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The Natural Dog is a dog training business in Oakland, California offering board and train and in-home training, working from a home-based setup. They publish pricing from $40 per session to $85 per day and have been in business for 12+ years.
Oakland, CA • Home-based trainer • 5.0 ★ (10 Google reviews)
Last reviewed: Sep 6, 2026
66 / 100
Moderately transparent
How clearly this listing publishes the details owners need. See our methodology.
Based on what the business publishes about itself
The Natural Dog is a family-owned Oakland business operated by husband-and-wife team Paul and Nora Oliphant. Paul established the business after working with another dog company in 2013, and Nora joined him in late 2014. Their background is based primarily on hands-on dog handling, structured pack walking, and personal experience rather than published professional dog-training certifications. The current website continues to identify the business as operating since 2013.
The main behavior-focused service is Off-Leash Trail Adventures throughout the East Bay Regional Park District. Packs contain up to six dogs, with hikes lasting at least 60 minutes and total pickup-to-drop-off time ranging from about 1.5 to four hours. The Natural Dog describes these outings as structured pack walks that combine physical exercise, mental engagement, social-behavior expectations, and gradual off-leash privileges. A two-day-per-week minimum applies.
The company's philosophy uses pack-leadership language and emphasizes calm leadership, trust, respect, boundaries, limitations, structure, love, and patience. Paul describes his goal as helping dogs reach a calm and "balanced" state, but the site does not explicitly identify its methodology as balanced training. The Natural Dog also provides home boarding in Oakland's Montclair District. Boarding is a care service rather than a training program and excludes dogs with aggression issues while generally declining dogs with separation anxiety.
The Natural Dog's primary structured dog-handling service is Off-Leash Trail Adventures, combining pack walking with social-behavior guidance, physical exercise, mental stimulation, and gradual off-leash work. Dogs are picked up from home, hike for at least 60 minutes, and return the same day. A two-day weekly minimum applies. The business does not publish conventional Private Lessons or Board and Train.
$80–$85 per day
Requirements: Dogs must be at least 18 months old, current on shots/flea-tick meds, no aggression issues, generally no separation anxiety, dogs under 3 must be crate trained (with exceptions), no high/puppy energy, must be house trained and nondestructive
Focus: Basic obedience, Socialization
$40 per session
Requirements: 2 days per week minimum required; no short term walking requests
Duration: 1 session
Focus: Recall & off-leash, Socialization, Basic obedience
Off-Leash Trail Adventures cost $40 per adventure hike. Home boarding is listed at $80 per night for multi-night stays and $85 for a single night, with a $40 late-pickup daycare fee and holiday surcharges. Boarding is a care service and is excluded from standardized training-program pricing.
| Program | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Boarding | $80–$85 per day | Not stated |
| Program | Price | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Off-Leash Trail Adventures | $40 per session | 1 session |
The Natural Dog emphasizes calm pack leadership, structure, trust, respect, boundaries, limitations, physical activity, and patient handling. The site repeatedly discusses helping dogs reach a natural or balanced state, but it does not explicitly describe its methodology as balanced training or publish specific training tools.
Public materials reviewed by Barklen do not specify which training tools are used.
The Natural Dog runs a home-based training operation in Oakland, CA, offering board and train stays and in-home training at the client's home.
Their public materials do not state a wider service area, so Barklen lists Oakland only. Ask whether they travel or take clients from nearby areas.
The Natural Dog is based in the Montclair District of Oakland, California, with contact information listing Colton Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611. Off-Leash Trail Adventures take place throughout the East Bay Regional Park District.
Barklen analysis
Barklen analysis based on 5 published Oakland listings (21 with published pricing). These comparisons are computed by Barklen, not claims made by The Natural Dog.
Price: too few Oakland programs publish pricing in the same categories for a like-for-like comparison yet.
Reviews: 5.0★ from 10 Google reviews, among 5 published Oakland programs.
Transparency: 66 out of 100 (moderately transparent), with 100% price transparency and 43% program clarity. 2 of 5 Oakland listings show certifications; this business does not list any.
Generated from what their public materials leave open
Colton and, Gaspar Dr, Oakland, CA
Hours are not published in the materials Barklen reviewed. Confirm before visiting.
Barklen reviewed The Natural Dog against the business's public materials and published this listing. That is not a check of licenses, insurance, or certifications. See our methodology for what a verified listing does and does not mean.
Details the public materials do not address (owner visits during programs, progress updates, overnight staffing, guarantee, certifications, dogs per trainer, and others) are turned into the questions above rather than filled in.
Last reviewed by Barklen: Sep 6, 2026
Contact The Natural Dog directly by phone or through their website, or request a quote through Barklen and we will pass it along.
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