I highly recommend a home training session with Gordon Fontaine of Zen Dog Training. My husband and I got a Mini Australian Shepherd puppy in February and despite having grown up with dogs and reading several articles and puppy books we still had some questions about how to raise and train this puppy properly. We were turned off by several books and trainers whose philosophy included physical punishment as a negative reinforcer, (such as leash corrections and alpha rolls), and wanted, if possible, to find a way to train our puppy without feeling like we were hurting him or making him fear us. As I was searching for puppy kindergarten classes I found one very close by run by Zen Dog Training. After reading their philosophy I knew that this was the kind of training we were looking for and we signed up for the class. Before the class began I happened to meet Gordon Fontaine, the owner/operator of Zen Dog, and I had so many questions for him that I scheduled a home visit with him. Gordon brought tons of information with him and went through all of it with me making notes and emphasizing the aspects that he felt were the most critical for us to address with our dog based on our conversation, his observations of the puppy in our house, and on his breed characteristics. He also has a training DVD he gives you as part of the home visit package. I found this very helpful and I've watched it at least three times. I brought it to my Mom's house as well and had her watch it so she will know what we are trying to accomplish in his training and can help maintain consistency. The video really helped serve as a reminder for several things we talked about in the home visit- so much was covered it was nice to be able to review it at my leisure. The home visit is not the kind of training session where you teach your dog to sit, stay, down, etc- that's what the puppy kindergarten classes are for. It is about learning how to communicate with your dog so he will know what behaviors are acceptable, socializing your dog, ending unwanted behaviors such as play biting, jumping, and barking, preventing food aggression, crate training, preventing separation anxiety, how to punish when you must, and much more that I am forgetting at the moment! Basically it is how to teach your dog to be good so he is easy to live with- regardless whether he can roll over on command. As I mentioned, we had read a lot before we got this puppy and had had dogs before, but the home visit was so helpful because it helped me to reinforce what I was doing right and change what I was doing that was confusing my dog or causing him to develop bad habits. It was so valuable to be able to ask specific questions about my dog's behavior and not just get info on "dogs in general..." It has been about a month since the home visit and our puppy, Basie, is doing really well. Right now he is 15 weeks, very much still a puppy, but has improved a lot. He is crate trained, 90% housebroken, can be left alone without freaking out, has almost completely stopped play biting, and has improved a lot with his herding behavior. He tries to "herd" us around the house by biting our pant legs, very annoying, and we were having a really hard time stopping the behavior before Gordon showed us the proper way to give a time out. Now sometimes he can't resist trying, but almost always stops when we give him a warning. Oh, the Zen Dog puppy class is great also. There we are learning basic commands such as sit, down, etc with both hand signals and verbal commands, as well as loose leash walking, "leave it", and perhaps best of all a chance to socialize him with other puppies. Plus he comes home from puppy class TIRED! Which is great when you want to have a quiet evening after class. read more

Elissa Carerras of Zen Dog Training is AMAZING. I truly am not sure how to express just how wonderful and helpful she has been with our puppy and our family. She came highly recommended by two friends in our Brookline, MA neighborhood. The timing of getting our puppy was unexpected so we were extra grateful that Elissa moved her schedule around to come see us right away, just a couple of days after bringing our dog home. She helped us figure out how to best set up our condo for him but more importantly, she got us immediately on the right track for how to house train him and practice good training habits. Elissa LOVES dogs and has such a huge, caring heart, and she immediately put us at ease with her warm personality and humor. She took extra time well beyond the allotted time we were paying for to answer all our questions and to help us practice our new training techniques. She has been excellent with our two children (ages 8 and 12) as well, making sure to get them involved and active, enthusiastic participants in caring for our puppy. She is THE trainer to get in Brookline and Boston area, that's for sure! We had an extra challenge in that we were scheduled to go on a week-long family trip to Mexico just a few weeks after bringing our puppy home. Elissa ended up taking Sunny in for the week with her family and own dog and he got the best week-long training session, being introduced to all sorts of new experiences. We set up a WhatsApp account and Elissa regularly sent us photos, videos and updates. On a couple of occasions, I've picked up the phone and called Elissa to ask her some questions I needed help with and she was always willing to share her wisdom off the clock. I think Elissa is excellent at what she does and I truly think of her now as a friend I can look to for puppy guidance. In fact, we've asked her to come tomorrow morning for a review session and to work on a few puppy behaviors we'd like some work with. I have referred at least 5-10 people (friends as well as people i've met at the dog park) to Elissa and every single person she's met with has had glowing reviews for her. I just sent Elissa last week to one of my best friends who just got a golden doodle and was feeling overwhelmed. My friend immediately texted me afterwards to say how helpful the session had been. I will continue to recommend Elissa to anyone who is looking for puppy training, there's no one better than her. I just saw a negative review written for her here. I guess everyone is different and prefers different styles, but we just think Elissa is amazing. We didn't find her rude at all or in our face in the slightest. We found her to be clear and informative, and downright entertaining in her approach to training! Her job is to teach the Zen Dog training approach so we are there to learn from her and be open to new approaches. To anyone who works with Elissa, I think you'll be glad you did! read more

I never really believed that a private dog trainer could help... How to choose from a very long list of trainers was also a problem... All websites that I visited would teach me to get a choker (that made me particularly sad, and I just never wanted to even try that) and to teach her to heel. The minute I would feel that the leash was loose, I started panicking, shouting, and doing everything I could to make her heel again. The only result was that she started biting the leash (or my hand--whichever was more convenient!) My family and I adore our puppy (she is our puppy even though she is a year and a half old!). She is not just a dog--she is a member of the family, and we are all crazy about her! She is always ready to play and explore the outside world, but that was also the reason for her to pull so strongly when on the leash. Another huge problem was that she used to become overly excited when people or other dogs would pass by. Because of that, we were not really able to walk her. I am very grateful that I was recommended to contact the most wonderful trainer that I could only wish for! Gordon is amazing! He is extremely patient and knowledgeable! We just felt comfortable with him from the moment he walked into our house, and our dog just loved him! Gordon has visited us twice at our home--only twice!-but the results are just great! His philosophy is about positive reinforcement tactics as opposed to punishing your dog in order to make her listen. That is another reason (or one of many!) why we like him so much! We do not want to punish our puppy! We want her to learn. He actually has a great name for some of his teaching techniques- shunisism! His on-leash trainings were extremely helpful He taught us to relax and our puppy to understand that walking without any tension on the leash is actually great! I cannot say enough good things about Gordon. He recognized the problem immediately (starting from my famous flip flops and the right leash to correcting the way we were handling situations when she started to pull). He knew that he needed to train us first and then our puppy! I am amazed how things have changed for us and our dog because of Gordon and his help. I cannot stress enough how much he has helped! I keep telling all my friends about Gordon, and I will certainly keep recommending him to everybody who needs help with dog training. He is absolutely amazing!!! read more

My dog is dealing with separation anxiety and leash reactivity. I was totally out of my depth as this is my first dog, I felt unprepared and not confident in myself. I've been injured for a while and the more I hurt the worse the leash reactivity got. To make things worse, my father was ill and I had a VERY abrupt, stressed out departure and was gone for well over two weeks. Naturally, my dog picked up some stress. After Huron vet helped confirm that it wasn't an illness and it was behavioral they directed me to Zen Dog. I'm telling you this because it all fed into her insecurity and anxiety (and mine). They have changed everything. One session has changed everything. Two hours in my house, teaching me and showing me how to modify what I was trying to do and make it easier for my dog and myself. Zen Dog was a perfect fit for us. Up until Zen Dog, people had been suggesting things like prong collars, shock collars, and I couldn't bring myself to go there. I understand they work for some but that wasn't what I wanted at all. She'd never acted out before, and this was very new behavior for her that started right after my rather abrupt departure to be with my dad. I just wanted to get her back to a place where she felt safe in her home and safe with me. Gordon not only showed me how to disengage her from dogs when we were walking outside (and they came with me outside! They went on our mini-loop with me), he showed me how to do it without getting my three week, post-op surgery shoulder involved. My dog is a solid 60 pounds and when she decides to react there wasn't much I could do; until Gordon showed me how. He showed me how much tension to have or how much not to have, what the appropriate pull was to disengage her. He showed me what stance to put myself in to be able to deal with this the best. He showed me how much tension and how much slack to have. As a kinesthetic learner this was amazing. He walked me through every step and the methods he taught me are exactly what I wanted to learn and exactly what I needed to learn. Gordon has turned me into a better dog owner in just two hours. How many people can say that? If you are looking to do a behavior change that comes by building that bond and the trust between dog and owner, and if you want to train your dog and yourself in a positive manner, Zen Dog is the way to go. read more

Gordon is great. I could stop there, but I won't. We first heard about ZDT from a neighbor who suggested we look them up. Our Dog walkers were familiar with Gordon's name and knew someone who had used him in the past who had positive results. I then took to yelp, and found many positive reviews and I was excited! We have done both an in-home session as well as are in the midst of puppy kindergarten taught at Durty Harrys in Charlestown. First, our one-on-one session with Gordon: Gordon was great, he arrived and immediately greeted us, as well as our pup June (who was more than willing to provide puppy attention to anyone willing to play with her). It was a great two hour visit. We went over our homework, and did some in-home training, as well as went on a walk to do some leash training. We even walked down Broadway for a bit to see how she would handle loud noises--- Gordon spent *more* than the promised 2 hours with us. He really is committed to his clients, and to his dogs. Gordon left us with good homework and "games" to play with June that would help her training. More importantly we understood WHY and HOW certain training techniques worked (or didnt!). The first visit is really about US learning how to deal with her, not the other way around.... so do not expect 2 hours of non-stop training your dog. Its just as much about you as it is your dog. Also, Gordon gave us log-in access to his online database of videos (hours and hours!), training tips, guides he's written, and other tidbits on his website. We have also started a class at Durty Harrys in Charlestown with another Zen employee, Nayiri. Nayiri clearly has the same mentality as Gordon-- so much of it is positive reinforcement. Durty Harrys was easy to get to and find (despite is rather unassuming sign outside). Nayiri took the time to understand how all of us learn and communicate with our dog... also she welcomed us to arrive early before class to have puppy socialization opportunities. (which, as we all know, is critical in a dog's development!) To anyone considering taking a class or a one-on-one session... do it. The earlier in the dog's life the better. Especially puppies! Zen, Gordon and his team are great, and I already would highly recommend it to anyone! read more

I used Zen Dog training because I needed help training my recently adopted 3 year old Rottweiler, Diamond. Diamond had been neglected by her initial owner and ultimately she was abandoned and forced to scavenge for food to survive in rural Louisiana. When I first got Diamond she was having a tough time adjusting to her new environment. She was very timid and would become very aggressive towards strangers who attempted to enter my home. I needed help controlling her!!! When I first met Alana Meserve she was able to convey to me that Diamond's behavior was due in part to her instinct, because Rottweiler's are bred for guarding, and being a very insecure dog. After our initial meeting Alana devised a program to help Diamond adjust to her new environment. I found her to be very engaging and attentive to Diamond's needs as well as very good at counseling me about what was expected from me. As a result, I purchased the 5 Home-visit package Through out my time working with Alana I found her to be very knowledgeable, extremely helpful, and very understanding. She was able to answer all of my questions and she would always offer new techniques to help me challenge Diamond. Because of Alana's help, Diamond has adjusted very well to her new household and was able to pass her Canine Good Citizens (CGC) test. Jonathan T. read more

We keep calling Zen Dog Training's ever-fabulous ELISSA CARRERAS "the dog whisperer." Our 10-week old pup (Hueco) has been, from the second she left (....err.... more like the second she arrived!) a completely different dog. And we feel so much more empowered in knowing what to do and how to act. We cannot thank her enough. And I'm not just saying this--having her come over was the smartest decision we've made yet in terms of The Wonder Pup--hands down. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ......And to think, we've just begun! Quick fun facts: - The pee pad has never come out again - His leash has never come off (except for crate time) and we have (2) 6ft-ers now too - The "Ow!" worked wonders - he's a licking machine. A very occasional gnaw attempt, but followed by a moan and lick ;) - It took us the day to slow down our approach when correcting him, but we've got the "180 degree leash turn" down pat - Baby gate is moved and company only talks/looks at us when entering - The "eh eh" and "silent hand" combo is genius - He now retrieves the ball and offers it from his mouth for "bring it". Gah! Smarty pants. - He learns so much faster with less language and specific words. Eat! Ball! Yessss! Eh-eh! We are SO ready for our next session with Elissa - and a life with a Zen Dog! Emily (+ Doug) read more

Thank you so much! Emily was fantastic to work with, and could not recommend more highly. We found Zen Dog during quarantine with our 11-week old puppy, beginning with training by Zoom (knowing that there would later be a safe yard visit if we all felt comfortable). Our dog had developed some bad habits, which got worse as we worked harder to address them. After a couple sessions with Emily, our dog could not be better behaved, and the behavior has continued to be great for months after. We couldn't be happier. Some notes for those curious: -Emily was available whenever we needed to answer questions, watch our technique on video, or hop on a call. It was so helpful having access to someone between sessions, and even since we finished our training -It became very clear to us what changes we needed to make, and what fundamentals we had to instill in order to make those successful. Emily outlined it very well -Given all of the information about training on the internet, it was very helpful to have one set of rules to work with -The first session felt like repetition of the reading material, and it became very clear later why it was so important to start this way. -I'm sure that it's more effective doing this entirely in person, but we had a great experience doing this mostly virtually read more

Zen Dog is aptly named. Gordon is amazing, very kind and gentle in his approach with people and with our dog Theo. He began 'training' the second he walked into our home. Theo was enraptured with him and was responding to his guidance immediately. I love the idea that one can train a dog to be a good citizen in a gentle nonthreatening way without harsh measures. The philosophy is so well rounded and makes complete sense to me. It covers all behaviors and it is completely effective. I think the fact that Gordon comes to your home and involves the whole family in the training is invaluable. He is so great with the kids and our pup just thought he was having the best play date ever. As with any dog training, Gordon taught us how to speak to our dog and how not to, the difference being is that everything we achieved, was done in a very non-stressful way. I am a Zen Dog convert. We could not be more satisfied. Gordon is the real deal and it is affordable. If you love your pooch and you want to grow him or her into a really great dog with good manners, Gorden/ Zen Dog is the answer. It's pretty amazing how quickly Theo learns with this method. Like other reviewers, I cannot say enough good about Gordon and his program...Happy happy happy and very grateful to Gordon. Thank you! read more

ELISSA CARRERAS is an amazing trainer and one of the most supportive people a new dog owner -- or anyone -- could welcome into their family's circle. From the first phone call with Elissa, her attitude was one of sincere enthusiasm and validation. She has come to our home three times, spreading out the sessions over several weeks so that our family could practice her suggested tools and strategies. It has been amazing to see how her encouragement has empowered my teenagers to try their hand at teaching our dog, and the spirit of the effort is always working toward having a healthy, balanced dog -- "the best dog she can be." Elissa truly listens, meeting concerns with practical feedback and suggestions. She possesses a presence that puts everyone at ease -- all species! We've ended every session feeling more confident than before, and are able to put the learning to use immediately, greatly reducing our own anxiety and enriching our relationship with our puppy. Over only a few weeks we have seen tremendous growth in our own confidence, and our dog's responsiveness. We couldn't recommend Elissa more highly. If you are looking for someone you can trust and feel comfortable learning and laughing with, Elissa is phenomenal! read more

My husband and I worked closely with Alana from Zen Dog Training in our home for a few months. Our dog Brown (9 year old cockapoo) is a very anxious dog but we didn't know how anxious until we met Alana. She helped us use techniques to work with him during his high anxiety moments as well as incorporating a new friendship between him and our 1 year oldcdaughter. There was a point in time when I was so scared he was going to bite our daughter simply because she was sitting on our bed, next to him. But now, after working with Alana, that fear is gone. He gets along so much better with our daughter and he listens to our commands. We help manage his anxiety by working patiently with him and letting him know he's safe. We couldn't be more thankful for Alana and all her help. She is SO knowledgeable and really knows and understands the breed. She is a such a sweet, calm and patient person. Very down to earth and a pleasure to work with. If you're looking for someone to help you with your pup, don't hesitate to call Alana at Zen Dog. I am truly thankful we found her and even more thankful that she gave us hope with our fur baby! I HIGHLY recommend Zen Dog Training as you will not be disappointed! read more

I cannot say enough positive about Gordon. He was there when we got our Boxer last fal and became first time co-owners of our puppy. He taught us how we (my boyfriend and I) would have to be a team - dedicated, consistent and working from the same play book - if our puppy was to be as successful and well adjusted as we wanted. We called him back again last week when we needed him to come train us on how to get our home under control after rescuing a 10-week old Rotti/Boxer mix. Gordon does not only know dogs - he knows humans. He trained us on how to regain control through patience and persistence and reminded us to us the tools we already had available - his leave behind training materials and his online video library. This time last week my home was a circus and in less than a week it is mostly calm and feeling normal again. I never thought we would get here. With an 8-month old pup and a 10-week old pup, they can be non-stop bundles of energy. But, we learned how to correct them positively and redirect them when needed. I would highly recommend Zen Dog Training to anyone needing help with training and looking to be a better leader for their dog. read more

Based on previous Yelp reviews, my boyfriend and I decided to give Zen Dog Training a try for our new 9 week year old Shiba Inu puppy. Elissa Carreras came to our house for a two hour sessions and ended up staying quite a bit longer!! Elissa was absolutely amazing with our new puppy and taught us how to be much better dog parents. What I truly appreciated learning for Elissa was the larger scope behind training our new puppy. For example, Elissa stressed the importance of socialization. She first asked what we though socialization meant. Turns out, I only had a vague sense of what it really means to socialize a new puppy and how incredibly important it is for having a well-balanced, healthy dog. Teaching a dog to sit or stay is good but having a well-adapted dog that can handle new-situations, kids, people and other dogs is fantastic. Elissa will provide this holistic understanding and training for your dog. I highly recommend that you sign up for a home visit with Elissa. To read more about her click here: http://www.zendogtraining.net/our-trainers/elissa-carreras/ I am much more confident and happier about being a new puppy mama after Elissa's visit! read more

I never knew dog training could be so much fun! We recently adopted our very first puppy, a 10 week old Boston Terrier, and our vet recommended Zen Dog. I wasn't sure what to expect for an in-home training session, but it was really the right decision for us. Gordon came to do the in-home training visit about a week ago and trained *us* on how to communicate with our puppy and walked us through some excellent training techniques. He really could not have made the whole experience more fun or the training any easier. Gordon has distilled his philosophy and the science of dog training into fun games to play with your dog and comic books to remember the main topics! There's even a free PDF online explaining the basics of potty training. The handout had a bullet point list of the signals when a puppy needs to be taken out.... which had taken me TWO WEEKS to figure out! I only wish we had spoken with them sooner. I really cannot recommend them enough. We feel so much more confident and able to train our puppy and are so grateful for the effort that Gordon and Zen Dog put into their training! I'm finally not covered in band-aids from all the play biting :) read more

I met Gordon three years ago when my cockapoo Rhea was in his puppy class. We had such a great experience that we did an advanced class with him. Over the years, Gordon has also come to our home and helped us with some of Rhea's behavior that we weren't crazy about: excessive barking, fear of children and strangers, possessiveness of certain people (like her owners!). We recently made an appointment with Gordon because we're expecting our first child, and again I was so impressed with Gordon's professionalism, profound knowledge about dogs and dog behavior, and clarity about what I need to do to help Rhea. Even though Rhea hadn't seen Gordon for over a year, the minute she realized who was visiting, she greeted him with excessive tail wagging and happy noises. I've been so pleased with Rhea's improvement, but even more meaningful is when other people notice the changes. When my father said he noticed that she's more relaxed and quick to respond, I knew Gordon had done more than I'd hoped for! Gordon always has great recommendations for books and toys that reiterate his teachings. I truly believe we have the best dog trainer in the Boston area. read more

The day we brought our 8 week old chocolate lab home we were in love. However, we were not in love with the biting and contacted Gordon in a panic. Gordon came right over for a home visit and we followed up with puppy classes for the whole family (3 children ages 4, 6, 8). The home visit was very encouraging and the puppy classes were great. We started to calm down realizing that our dog was just "being a puppy". Gordon and Melissa were amazing and gave the whole family the tools we needed to start off on the right foot with our adorable new puppy. Our puppy is now 1.5 years old and we needed some updating with our training. Gordon came to the house to teach all of us some new techniques and refresh those that we'd forgotten. We really like the fact that Zen Dog training includes the whole family. When we're training we all remind each other of different training techniques and correct each other when we do something "wrong". Our homework includes fun games that the kids love playing with the dog. We feel that we've started on the right path with our dog and Zen Dog will help us stay on that path. We highly recommend Zen Dog! read more

Zen dog training was recommended to us by our groomer and the vet, so since our only other choices were Petsmart or Petco, we decided to try it. It turned out to be the best decision we ever made. I have raised another dog before and never took this extra step, but it was well worth it and I learned so much. We signed up for the 6-week puppy kindergarten class but first had a 2hr. home visit with Elissa Carreras. Within minutes, she taught our dog to sit and with the ease of an expert, had my puppy doing whatever she said. I couldn't believe it! She made it look so easy taught us to understand how the dog is thinking and gave us lots of "homework" to practice. Repetition, praise and yummy treats! It works all the time. Then, as the puppy grew and became a big biter, we had her back again for another home visit. Each time teaching us a new set of skills to adapt to the new set of behaviors our dog has acquired. Training and discipline without punishment. I didn't think it was possible. I have never had to yell at my dog to stop an unwanted behavior! Everyone should have Zen come to their house when they get a new puppy! read more

We did the package of 6-week puppy class and one in-home session with Nayiri, and I couldn't recommend it more! Our wheaten pup Obie, 14 weeks when he started class, loved it! He'd been with us less than a week on his first day of class, and came in very shy. Nayiri helped him feel more comfortable with the other dogs, giving him (and us) tailored instructions throughout the lessen to help him adjust. By the end of the 6 weeks, he was one of the most social/playful dogs in class! It'd be worth it for the socialization alone, but he left class knowing all the basics: sit/down/stay/wait/leave it, walking on a leash, etc. Most importantly, it really taught us how to teach him. It's been easy to train him since the class ended using all the strategies we learned. In our home session, Nayiri helped us figure out the best location and configuration of his crate, gave us specific tips for walking him given we live in a huge building in the city, practiced walking and training, really just helped set all of us up for success. She even helped us find a vet and boarder we love. Absolutely the best thing we've done for our puppy! read more

Our two hour visit with Alana Meserve showed results immediately and we couldn't be happier!! We brought her the challenge of helping us deal with two 10 year old rescue dogs - a Westie we received two months ago who was showing signs of reactivity with other dogs, and a Black Lab our adult kids adopted several years ago who was not well received by our Westie. Since a grandchild will be in the mix soon, we were desperate to solve how these dogs could get along. Alana arrived an hour before the Lab and started right in to teach us how to use clear and positive techniques to communicate with our Westie. She demonstrated how to use treats to reinforce the behavior we want and words and body cues to signal what we want to change.We practiced the Name Game and by the time the Lab arrived, we were able to use these tools to feel confident that we would succeed. In fact, an hour later we were walking off leash in the woods with two dogs happily rollicking in the snow! Thanks to Alana and the resources she left from Zen Dog Taining, we and our dogs enjoyed a positive, practical and professional training session! read more