Koru K9’s mission and promise to you is that we will provide the best and most progressive balanced dog training, with the highest of quality service. Our goal is to help you and your dog feel confident to go anywhere together. We want to unleash your dog’s true potential and allow you to experience a better life with your dog!

From the simplest to most severe behavioral problems, our number one goal is to consistently deliver results that surpass our clients’ expectations. We are the dog trainers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle Metro, Denver Metro, Dallas-Fort Worth, and St. Louis areas that many people call as a last resort. It’s our passion to help our clients prevent or fix behavioral challenges in their dogs and to help our clients achieve the happy and harmonious relationship that every dog owner dreams about.

Koru K9 Dog Training and Rehabilitation is an award winning dog training company owned and operated by Ray and Bridget Murphy. Together, with our team of dog trainers and dog behaviorists, Koru K9 Dog Training is on a mission is to guide dog owners through a process that will help them understand, communicate and work with their dogs to resolve training challenges and behavior problems in a real world setting. From the simplest to most severe behavioral problems, our number one goal is to consistently deliver results that surpass our clients’ expectations. We work with all breeds…any dog, any problem. Our mission is to help turn your dog into an amazingly balanced and well-behaved dog. So if you are ready to transform your dog, and your life, we are ready to help.

Awards & Recognition: 

Winner of Bay Woof Beast of the Bay 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

Thumbtack’s Best of 2015: Best Animal Behaviorist San Francisco,Bay Area A-List Top 5 Pet Trainers

Any Breed, Any Dog, Any Problem Big or Small We Help Them All

Contact Us
Contact Us

Choosing a dog trainer can be a daunting task. First and foremost, the depth of their knowledge and experience should be something you ask about. Have they ever raised a puppy themselves? Have they rehabilitated their own rescue dog? Are they certified and/or what is their education? How long have then been training dogs? What work do they do with their own dogs, or have they titled a dog? What do they do to push themselves to be a better trainer than they were the day before?

Our dog trainers are all hand-selected by Koru K9’s owners. All our dog trainers are highly experienced, dedicated, and successful trainers who have met our intensive screening process.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TEAM

Jefferson Simmons
Jefferson SimmonsDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Jefferson has over 15 years of experience training and rehabilitating dogs. He holds a Foundation Level Huntsmith Trainer Certification through Ronnie Smith Kennels, where he spent a month as an apprentice.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • IACP MEMBER

  • BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS CERT

  • AKC CANINE GOOD CITIZEN EVALUATOR

Lindsey Sommer
Lindsey SommerDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Lindsey has been training dogs for over 13 years. Her passion for dogs started as a child, and only grew more as an adult. After volunteering at a dog shelter in college, she decided…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Sofia Perkis
Sofia PerkisDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Sofia Perkis is a Bay Area native who grew up using every wish or gift request opportunity to ask for a puppy. She hasn’t been dog-less since. Sofia has an incredibly wide range of…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS CERT
  • IACP #P8766
Kristin Castro
Kristin CastroDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Kristin has had a lifelong interest in behavior and cognitive processes. This interest led her to earn her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • IACP #A8921

  • AKC CANINE GOOD CITIZEN EVALUATOR

  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS

Ericka Duggan
Ericka DugganDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Ericka has been training dogs since 2000. Ericka has run her own dog training business, that included running a working sheep ranch with 200 sheep and 11 working dogs, developing…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS

  • TRAIN TO ADOPT

Heather Dodson
Heather DodsonDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Growing up on a working horse ranch, Heather’s work with animals began at a youn age. With 30 head of cattle, several dozen chickens, and various other species to look after; she began training... Read More
  • DOG BEHAVIORIST
  • BLUE BUFFALO TRUE BLUE CERTIFICATION
  • AKC CANINE GOOD CITIZEN EVALUATOR
  • IACP MEMBER
Debbie Port
Debbie PortDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Debbie Port grew up riding and training horses professionally. She trained her own dogs on the side and over the years got interested in dog sports. Over the past 15 years she has taken clinics and seminars to better her training... Read More
  • DOG BEHAVIORIST
  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
  • AKC EVALUATOR
Mahogany Gamble
Mahogany GambleDog Trainer & Behaviorist
As a child, Mahogany’s favorite pastime was spending time with her uncle’s and friends’ dogs, and could often be found observing their behavior or training them in between school, homework, and sports. Read More
  • DOG BEHAVIORIST
  • CANINE GOOD CITIZEN EVALUATOR
  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Susan Blanchard
Susan BlanchardDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Susan has been working with dogs in San Francisco since 2007. She began doing basic puppy and recall training early in her career, and has continued to help set dogs up for success…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS

Becca Contreras
Becca ContrerasDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Becca has been training dogs professionally for over six years. During that time, she has made the transition from a purely positive trainer to balanced training, after seeing the limitations…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS CERT
Jeremy Friedman
Jeremy FriedmanDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Jeremy has had a strong passion for working with animals since a young boy. After spending some time in the military, he began his quest into working dogs. Jeremy apprenticed under…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Ashley Reeley
Ashley ReeleyDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Ashley has held a lifelong affinity for dogs. Through her childhood and teenage years, she trained dogs and volunteered at an animal shelter. As Ashley went on to college, she realized she could turn…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS

Jourdan Murphy
Jourdan MurphyDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Jourdan was born and raised in Santa Cruz County. Her passion and love for dogs started at a very young age. Jourdan has owned high drive, working breeds her entire life, and realized, at a young age…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Irini Diaz
Irini DiazDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Irini started her journey into the world of dog training through sport work. Competing and training at higher levels allowed for Irini to learn and understand how to read dogs, understand their drives…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Brian Knight
Brian KnightDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Originally from Rhode Island, Brian has had a love for dogs his whole life, especially his old lab/ridgeback Zeke from Providence. That feeling has continued out here for his twelve…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Celeste Schmidt
Celeste SchmidtDog Trainer & Behaviorist
From the time she was young Celeste always had a deep passion for animals. Learning as much as she could and spending her free time with the family dogs. In her early teens…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Tino Contreras
Tino ContrerasDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Tino has been involved with dogs his entire life. Growing up on his family’s ranch, Tino helped to raise dogs for ranch work, and hunting. Learning how to build respect, structure, and shape…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Jake Gregg
Jake GreggDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Jake is a native of the Bay Area, and has been involved with dogs his whole life. Jake grew up with dogs ranging from toy breeds to sheepdogs. In college, Jake made…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • THE BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Sierra Fabian
Sierra FabianDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Sierra’s life has always been about DOGS! She went from teaching her family pets fun new tricks, to volunteering at her local Humane Society throughout her high school years.
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  • DOG TRAINER & BEHAVIORIST

Maddie Galati
Maddie Galati Dog Trainer & Behaviorist
Hi I’m Maddie! I’ve been working with dogs for roughly 5 years now and I have been training for the last 3 years. In my free time I enjoy working out, hiking, traveling and training…
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  • DOG TRAINER & BEHAVIORIST

John Garcia
John GarciaDog Trainer & Behaviorist
John got started with dog training learning personal protection with Guard Dogs of Miami, under owner Vince Cooper in the 1980’s. Then he got into sport training and has trained in all 5 European sport…
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  • DOG TRAINER & BEHAVIORIST

SEATTLE TEAM

Kim Rosin
Kim RosinDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Kim grew up in Steamboat Springs, CO -- riding horses, and helping her family breed and raise hunting line Golden Retrievers. From a very young age it was clear that Kim had a... Read More
  • DOG BEHAVIORIST
  • MICHAEL ELLIS SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Damian Blanton
Damian BlantonDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Damian grew up in Northern Indiana, playing sports and spending as much time outdoors as possible. After high school Damian started an apprenticeship at an... Read More
  • DOG BEHAVIORIST
  • THE BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Jee Hae Choe (pro nounced Gee-Hey Choi)
Jee Hae Choe (pro nounced Gee-Hey Choi)Dog Trainer and Behaviorist
I was born and raised in American Samoa, joined the Marine Corps right after high school and was honorably discharged in 2012.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

DENVER METRO TEAM

Kareena Moore
Kareena MooreDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Kareena Moore is a Certified Master Dog Trainer who graduated from Tarheel Canine in Sanford, North Carolina. She grew up in the beautiful Whidbey Island, Washington where she competed in 4-H with her horse…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • TARHEEL CANINE – MASTER DOG TRAINER CERT
  • LOGAN HAUS KENNELS PUPPY IMPRINTING SEMINAR
  • THE BALANCED DOG PODCAST CO-HOST
Cory Arola
Cory ArolaDog Trainer & Behaviorist
A Colorado native, Cory grew up exploring the outdoors through camping, hiking, snowboarding, hunting, and fishing. Graduating college with a B.S. in Psychology he started a career in the medical field…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • THE BALANCED SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS
Taylor Davis
Taylor Davis Dog Trainer & Behaviorist
Hello everyone! My name is Taylor Davis, and I am thrilled to be a part of the Koru K9 team! I have always had a fascination with animals and knew that I wanted to work with them from a young age….
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

DALLAS-FORT WORTH TEAM

Kim Cerio
Kim CerioDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Kim Cerio began training dogs, professionally, in 1999. Kim attended her first obedience class, with her family golden retriever, Mandy, when Kim was 10 years old. She failed that obedience class…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

ST. LOUIS TEAM

Sean Hagner
Sean HagnerDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Sean is a veteran of the United States Navy and the United States Army, serving his country from 2005 to 2012. Sean served as a NCO and as a MOS 37F Psychological Operations Specialist. Read More
  • DOG BEHAVIORIST
  • TOM ROSE SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS MASTER GRADUATE

PORTLAND TEAM

Lucia Oberste
Lucia ObersteDog Trainer & Behaviorist
Lucia has been working with dogs for over two decades. She grew up in San Francisco surrounded by family pets and started her career as a dog walker walking her next door neighbor’s dogs.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST CERTIFIED CANINE TRAINING & BEHAVIOR SPECIALIST

  • TRIPLE CROWN ACADEMY

Rebecca Hoffman
Rebecca HoffmanDog Trainer & Behaviorist
CPDT-KA and Professional Member of the International Association for Canine Professionals, has been involved in the dog world of the San Francisco Bay Area for a decade, before setting out to Portland, OR.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • IACP MEMBER

FLORIDA TEAM

Jason Davis
Jason DavisDog Trainer and Behaviorist
Jason Davis is the director of our training programs at Jet Set Pets and University. He is a third generation dog trainer…
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Curtis Johnson
Curtis JohnsonDog Trainer and Behaviorist
My name is Curtis Johnson, I am 24 years old and from Providence, Rhode Island. I have been training dogs for three years.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

Melissa Alley
Melissa AlleyDog Trainer and Behaviorist
I’ve been passionate about animals my entire life and at an early age knew I wanted to work with dogs.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

STAMFORD CT TEAM

Erin Brantner
Erin BrantnerDog Trainer and Behaviorist
Erin was born and raised in Stamford CT. She realized an early love of dogs, being introduced to therapy dogs after being diagnosed with, thankfully a curable cancer, at age 14….
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • National K9 Master Trainer -CPT

  • Logan Haus Kennels Intern

  • Logan Haus Detection Trainer Certification

  • PetTech first aid and CPR certified

  • IACP Member

  • White belt lvl 3 decoy

KORU K9 OWNERS

Ray Murphy
Ray MurphyCo-Owner
Ray Murphy is the co-owner, Training Director, and Lead Behaviorist of Koru K9 Dog Training and Rehabilitation, co-owner of The Balanced School for Dog Trainers…
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  • TRAINING DIRECTOR, SR. TRAINER & DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • IACP MEMBER A-5830

  • TARHEEL CANINE PRO TRAINER CERTIFICATION

  • FOUNDER, BAL. SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS

  • AKC CANINE GOOD CITIZEN EVALUATOR

  • POLICE K9 INSTRUCTOR & DECOY

  • CO-FOUNDER HRD POLICE K9

Bridget Murphy
Bridget MurphyCo-Owner
Bridget and her husband, Ray, co-own Koru K9 Dog Training and Rehabilitation, The Balanced School for Dog Trainers, and High Risk Deployment Police K9.
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  • DOG BEHAVIORIST

  • DOG NUTRITION

  • FOUNDER, BAL. SCHOOL FOR DOG TRAINERS

  • CO-FOUNDER HRD POLICE K9

  • THE BALANCED DOG PODCAST CO-HOST

OUR AMAZING OFFICE TEAM

Jilian Daniel
Jilian Daniel
Jilian was born and raised in Texas, and attended the Florida Institute of Technology for her B.Sc. in Marine Biology, and minored in Psychology, with an emphasis on Animal Behavior.
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  • BEING AWESOME
Sammy Cave
Sammy CaveOffice Coordinator
Sammy grew up with a humongous family surrounded by all types of different animals. She has owned dogs, cats, chickens, horses, goats, bunnies, and so much more! Sammy grew up…
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  • BEING AWESOME
Seyonna Henrick
Seyonna HenrickCustomer Support Specialist
Seyonna grew up around dogs — mainly field Labs. Seyonna would always sneak animals that were hurt or injured into her room — just in case her mom wouldn’t let her keep them.
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  • BEING AWESOME
Katrina Hite
Katrina HiteCustomer Support Specialist
Katrina was born in Iowa, but spent her formative years living on the central coast of California. Her love for animals began at a young age, and over the years her house has…
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  • BEING AWESOME
Kaitie Litvinoff
Kaitie LitvinoffCustomer Support Specialist
Kaitie was born in Connecticut and spent her childhood surrounded by animals. Her mother is a Veterinary Technician, and she inspired Kaitie’s love of animals…
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  • BEING AWESOME