Have a 4.5 mos old GSD puppy that loooves his daycare time playing with all the other dogs. Just a half day tires him out for the next 24-48 hours. Staff is friendly and provides an update of his antics everyday I come to pick him up. Also we are seeing huge improvements in his behavior with the weekly training classes too! read more

The owner/trainer of this facility is not a good person. Don't take your dogs here. We tried to take our 5 mo old puppy to a class here. He is a big puppy, around 43 lbs when we brought him. We had our puppy for a month at this point and know that he always barks at new dogs until he gets to smell them. He has never shown any sign of aggression (growl, snarl, showing his teeth, etc.) and is actually very submissive when playing with other dogs. When our pup saw the other dogs for the class, he barked at each of them to say hello and couldn't wait to play. When we met the trainer, our puppy barked to say hello (again, this is normal behavior for him, just a vocal dog). We were turned away at the door because our pup was too big, too "dominant", and too "aggressive". Without even working with our dog, he immediately said we need to get bitter apple spray and a pronged collar for him. To top it off, he said "your dog has a chemical imbalance in his brain". Incredible rude and uncalled for given that we just met him and he doesn't know us or our dog. I tried contacting the facility after this to get my deposit back and they have not responded to any of my calls or emails. This place is just not run by kind or honest people. There are better training facilities. We are now working with a trainer who took the time to meet our dog and understand him. She loves our puppy and commonly "jokes" about how he's so smart and sweet she wants to take him home. He's a wonderful, very trainable, very sweet boy. If you are looking for positive reinforcement training, this is not the place to go. If you have a big dog, this is not the place to go. If you value the trainer caring about your dog, this is not the place to go. Just don't go here. read more

Don't like it they put a chain Dog collar on a small 10 pound dog my dog kept crying and he said " she's fine "

This is my third dog I've taken here over a period of 14 yrs. The training has never changed and is only given by the male owner. I have no clue what the woman w one star is talking about. We don't use prongs, they have never tried to sell us theirs, and they have never been anything but gentle, firm, but gentle. I will continue to take my dogs here and are ready to set up my next round of classes. Careful who you take advice from read more

I brought my young male GSD, Diesel, to the basic obedience class, then the intermediate class, and then the advanced class. Jim Ward has a natural way with dogs that is parallel if not superior to the Dog Whisper himself. Although he specializes in GSDs, he works with any kind of dog and it is truly amazing to see how each dog reacts with total trust and is totally attentive to him. It is a pleasure to have a well trained dog and others are always commenting on how well behaved my 100 pound dog is. Every chance I get, I refer others to Granite State Dog Center for the best training methods. Of course, you must do your homework, and we are reminded to continue to work with our dogs to review the techniques and commands from the classes to keep them attentive and obedient. I also helped out a local dog rescue (ARNNE) and we brought a problematic, seemingly aggressive GSD to Granite State for assessment and then training. Under the professional observation, experience, and knowledge, this un-adoptable dog was transformed into a happy, eager-to-please, relaxed and confident dog who was adopted into her forever home after being fostered by me (and Diesel) as we continued to practice the training she learned at the Granite State Center. Any dog I adopt in the future will be trained at Granite State Dog Center. Wanda in Windham, NH read more

Granite State Dog Training Center - Pet Training Near Me - Amherst, New Hampshire

Jim is great and has trained my GSD to near perfection after many other failed training attempts. I can't believe the bad reviews for this place, I wouldn't send my girl Stella anywhere else. read more

I took a long time to write this. My reason is due to my 1st experience with this center. We had my previous dog there about 17 yrs ago. We had the owner who recognises dogs body languages properly in my opinion. We acquired an american bull dog border collie mix last yr from a well known breeder last april 2017. We had plans to do puppy school in our area and signed up with one in Derry and were told we were all set. We took our dog to socialize at a friends house when he was 4 mths and Rory, our pup, was attacked by a large male mastiff. Wounds were superficial, we had an ent at the party and he cked him all out. The mastiff just grabbed Rory by his neck and we seperated them. I am giving this back story to illustrate the lack of care or active listening we received at GSDTC. We were all set for puppy cllases at the place in Derry and when I called to confirm they told me that there was a mixup and the class was full. Which was very annoying but we decided to try the GSDTC. We called and set up the classes. I told the person over email Rory's attack story and how he didnt like anyone touching the back of his neck suddenly and he was scared of other dogs. They said it would be fine. So we went in, paid the 125 and again.. I wrote on the form about the attack and behavior we saw after wards and our concern. Once again; told it would be fine. The 1st class consisted of the woman selling collars and leashes. We had a prong that we bought with us and Rory was awesome that time. We didn't learn anything in the 1st class since it was more info and selling their collars. The 2nd class was better but the trainer kept telling us to use force for the prong. Really giving it a jerk when the dog isnt responding. The 3rd class, more frustration as Rory regressed back to his fear due to the prong given the attack he had just a couple mths prior. The trainer, the woman (cant remember her name) decided to show me how to walk Rory. She went behind Rorys head with her clip leash and he snarled and snapped. She yelled at him and then had me put it on. I also told him no. It was humiliating.. I wanted to drop in the floor. After wards, i went to the office to apologise to her and ask again if we needed special training. She told me that I should have shoved Rory down to the floor and made him submit completely. She told me that we need to be strict and keep using the prong and he would be better. We ended up missing classes afterwards because I felt Rory couldnt handle regular training. We ended up talking to the vet and went to an animal behaviorist. The bottom line with my dog- he has anxiety and fear agression. The prong collar made it much worse. We ended up.having in home.lessons from the.animal behaviorist at 85 an hr to help our dog. We implement postive reinforcement, clicker training and exercise now. I would not recommend this place anymore. I would have rather they had.told me that I needed specialized treatment and not taken my money for the few classes and the prong collar. If your dog exhibits any fear; this is not the place for them. read more

Granite State Dog Training Center - Rory - Pet Training Near Me - Amherst, New Hampshire

When we moved to this area several years ago, we were concerned about finding a groomer for our aptly named long-haired Chihuahua mix, Spaz. At our previous home we found one groomer willing to groom him and several who refused. Once we moved, I was happy to find a groomer right down the street. I took him in and was assured there'd be no problem. When I went to pick him up he was still wet and I was told he was too difficult to finish and not to bring him back. I next brought him to Granite State. After explaining his behavioral problems I waited for the call that he was too difficult. When the call did come they just said "He's all set.". When I went to pick him up, he looked great and they had no problem at all. He has been there many times since and always looks great when he leaves, read more

Granite State Dog Training Center - Granite State Dog Training Center - Pet Training Near Me - Amherst, New Hampshire

Full service dog center. Excellent grooming, boarding, and training programs. I just picked up my dog from half a week board and she could not have been happier. Very pleased with the level of customer service and attentiveness to my dog. Would highly recommend!!! Will continue to be my go to for boarding! read more

We've had German Shepherd Dogs continuously since 1979 and our current dog, a female, is our fifth. I wanted this dog to be really well trained because southern NH is more heavily populated than Montana, where we lived with our previous German Shepherds, and I'm obviously quite a bit older and therefore less inclined to want to deal with a dog that isn't well behaved. We tend to take our dog with us when we go places so it's important that the dog be well-behaved in many different situations, not just at home. We took our dog to five classes at Granite State Dog Training Center, from puppy training through Canine Good Citizen, starting when she was about 6 months old and going until she was about a year and a half. All were taught by the Center's owner, Jim Ward, and all were excellent. Classes were limited to 10 or 11 dogs, which suited the size of the training area, kept the chaos down to a workable level, and insured that each dog got the individual attention it needed. I was struck by the immediate rapport Jim had with each of the dogs in the class ... kind of like a dog whisperer. Jim's approach is to give lots of praise and positive reinforcement, as well as an occasional correction (followed immediately by lots of praise for corrected behavior). Both the immediate and long term value of each command taught was always explained. Jim has a lot of experience training dogs and he generously shared that experience in his classes. I learned a lot in these classes, as did my dog. She's now 2 1/2 years old and I'm happy to say that she's turned into the well-behaved German Shepherd Dog I'd hoped for. Should I be fortunate enough to get another German Shepherd Dog at some point, I will definitely take her to Granite State Dog Training Center's training classes. read more

If you are looking for a full service place for your dog....look no further! This center is AMAZING with a great staff and my Reggie loves it here. I never thought about day care for my dog but now I wouldn't be without it! The training is top of the line and I will use them for all my GSD training! The groomers are outstanding as well! read more

Unbelievable ! When I read the bio about the trainer, I was very impressed and called immediately for a class schedule. I signed my 6 month old puppy up for basic obedience classes, which were reasonably priced at $125 for six group classes. In the meantime, I rescued a 3 year old and I was happy to find that they had room for him as well. We arrived on the first night a few minutes early because we were unsure of the travel time, and they had a class out in the parking lot that night. The trainer came over and was clearly annoyed that we walked over to observe (we stayed a good distance away so as not to distract the dogs); I was just excited to see what we could expect from the classes and thought we had stayed a considerate distance away. When the trainer met our dogs in the parking lot, he immediately stated that our rescue dog was aggressive and was probably not neutered until just recently, which was not true (we have all of his medical records). I was taken aback, he is a large dog but we have an 8 pound blind Chihuahua and partially paralyzed pug at home, as well as the pup that we had with us, and we had no issues with him showing aggression or harming them. We tried to keep cool and went into the school, at which time the trainer announced to the entire class that there was a large, dominant male in the class and that they should keep their distance from us ! I was so embarrassed and at that point terrified that if my dog so much as sneezed that we would have to run out of there. He continued throughout the hour mentioning my dog specifically as being dominant and aggressive, although a Rottweiler in the class was barking at the other dogs (not a word from the trainer) and my dog did NOT bark or growl at any other dogs. At one point in the class, each owner is called into the office to pay for the classes, and when I went in the trainer informed me that he didn't feel that my dog was appropriate for group classes, and that he was scaring the other owners in the class. As far as I was concerned, if anyone was scaring the other owners it was him constantly commenting on my dog. At that point I started to get upset. My dog had done absolutely nothing wrong except to be an 80 pound male dog, and we were told that he wasn't appropriate for classes ? We were told that we could apply our money towards one private lesson for him. We didn't pay for one private lesson, we wanted to take our dogs to classes together. And it was obvious that he wasn't about to offer a refund. The icing on the cake was at the end of the class, when he came over and took our "dominant and aggressive" dog out to the middle of the room. He proceeded to walk him around the room several times, showing everyone how he could "control" this large dog because the dog not once even looked in the direction of the other dogs. He gave commands to the dog; my dog watched him intently, followed every command, sat with full attention on the trainer, and looked like he had been training all of his life. I was so proud of that dog I was in tears. And although the trainer clearly thought that he was showcasing his skills as a trainer, I knew that what he had showcased was how good my dog actually was and how wrong he had been about him being aggressive and dominant. This dog is highly motivated to please humans, is polite with other dogs, and is smart and very trainable. Since that horrible experience, we have worked with another trainer who found the dog to be very easy to train because he is a great dog. Although we could have used the $250 credit for private classes at Granite State, I just couldn't go back there. At one point I thought that we would take just our puppy there so we wouldn't throw away the whole $250, but I just had such a bad taste after that I couldn't do it. I felt that he would have an attitude with us like he did at first, and I wasn't going to be humiliated like that again. I can honestly say that this place isn't worth the risk, if he singles you out you will not get your money back, and trust me when I say that you won't want to go back to use the credit he will give you. This place is bad news. read more