My name is Scott Malvestiti and I am the lead dog trainer and owner of Dog Park Ready Family Dog Training, LLC. For more than 25 years I’ve been working with dogs of all abilities.
Growing up we always had a family dog…and there always seemed to be a cat hanging around, too. But this isn’t where my interest in dogs started. No, like so many others, my dog story began with adopting a dog, named Sergio, from the San Francisco SPCA on February 5, 1997.
He wasn’t just any dog, however. As the SFWeekly called him in an article about Pitbulls,he was “a leaky bag of nerves.” While I didn’t like the way it was phrased, the author was right. No matter, that dog changed my life…I know it’s cliched, but it’s true!
I graduated with a BS in Hospitality Management from CalPoly Pomona, so naturally I was waiting tables! Waiting was my night job, but most of my days were spent learning about training and working with Sergio. It was awesome to see how quickly he was changing into an obedient and more trusting pup. Others in the park noticed his change and asked for help with their dogs, too.
It didn’t take long to realize I had found my calling. Before the year ended I started Canine In The City, a dog training and walking service specializing in off leash training walks. That service expanded into a daycare/training facility I called Citydog Playcare, but most still called it Canine In The City.
Realizing I still had more to learn (there’s always more!) I completed the Marin Countly Humane Society’s Training Academy taught by Trish King. At the time was the only program like it in the SF Bay Area. My curiosity with training and techniques continues to this day.
Over the past 25 years I’ve helped thousands of dogs and their families build their relationships and straighten out “issues”. The year before we moved to Atlanta I logged upwards of 4000 training walks with my pack.
I used to joke with other walkers about how I’d love to have a boring pack of well behaved dogs. The truth is – there is great satisfaction working with the pups that need fine tuning and to see those dogs with “issues” turn their lives around.
The summer of 2016 brought a huge change. I am blessed to have a wife and 2 wonderful girls that I can also directly attribute to Sergio. After more than 2 decades in SF, we picked up our roots and moved to Atlanta to provide a better place to raise our children.
With the move also came the opportunity to reevaluate my priorities for the business. I knew that large pack walks were no longer where I wanted to focus my energy. The part of the business I really enjoy, and the reason I started this whole adventure, is the training.
So I created Dog Park Ready Family Dog Training,LLC with the goal, not of winning any sort of obedience trials, but of having a dog that is great at home, out on a leash walk, or off leash in the park.
And that’s what I hope to do for you. Whether your dog just needs basic obedience and socialization, or they have “issues” with other dogs, humans, skateboards, bicycles…you get the idea! I look forward to meeting you and discussing how we can be of service.
Learn more about our history.