Our puppy had an injury when he was little and missed out on early socialization activities. He was…read moreafraid of people and other dogs. Janet helped us to reintroduce him to the world and gain comfort with his surroundings. Now he is excited to meet every new person or dog. Later, as he entered adolescence, he became more reactive to his environment. Janet taught us additional techniques and recommended a relaxation technique that has significantly reduced his level of anxiety in new situations. We highly recommend Janet for anyone looking to work on their dog's behaviors. She is extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with.

I had the most amazing dog training experience with Janet! She was totally pawsative, non reactive…read moreand in just an hour she had Alfie settling, calm and listening to commands! I honestly thought the best I could get with him was half of that! She even taught Tessie to be less demanding (anyone who knows Tessie, this was amazing, she is seriously THE Queen) I'm sooooo happy! Obviously I'm a bulldog parent, they are quirky, stubborn and way to smart to be trained, however Janet knew exactly what to do with them! I called because my baby, Alfie, who just turned one started jumping and nipping his dog walker... we needed to nip that in the bud right away! Janet knew exactly what to do, she even had his dog walker stop by so she could see their interaction and helped both of them learn how to have a better experience! Janet truly is a dog whisper! She really loves dogs, understands the breeds 'quirks' she knew exactly the temperament and personality of my bulldogs! I can not recommend her enough! Tessie, my old lady bulldog wanted to follow her home

I found Perfect Paws from a Google search. I had a private training session with Amanda and my…read more4-year-old cocker spaniel. We learned so much in 60 minutes! We stayed in my neighborhood because my dog is familiar with the area. I learned a few techniques that are easy to practice and I can already tell my pup is catching on! From filling out the intake forms to the end of the lesson, our experience was great. Looking forward to booking another lesson in the future.

If I could give 6 stars I would! As a new puppy mom, I was so nervous about where to send my little…read moreguy for daycare. I found out about perfect paws by visiting the Newton dog parks and I got to know some of the trainers. Janie was so helpful in getting Hunny onboarded and he absolutely loves daycare. I even take him on his off days just so he can see his fr Amanda and Tracy are such amazing trainers and dog lovers!! I can't say enough great things about perfect paws and their staff. Hunnys second home for sure!!!

This is an excellent place for your puppy. As others have said, they do an great job of socializing…read moreyour new pup. My dog cannot wait to get in the dog, I knew he is safe and having a blast.

Wish we had found out about this place sooner. It's a great concept since all the recent studies…read moreshow that "socialization window" for puppies closes at ~16 weeks. It's also crucial to start earlier on to train acquired bite inhibition (ABI). However, we have that conundrum where most people won't get their pups until 7-8 weeks then you've got the limited window between the multiple rounds of vaccinations before you can start bringing them meet other dogs. On top of that, this year we have the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally when my SO called this place I think they had an automated voicemail that they weren't accepting any new puppies back in June/July. Then when I called again in mid August they only had specific dates in the middle of the week to start on the "first day". It makes sense they want to help the dogs succeed and gain confidence by not overwhelming them with the full class. They also recommend that you pick up the puppy earlier at around 2 or 3pm instead of the full session. The price is affordable at $35 per day and there's a slight discount if you purchase a pack of 5 classes for $150. Their hours are a bit shorter than the big dog full daycare at 8am - 6pm. What's nice is that they also have dedicated nap times here so it's not active time the whole day. They also will feed the class during lunch so you don't need to worry about sending food with the pups. I wonder whether my dog reinforced the preference of eating kibble off the ground rather than from her bowl. They have a fairly small facility especially with the tight front parking shared with other neighboring businesses. As this was my first "daycare" experience I wasn't sure how the updates and photos/videos would be shared with my dog. The actual daycare facility was fine, however the communication between Jody (the owner) and one of the other staff that responded or relayed messages to me or my SO was confusing. I didn't realize that all of the updates were shared throughout the day via their Instagram story... instead of through the Gingr website through a "report card" so we missed the first day. What if the pet parents aren't on social media...? The subsequent days we sent her I was able to capture one of her stories. In addition, we received notice on the first day that she probably would not be a good fit... but no formal message via email or call just relayed in passing to my SO who dropped the dog off. Then less than 1 week later we receive a canned email message talking about "Graduating" the dog soon after starting. Even though most of the dogs in the classes don't graduate until 6-9 months... We learned that she was "too fast, athletic, smart" -- all positive adjectives/euphemisms I imagine to push our puppy out to make room for better pups. Of course this message completely confused me so I responded immediately seeking clarification. It caused me panic trying to find a new daycare so I scrambled to reach out to The Dog Retreat. Thankfully we were able to switch her over and used up the rest of the 5 pack we purchased at the Dog Therapy. Also one day when I picked up Juneau over the summer from the daycare I was waiting for one lady who was bantering endlessly with the owner before I could enter the area. They seemed like great friends and a better client profile fit so after waiting for about 5 minutes they finally wrapped up their conversation giving me an annoyed look as if I was interrupting their conversation. The owner barely even acknowledged me as I picked up the dog with and scant feedback about the puppy's demeanor throughout the day (probably knowing that we soon would no longer be their problem). One other strange issue were "allergens" in the facility. After 3 classes, she started sneezing uncontrollably non-stop... they sent out an email about potential ragweed also warnings for pet parents to keep their dogs home in case of contagious kennel cough. We wanted to be extra cautious as first time pet parents so we took her to the Vet unnecessarily -- it cleared up on its own and disqualified us for future claims with our Trupanion insurance (not directly their fault but still leaves a bad impression) when Kindness Animal Hospital unnecessarily prescribed cough pills now deemed as a "pre-existing condition". Anyway, I could see how this could be a great option if timing works out for you that they accept your puppy early on. Unfortunately we enrolled our dog on the later end of the age spectrum and it felt like they couldn't wait to get rid of her to make room for more Instagram worthy dogs with pet parents that have time to manage their dogs' social media accounts...

The Good Hound has been a wonderful experience for us and for our dog for the last 5 years. When he…read morewas a puppy, they trained him to walk off leash and come when called. Now he is so excited when they arrive to take him on his trail walk. Year round, he gets to hike in fun parks with his "friends" and his beloved Good Hound team members. They respond quickly to questions, often share photos of the walk that are really cute, and also, their staff members have boarded our dog in their homes when we travel- for us, a much better option than sending him to a kennel.

The Good Hound has been the perfect dog walking service since I started using them a few years…read moreback. They take excellent care of my dog, and when she's out on her hikes with the Good Hound pack I am free of all anxiety. Great people, great service, good hounds!

Went in to get my birds nails trimmed, and it was great! I went in and was helped out right away,…read more(I did call ahead and was told when to come in) and waited maybe 20 minutes before they were all done and happy! Great prices compared to other places and friendly people!

Kaitlin did beautiful work on my Airedale Molly, who needed more than three hours of work on her…read morevery thick and matted coat. Also Kaitlin had a clear understanding of what an Airedale coat is about and how to shape it. Afterward Molly was as lively as ever and I could see that Kaitlin had known exactly how to help a dog through this sometimes stressful experience. I am so grateful!

Our dog was hooked on this spot after his first visit. He absolutely loves going to hang out with…read morehis friends. Great hours, very kind staff, and reasonable price. He's safe, happy, healthy and gets tired!! Highly recommend!!

Just got my poodle groomed here , Groomer did a excellent job on my 7 years old standard poodle, …read more I have had many different groomers over the past 61/2 years and finally found a groomer who has done a beautiful job. Brought my boy in the grooming Office ,the woman (Rose) greeted me out side to bring my dog upstairs as she noticed i would have a hard time getting him in .as i am disabled .very kind staff . Definite bringing my boy back.Ty Tailwaggerz

I'm reviewing only for the grooming service. I had a really…read morebad experience at PetSmart that left my Cavalier KC traumatized and in the ER; you can imagine I was pretty anxious in taking my baby back to a new place. Daniella is the only groomer there so she personally takes care of each dog from beginning to end. I explained all that had happened in the past and she was super understanding, texted and kept me updated throughout the service until the end plus my doggie looked so fluffy, cute and well groomed! I'm definitely going back to her! The price is also very reasonable so a plus on that as well! Thank you Daniella!

I no longer trust Crate Escape to care for my dog…read more Our dog had gone to the Crate Escape since he'd had his shots. He was well cared-for, and enjoyed going there. The last few times we brought him there, the staff was clearly under-trained and awkward with him. After one pickup, we noticed a nasty abrasion on his skin with some bleeding. I got an "oh gosh, we didn't notice that", and a followup phone call that meant nothing. They have switched to an online booking system that's poorly designed and a pain to use, very different from the days when you'd just call and make a reservation. I strongly recommend avoiding these folks. They used to be great. I would have gone out of my way to bring in more customers for them back then; all the good will is gone.

The ongoing pandemic made contacting trainers/organizations and coordinating the initial meeting…read moretricky especially with the pet adoption boom. I admittedly got my hopes up when I saw Active Paws business given her numerous qualifications even in agility work and immediate availability to schedule a session immediately over the summer. Her rates started at $120/hour which seemed standard after also conferring with other personal dog trainer contacts. As you can tell by the low rating the stars did not align as a mutual fit. The website was easy to navigate and Cara the owner was very responsive. You can easily schedule an appointment on there for personalized training. Perhaps we didn't pick a neutral enough location now knowing what we know now (after finding on site in person group puppy classes) to set our pup up for success over the summer at 3.5 months old and 20 lbs. Unfortunately Cara came up to our back deck which may have been interpreted as an interloper encroaching on her territory so as a puppy with bad manners she barked incessantly. She threw some small pieces of mozzarella cheese that didn't interest the pup (we are realizing now she's not super food motivated). That "reactive" behavior was enough to confirm to Cara after a serious bite earlier in the week to "pass" on training our dog. We still got the folder with pamphlets, and branded pen and clicker as she quickly retreated. Maybe in retrospect we should have met up at a park instead of our property. Granted this was the reaction that our puppy has when uncertain in greeting most new people but once she sniffs them she calms down quickly once she sees that we are friendly with them. The damage was done. Cara immediately followed up through email with an apology and a couple links to other (more expensive) trainers, one of whose website wasn't even working. I flutily attempted to reach out but also received no response so those were dead ends too. As for the socialization aspect she recommended a place all the way down in Franklin, and the MSPCA Angell which was not operational or equipped to respond during the pandemic (over the summer). Of course this experience left me completely demoralized and slightly jaded. I sometimes see their branded vehicles parked at the Dog Ranch area and walkers taking dogs around there to go walking. Thankfully we were able to enroll her in puppy daycare and now start some group training classes I alluded to earlier at the beginning of this year for adolescent pups. Funny enough she's now one of the least reactive dogs in her classes.

I was going insane trying to figure out how to train my puppy. After a week of no sleep and…read moreconstant stress and some tears, the *MOST WONDERFUL* dog trainer came by and showed me some skills and helped me figure stuff out. I feel like I'm working with my puppy now instead of fighting against him. Absolutely the best thing I've done since getting my wonderful puppy is contacting Active Paws. Cara, you saved my sanity. He's ALREADY doing so much better it's WILD honestly. Puppy photo included just because LOOKIT HIM. To be more specific: Cara made the core concepts behind training my dog very easy to understand, provided me with references for when I get stressed and forget, and left me feeling empowered to have a fantastic relationship with my dog.