of my day :)
What more can I say, just check out their insta account (sniffsanfrancisco) and your day will brighten!

It seems fitting that at St Patty’s day I give thanks for finding a pot of gold like Sniff SF. Jim, Benny & Mike have been like family to me and my fur child. From day 1 they sat down with us and made us feel at ease in their presence. 9 months later and our union is even better.
My cocker spaniel, Ruby, started out skittish around other dogs but has blossomed into such a social butterfly. We owe this GREAT transformation to these guys giving Ruby much MORE than a daily dog walk. I love that they never kennel the dogs or caravan them around. They walk to and from the local parks, giving her the best exercise and training a dog can get.
My dog is living quite the life & it shows! You should see all the pictures, videos, texts & treats! I also boarded her at Christmas with them & she received the royal star treatment. I always trust that she’s in the BEST hands & is treated like their very own fur child. This quality and professional team is the best choice in my opinion when choosing dog care. Thanks guys for being our lucky charms!

I can not begin to describe how incredibly impressed and pleased I am with using Sniff SF. From the moment we met Jim and Benny, we knew we found two genuine, caring, professional, dog lovers. We spent about 3 weeks interviewing people, Sniff SF is the only one who really took the time to get to know not only my dog but my boyfriend and I. They completed a thorough assessment of my dogs likes, dislikes, triggers, things she needs training on. EVERYTHING! We have been using Sniff SF for about 2 months now and we can definitely tell a difference with our dog! I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants there dog to be in the best hands possible when you are unable to be around!

Jim and Benny walk my friend’s dog so when we got our puppy we enlisted their help with training. They are amazing, they came to our house and gave us advice on how to stop Zeke barking, biting, and generally running crazy and then offered to meet us at the dog park to help with socializing him. All this was done without any charge as they are really invested in the well-​being of dogs and helping people figure out how to make your dog be comfortable, friendly, happy, and trained.
We definitely recommend them, they are great, not only do they offer assistance with training they provide interactive dog walking services which are videoed so you can see how much fun your dog is having.
Highly recommended!

I can’t say enough great things about Jim and Benny! They’re so professional and fun and most importantly, our dog is the happiest and healthiest she’s ever been thanks to their park outings. They take such wonderful care of her! And we love watching the videos and getting texts about her playtime.

Jim and Benny are the dog-​walking duo who for the past 12+ months have faithfully walked our Anatolian shepherd mix 4x/​week and have even housed all 100lbs of her when we were away on vacation. They are reliable, professional, thoughtful and FUNNY people. If I were a dog I would want to be walked by Jim and Benny. No stuffy car rides, great long walks to off-​leash venues, treats for good behavior, photo shoots and most of all people who understand dogs! The sound of our pup flopping to the floor after she’s been dropped off says it all — happiness is a well-​exercised, and cared-​for dog!

Jim and Benny are amazing at what they do, and our dogs are in great hands with them. We initially hired them to help train our skittish rescue pooch (and probably us) to be comfortable and calm around other dogs. They transformed him almost instantly, and he’s become one of the most social dogs around.
With that accomplished we couldn’t imagine him not getting to keep playing with his Sniff friends: from their updates and posts we see how much fun our lab has on his daily walks and park/​hiking excursions.
Highly recommended on all fronts!

Sniff dog walkers have exceeded our expectations. Jim and Benny, the co-​owners, have added two important skills to dog walking that we appreciate; daily communication with us via text and posted videos as well as daily training programs specifically designed for your «Fido». In our case the training is individually designed for three Australian Shepherds, one agility trained needing stimulation, one potentially aggressive male who they keep in check with love and attention and last but not least the good natured elder with his own special needs.
Sniff as a duo, does not drive the dogs to and from parks, but rather walk them on leash to and from local parks, an added benefit for our pack. The destinations vary by day and week.
Most importantly our dogs LOVE them!
And, did we mention they are trustworthy and reliable? Jim and Benny are true professionals with the utmost commitment and enthusiasm. We could not recommend them more highly.
FYI we found Sniff on Thumbtack.

these guys are true professionals, with a big heart. key difference is they genuinely care about your dog. our dog courtney got into our dog food storage and over ate a few months back. jim/​benny helped take her to the vet on their own time during the weekday with no charge, because they genuinely cared about her safety. thankfully it turned out to be no problem, and she just had to poop it all out over next few days.
on top of that emotional commitment to your dog, you get top notch professionalism. daily text of when they pick /​drop off, daily text report of what they did, regular video uploads, no additional fees/​mark up ever, even when they sometimes end up taking our dog for a longer session.
highly, highly recommended.

Jim and Benny are amazing! We hired them to look after our shy beagle mix and they have turned her into a happy go lucky puppy. We can tell they genuinely love our dog and take really good care of her. They have been wonderful and we highly recommend this duo to look after other owners’ dogs.

I was so lucky to bump into Jim at the park. He helped transform my feisty, aggressive and fearful 4lb chihuahua to a more confident and friendly dog. I can now take my dog on walks around the neighborhood and to the park without worry that he will provoke other dogs. I highly recommend using Sniff SF. Jim’s partner is great too. Both seem to genuinely care about the well-​being of your dog.

Incredible dog walkers.
They really put a lot of thought into the daily outings, and the little daily videos are a nice touch. My dog is always exhausted, which is a good thing.
I am very, very impressed with their service.

Jim and Benny are by far the best people I could ask for when it comes to taking care of my dog. They truly go above and beyond whatever I might have reasonably expected. My dog has a lot of energy and can require more than his fair share of attention, but it’s never been a problem for Jim and Benny.
I challenge you to find another dog walker who will upload videos of their walks (although calling them walks is doing it an injustice… they really tend to be more like full expeditions) or will give your dog as much genuine attention as they get with SniffSF. You can’t.
It’s a really nice surprise to come home and find your dog, who is normally bouncing off the walls, fast asleep — exhausted from a long day of fun and dreaming about his next adventure with Benny and Jim.

Jim and Benny are awesome. And they have a sweet dog of their own, Jasper, who loves everyone (dogs and people) equally. We have two dogs (a lab and a lab mix) who Jim and Benny have taken care of for walks and boarding. One if them is 12 years old and arthritic, and I can’t say enough about how well Jim and Benny have taken care of her. She gets massages when she isn’t up for a full walk, they make sure she gets all of her medication on schedule, and they even carried her home (all 65 pounds of her) when she was having a lot of trouble walking. Our other dog loves playing with Jasper and she comes home good and tired!
As an added bonus, there are videos! Sniff has a website where you can view the videos they take during walks so you can share in your dog’s daily adventure. If you are looking for great care for your dogs, you will find it with SniffSF.