okapup

For the dog who barks and lunges on walks. And for you.

Okapup gives you a step-by-step, reward-based Calm Walks plan. After each walk you log what happened in about 15 seconds, and every week the plan adjusts to those logs.

Email only. Founding Member: $39.99/year, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. iPhone, late December 2026.

New puppy instead? The 14-day Puppy Survival plan is free.

Puppy biting, potty trips and crate nights, one day at a time.

A free 14-day Puppy Survival plan with one short, clear step each day. Reward-based, and written for the first weeks home.

Email only. Free plan at launch. iPhone, late December 2026.

If you've typed one of these at 11 p.m., you're in the right place.

Paraphrased from common themes in public dog-owner forums. These are not Okapup customer reviews.

  • “I walk him at 5 a.m. so we won't see another dog.”

  • “I've tried everything and I feel like I'm failing him.”

  • “We paid a trainer. It helped for a week, then we were on our own.”

  • “Every website says something different.”

  • “She's 15 weeks old, the biting has drawn blood, and I'm so tired.”

None of this makes you a bad owner, and it doesn't make yours a bad dog. Behavior struggles are common: in a study of 13,700 dogs, nearly 3 in 4 showed at least one anxiety-related behavior, like noise sensitivity or fear.¹ Reactions on the leash often come from fear, or from frustration at being held back. What most owners are missing is a plan to follow between walks, and a way to tell whether it's working.

¹ Salonen et al. (2020), "Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs," Scientific Reports. ↩

Three steps, every week

  1. Tell us about your dog

    Answer a few questions: age, what sets your dog off, how close is too close, and whether your dog has ever bitten anyone. You get a Calm Walks plan that starts where your dog is today, at a distance they can handle.

  2. Practice a little, then log the walk

    Each day has one short practice, at home or on your walk. Afterward, tap in what you saw, how far away it was and how big the reaction was. It takes about 15 seconds.

  3. The plan adjusts

    Every week, Okapup reads your logs and updates the plan. After a rough week it adds distance and slows down. When your dog is ready, it suggests the next step. Each change comes with a plain-language reason, and anything the AI writes is labeled as AI.

Calm Walks, for dogs who bark, lunge or freeze on the leash

Calm Walks is the main Okapup program. It's for dogs who react to other dogs, people, bikes or cars on walks, and who have never bitten a person.

Reactivity usually takes months of steady practice. Calm Walks is built for that pace.

The first two lessons are free to try, so you can see how it works before you subscribe.

What's inside:

  • Distance first. Lessons on finding the distance where your dog can notice a trigger and still take a treat and listen to you, then working from there.

  • Reward-based games that teach your dog to look at a trigger and then check back in with you.

  • Exit plans for tight spots: U-turns, crossing the street, and what to do when a dog appears around a corner.

  • Easier days on purpose. Guidance for when to pick a quiet route, take a shorter walk, or skip the walk and play a sniffing game at home.

  • A progress chart built from your logs, so you can see whether reactions are getting smaller and your dog is staying calm at shorter distances. Hard weeks show up on the chart too, and the plan steps back when they do.

Illustrated example · made-up walk logs

Miso’s calm distance

Medium · 50–100 ft
Calm-distance chart, an illustrated example with made-up data from Okapup's planned app One example week for an example dog, Miso. The distance axis runs from Miso through the Near, Medium and Far bands. Miso's calm band this week is Medium. Eleven made-up dog sightings, each logged as a band: 8 calm (filled dots), 6 in the Medium band and 2 in the Far band; 2 fixated (diamonds), 1 in the Medium band and 1 in the Near band; 1 too close today (open circle), in the Near band. This week 25 50 100 150+ ft
  • 8 calm
  • 2 fixated
  • 1 too close today
  • 11 this week
Each dot is one dog sighting from a walk log. Distances are logged in bands, not measured.

Puppy Survival: 14 days, free

The first weeks home with a puppy are a lot. Puppy Survival is a free 14-day plan for the three things that wear new owners down: biting, potty trips and crate nights. Each day has one short step, written in plain language, with the reason behind it.

It's free, with no subscription needed. And when your puppy hits the teenage months, Calm Walks is there if walks start getting harder.

Get the free plan at launch

Our promise, in writing

  1. Simple plans. Yearly ($69.99) or monthly ($14.99). Nothing billed weekly.

  2. A clear way out. If you start a free trial, we remind you before it ends. Cancel from the app's Settings, which opens Apple's subscription screen directly.

  3. Billing through Apple only, with no surprise add-ons inside your plan.

  4. AI is always labeled. The coach chat tells you it's AI, and it answers only from Okapup's lesson library. It will never pretend to be a person.

  5. Reward-based only. We follow the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's humane training position, and we will never recommend prong, choke or shock collars.

  6. Open about who checks our lessons. Lessons follow AVSAB's reward-based guidelines. We're inviting certified trainers to review the curriculum, and we'll name them here when they sign on.

  7. Your data stays yours. The app has no ad trackers. Exporting your data or deleting your account is always free.

Founding Member: $39.99/year, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed.

Join the waitlist and we'll email your link when Okapup opens in late December 2026. Founding Member: $39.99/year, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. The regular price will be $69.99 a year. If you cancel, the Founding price ends with your subscription.

What the waitlist gets you:

  • Your Founding Member link by email on launch day
  • A chance to test the app before launch (we're inviting a small group from the waitlist in December)
  • A few short updates while we build. That's all.

Founding Member: $39.99/year, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. Founding Member pricing is open to everyone from launch until 11:59 pm US Pacific Time on the 90th day after the release day. One active Founding Member subscription per Apple Account at a time; Family Sharing isn't available for it. Prices are in US dollars; Apple sets local prices in the UK, Canada and Australia. Auto-renews yearly until you cancel in your Apple Account settings. If your subscription ends after the 90-day window, the Founding price isn't guaranteed when you subscribe again. Full terms.

FAQ

Is this a replacement for a trainer or vet?

No. Okapup coaches behavior with a structured, reward-based plan. It doesn't diagnose, treat or give medication advice, which is your vet's job. If your dog's behavior changed suddenly, or you notice limping, licking, appetite or sleep changes, see your vet first: pain is a common cause of reactivity. Okapup is built to work alongside a trainer: between sessions, or to keep practicing after your sessions end.

What if my dog has bitten someone?

Please work with a qualified professional in person: a certified behavior consultant (such as CCPDT or IAABC certified) or a veterinary behaviorist. They can assess your dog safely in a way an app can't. If you tell us during setup that your dog has bitten a person, or has growled, snapped, lunged at or bitten a child, Okapup will show you how to find a qualified professional and will offer only a free safety and management plan, not a training plan. If you're worried about children but nothing has happened, we'll add extra safety steps and recommend a professional alongside the app.

Is the coach AI?

Yes. Okapup uses AI to read your walk logs, adjust your weekly plan, and answer questions in the coach chat. It always tells you when you're talking to AI, and it answers only from Okapup's lesson library. For bites, child safety, medical or medication questions, it won't give advice. It points you to a vet or a qualified professional instead.

What training methods do you use?

Reward-based only, in line with AVSAB's humane dog training position. We never recommend prong, choke or shock collars, leash corrections, or spray bottles. If you've used any of those before, that's okay. Many owners start there, and the plan simply works without them.

How much time does it take?

One short practice on most days, usually 5 to 10 minutes and often during a walk you're already taking, plus about 15 seconds to log each walk. Reading a new lesson takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

How does the Founding Member price work?

Join the waitlist with your email, and on launch day we'll send your link. Founding Member: $39.99/year, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed. If you cancel, the Founding price ends with your subscription. You can cancel any time in your Apple Account settings. Joining the waitlist doesn't commit you to anything.

When and where can I get it?

Okapup launches on iPhone in late December 2026, in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, in English. Android isn't available at launch.

What do you do with my email?

We use it to confirm your spot, tell you when Okapup opens, send your Founding Member link and share a few short updates. We never sell it. Every email has a one-tap unsubscribe link. Details are in our Privacy Policy.

Start with a plan, not another search

Join the waitlist for launch-day access. Founding Member: $39.99/year, locked in for as long as you stay subscribed.