I'm not writing this out of malice, but in hopes that it helps other dog owners who just got their puppies/dogs and are super excited and just looking for guidance like my boyfriend and I were. Do not go here or choose this program! Period. While colonial may be good for dogs who already have issues, it absolutely was NOT the right fit for a puppy. Our puppy came to us at 8 weeks old and we wanted to start his training and routines off from the start and be able to have a professional to ask questions to and look to for guidance. What we got instead was a woman who was super judge mental, used a prong collar to SHANK our dog extremely HARSHLY and told us to tie our dog to his bed for hours, have him in the crate for hours, or leashed to our side. She would shank him for things he didn't even understand he was doing wrong and she did it so hard he'd whimper and tuck his tail and be terrified. This CAUSED a TON of ANXIETY and then aggression as self-defense in our puppy which he has now struggled with his whole life. We had to hire a $4K dog trainer, go to a SPCA Dog behavioralist to put him on anxiety medication and completely re-train him to not be fearful or anxious or aggressive. He still isn't completely confident or able to be fully relaxed or happy. Going through Colonial Dog Training's program is one of my biggest regrets, HARMED my puppy/dog and caused problems that we will be trying to fix for years to come. Sure he learned sit, lay down, and stay, and one-on-one training is good, but he developed severed deeper issues that are even harder and more expensive to address. I understand how difficult it is looking for help and how many options are out there so it can get overwhelming, but I would absolutely tell anyone to not choose this program and instead, take your time interviewing trainers and find one who does not use such harsh negative reinforcements. read more

We've worked with Jenna at Colonial dog training and cannot say enough good things. When they say you get a lifetime of support, they mean it. After the expected rounds of training with them, our dog was less anxious with people as well as other dogs and our relationship with him was better. After moving two years later, our dog had accidents in the house. We reached out to Jenna who guided us through how to help him healthily adjust to the new space. Within a month, we were back on track. Most recently, a few years later, our dog started having aggression when it came to crating. We reached out to Jenna who helped us to safely address behavior until she could come out and work with us in person. Two weeks after she came and taught us how to work through this behavior, our little dog puts himself in his crate and we are confident in his behavior again. If you are willing to put the work in, you get a lifetime of support and a happy, healthy pup! Thank you Jenna and Colonial Dog Training! read more

It took two weeks to set up a consultation appointment. Then the day before the appointment, the trainer texted me to request a reschedule in the afternoon (I had plans) and then followed up the request to advise me 24 hour cancellations are $50. I told the trainer she could reschedule for the following week so long as she was willing to waive a cancellation for me as I don't charge for 24 hour cancellations. Turns out she could make the date and time scheduled... except she was late. She showed up right when I texted that I was cancelling due to her being late... so I agreed to do the consultation. Note: there is no training methodology listed on their website, but they are a negative reinforcement training company. Communication before the appointment is scarce with the customer having to drive it as phone calls are always sent to a third party call-center service and as others have noted in their reviews--no mention of negative reinforcement before the consultation even when asked. How the consultation works: -The trainer (mine was Maggie) will listen to you discuss your specific dog issues which they in prior emails committed to being able to focus on, then she or he will try to sell you their one-size-fits all pronged-collar training program. If I were a positive reinforcement only dog owner (and many dog owners are), that would mean that I instantly would be out $100. -You will need to buy a pronged collar, a place cot, and a crate if your dog isn't crate trained, and you will pay $1375 or more for 4-5 classes where you'll be given "homework" (none of it up front), and none of the trainer's abilities demonstrated beforehand. They will train you for the session, and then leave you 2 weeks to work with your dog before they agree to train again. And they agree to retrain as many times as need be before moving on to the next training session... I would strongly recommend get that in writing before committing to pay even for the consultation. -Main issue I had: if you agreed to pay for the consultation via credit card and then they compromise your card by texting your card info via their personal phone text messaging service (unencrypted) instead of providing a PayPal link--which they are using. It is not legal to process payments like this, and if you or anyone you know has experienced credit card or identity fraud after working with this company, I'd strongly recommend you reach out to your AG and perhaps consider a class action. Also if you have allowed them to text your credit card at any time, you should reach out to your bank and get a new number. I am being refunded for my consultation and will be going with another trainer. I only got the refunded due to the credit card fiasco. And while I'm miffed about the waste of time and the hassle of having to get a new credit card since my credit information was compromised, at least I'm not out $100 for the so-called consultation. Just a heads up to make sure positive reinforcement dog parents don't get bilked out of $100. Also this review for those who are comfortable with choke collar training so they can skip the faux consultation and use the time to properly evaluate their trainer (as well as have the trainer properly evaluate the dog). For those who still are interested, I would strongly recommend coming prepared with a choke collar or e-collar and having the trainer demonstrate how they'll be using it, etc. Will post training feedback for the new trainer later. read more

General note per some other reviews: I was EXTREMELY cautious about who I wanted to train my dog Kiki - she is a rescue with severe anxiety and reactivity on walks - and I knew I did not want to work with a negative reinforcement training company. The program that Colonial Dog Training offers is not negative at all in my experience - it starts with teaching boundaries for your dog inside, how to listen to you in your home and establish rules and commands, and build up to bigger things (like walks or interactions with other dogs) with the tools that you've learned in previous lessons. I also was able, with the trainer's help, to figure out what works best for handling Kiki. I had tried a gentle leader and a harness before, but she pulled severely and I had very little control of her when she would become reactive to other dogs. Through working with a trainer, we've learned that she reacts *extremely well* to wearing a prong collar, and it makes things much safer for her, me, and anyone around us. My experience has been that they help you figure out what works best for your dog and you! That being said - I can't say enough amazing things about Kim at Colonial Dog Training. From meeting her at the consultation, I immediately felt like she understood they why behind why Kiki was behaving the way she was, and had confidence that the training program would help us. We are a few months in, and I regularly text Kim with updates in between lessons (often with happy tears) of things we're doing that I didn't think were possible - sitting by the beach calmly, going on walks with no reaction to strangers and minimal reaction to other dogs, having my friends come over and her being excited to meet new people! At our last lesson (4th one) she brought her dog to help me learn how to successfully introduce Kiki to a new dog and it was an amazing experience. She also goes above and beyond just our lessons - I have reached out when Kiki was anxious during a storm and I didn't know what to do, and when I was going away and leaving Kiki with a friend for the first time, she was more than happy to give my friend her number and be a resource just in case she was needed. She also offered to help me find someone trustworthy watch Kiki another weekend when my friend was unavailable! Kim is helping us both (Kiki and I) have the tools to be successful, confident and safe and I am so, so appreciative and thankful that I found her! 100% the best investment I have made in Kiki's care so far. read more

We started working with Jenna and our Australian Shepherd a few months back. Our Puppy was a little fearful and as any worried dog owners would, we looked for a trainer that could help us break some habits that made us nervous. Jenna ended up coming out to us almost immediately. We at first were skeptical due to the price, but decided to dive in because we knew that if this worked, it would be the best investment as we really wanted a well behaved dog. Jenna taught us how to work with our dog to get the best trained, kindest, and well rounded pup. We saw a change in her behaviors after she taught us what to do and practiced it on our own. This program requires a lot of dedication so unless you intend to work with your dog outside of the training sessions, it would be a waste of your time because everyone needs to be dedicated to the success of the dog. Jenna taught us all the material and we worked outside of sessions to change some of these behaviors but at the end of the day it was our responsibility to train her, and that coupled with Jennas knowledge and dedication made for a truly amazing experience. As we worked through everything Jenna supported us outside of session time to explain what is going well, and what we need to improve on. We would record the work we did and would review it with her. Our pup still as a bit to work on and we know that training does not ever end, but since we know we have the best support around we feel much better about our dogs ability to be successful. Jenna did a great job teaching both my boyfriend and I how to be more confident in training and interacting with our dog and explained how she can feed off of our own anxieties. In this short period of time our dog can consistently, sit, lay down, stay on her bed, is crate trained, potty trained, and we walk our dog (she doesn't walk us). Our dog interacts appropriately with other dogs and humans as well and since seeing Jenna we have been complimented by others along with her daycare for her patience and temperament. She is amazing with commands and I would say is farther ahead of most other dogs that are 13 months old. We have learned the ways in which we can train our dog to do what we would like her to do and it will help us through every dog we may choose to have. This training has been the best money we have spent and if we had another dog I would not contemplate doing it as if it is truly the most reasonable price for what you are getting. It is truly training the dog and the humans as we as people do not always know how to interact with our dogs and how our behaviors impact them. I would highly recommend using Jenna, ESPECIALLY if you have an Australian Shepherd as she has more experience with them than anyone else I know and understands their learning style as well as what common behaviors for the breed is. Overall this has been an amazing experience and hope that everyone else has the opportunity to engage in training like this! read more

Colonial Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me

I stumbled across Colonial Dog Training by accident in a frantic attempt to find a trainer help me manage adjusting our current dog and some very unexpected aggressive behaviors, to our new puppy. They answered the phone on a weeknight at 7:00pm and I received an email from my assigned trainer, Maggie, within 24 hours. Maggie has a natural way with dogs, and their humans. Maggie easily formed a bond with our two dogs and made me feel comfortable. She always took the time to answer all my questions/concerns, no matter how silly they seemed, and she always showed extreme patience with the dogs. Maggie helped give me the confidence and tools to communicate and effectively manage my dog's behaviors. As a result of our training sessions with Maggie, I have gained a lot of confidence in managing my handling skills and my dogs truly appreciate the boundaries/structure. I constantly get compliments on how well behaved my dogs are and it wouldn't be that way without the tools Maggie gave me. I highly recommend Maggie and Colonial Dog Training. She truly loves what she does, and it shows. She has the passion that makes both humans and dogs successful. Thank you Maggie! read more

We were so excited to get our deaf puppy trained by a professional. My wife and I were excited to put the work in to get the most out of our new addition to the family. Little did we know the pandemic hit and it was radio silence, no contact at all. As we all know there were ways to contact customers that being texts, calls, zooms etc. We asked for a partial refund and received nothing. She only visited 3 times (after canceling multiple) and received nothing after paying in full upfront. read more

Princess was found on the side of the road in Georgia, abused and abandoned. When she made the long trip to Boston, she was initially very aggressive and we were not sure we would be able to keep her. Jenna, who I affectionately refer to as The General," turned our lives around and we saw amazing improvement with Princess after the first lesson. If you follow Jenna's lead, you will be successful in having a well-behaved and happy puppy! Thank you, Jenna! Frania read more

Jenna is amazing! We have a collie mix and rescued a Staffordshire mix right before the pandemic hit. After getting the staffy mix we realized quickly we would need some help with training him and getting our collie back up to par with leash etiquette! She responded promptly to our inquiry and scheduling with her was a breeze! The dogs loved her and she helped them so much. Walks are l much less strenuous now and we know how to better deal with reactivity! She was very helpful and still is if we ever have questions about behavioral issues that come up! read more

Colonial Dog Training - Pet Training Near Me

Kim is an awesome trainer! She really worked well with teaching us how to train our reactive aussie. It's been over a year now since we started working with her and our dog is so much more confident and less reactive. All because of this training we were able to move to NYC without having to be worried how it would impact our dog. She is loving the city and sooo much better while going on walks or to the park. Thank you Kim! read more

My husband and I hired Colonial for the initial consultation, but did not hire their trainer, mostly due to really inconsistent communication about the pricing and place. My husband and I sent in an inquiry, to which we received and email that said, "We commit to helping you maintain the dog's good behavior for life, so if at ANY TIME down the road the dog regresses, you can reach out to the trainer and they will get you back on track for no additional fee." I was so impressed with this statement that I called them to make sure that this was true. I informed the person on the phone that we intended to have a baby in the next two years and wanted to know if the trainer would come back when the baby was coming/came. She said yes and that the training program was for the "life of the dog." We were so excited about this statement, we made an appointment for the evaluation. During the consultation, we realized that the trainer's philosophy did not match our own. We were not interested in using prong collars, shock collars or other painful techniques on our dog. (I understand some dogs may need these tactics, but we decided it was not for us). However, we were very disappointed when the trainer (Jenna) told us that the training only lasted six months from the last appointment. Meaning, there would be five lessons, and six months after the last follow up , she would no longer conduct followups. In the moment, I was confused and asked her to clarify, and she repeated again that if we did not have a prior lesson within six months, she would not come back, but that we could refer to a book she would give us and the book had all the information we needed. (Maybe we should just buy a book then....) It was startling to hear this, especially since everyone else at Colonial had told us otherwise. It was also annoying that we learned this only after we had paid the $100 evaluation fee even though I had specifically asked about it beforehand. After we informed Jenna that we would not need her services, we received a fairly passive aggressive email from her, as well as a follow-up email from Jackie, another trainer. Jackie was professional and nice and told us that yes, the lessons did last for the lifetime of the dog! After so many miscommunications about what we could expect, we were disappointed and sure that Colonial was not for us. read more

Jenna was an absolute life saver! It felt like she really saw what our rescue dog, Maizy, needed right from the start. She was also very upfront about pricing, what the training would entail, and what to expect. She also explained the science behind the methods. The first lesson she came with a binder full of information about the whole training process. We could always reach her if we had any questions or concerns. We started training in July, 5 months later, and we have our lives back! Our dog is happy, less stressed and so much more at ease. We are so relieved as we were at our wits end. It feels like this program and Jenna gave us back our dog and our lives. read more

My wife and I can't thank Jenna enough for all her help in training our puppy. Our dog wasn't the best listener when we got her, but Jenna was able to help us teach her good behavior while out on walks and inside the house, taught lots of new tricks, and also helped her quickly overcome her fear or walking down the stairs. She was also very kind and took the time to explain to us what she was doing and why it was helpful for our dog. We'd recommend Jenna over and over again! read more

We lost our 15 year old Westie in April. We debated about getting another puppy but we missed our little guy so much. In August we brought home a little bundle of energy and joy! BUT and that's a big BUT we had both forgotten what it was like to have and train a puppy. We had lost our edge. Enter Colonial Dog Training and their excellent trainer Maggie! Our adorable puppy had been running our lives and by the end of our first session with Maggie we felt like we had our lives back! In the subsequent sessions Maggie has guided us through additional training skills and at 6 months old we feel like we have a great dog! We want to thank Maggie for that! If you get the opportunity to work with her you will have done very well by you and your pup! read more

I brought my rescue dog home on a Sunday, called Colonial on Monday, and was set up with an in-home consultation for that same day. Jenna was assigned as my trainer, and she proved to be incredibly helpful and supportive from our initial meeting onward. The program is pricey, but it's an investment in the wellbeing of your dog. Jenna went above and beyond the work we did in our sessions--she was always quick answer any questions I had over text, and when my dog was having trouble with his dog sitter while I was out of town, Jenna took time out of her busy day to go to the sitter's home and show them how to make my dog more comfortable (and it worked!). You can tell she genuinely cares about the dogs she works with, and my pup always lit up when he saw her come into our apartment. I'd recommend Colonial Dog Training/Jenna to any new dog owner. read more

Absolutely blown away. When we started with Kim we had a 9 month old mischievous and stubborn Border Collie/ Lab. He is smart and took 2 puppy kindergarten classes, so he knew what we were asking, he just almost always refused to listen to us. He had severe separation anxiety and aggressive territorial/protective behaviors. Our main goals when starting with Kim were to create a better relationship with our pup based on communication, have him come when he's called so we can trust him in off leash situations, limit his separation anxiety, and teach him when and when not to be protective of us. Just 5 weeks later, and we aren't done, we have an obedient and well behaved dog we can take places off leash and trust to come when he's called. He used to be extremely and aggressively territorial of our home and now he knows he doesn't have to be. What sold us to Colonial Dog Training was the lifetime guarantee and the satisfaction that they aren't just looking to take our money and leave even if our dog isn't "fixed", but after just 5 weeks I am extremely satisfied and so happy with the price we paid. Kim has not only trained our dog, but she has also trained us on how to be better dog owners and handle situations. I am not sure where we would be today without Kim and the program at Colonial Dog Training- definitely very frustrated!, but we are extremely grateful for the successful training she has provided our family. Everywhere we go people comment on how well trained our dog is and we joke about how they should have seen him just a month ago! It truly is incredible and I will recommend this training to anyone and everyone with a dog that is looking for a trainer to cover specific needs. We owe everything to Kim and Colonial Dog Training because I know we will have a well behaved and obedient dog for life now! read more

Jenna has been absolutely fantastic with our rescue dog, Maggie. Maggie had a lot of anxiety around other dogs and would be such a pain on walks - so much so that we moved from an apartment to a house with a backyard! We tried working with a number of different trainers but nothing stuck until we worked with Jenna. Within weeks, Maggie was much better on walks, and we can now follow other dogs around our neighborhood! Jenna is so easy to work with and talk with, I would recommend her to anyone with a challenging dog. read more

Colonial Dog Training is amazing! I have a rescue dog who was found on the side of the road as a very young puppy and he has a lot of issues because of that. Kim is the third trainer I tried after being referred by a friend with her own rescue dog, and I'm thrilled to say I finally found someone who could help me. If you are willing to put in the work and do the training, you WILL see a difference after the very first session. It's not easy because you're training your dog that you are the leader and he is supposed to pay attention to what you ask him to do, but it really does work. Kim is wonderful to work with - she's so professional and truly knows what she is doing. She actually takes you through a whole training program where each lesson builds on the previous one and your dog learns more and more challenging skills that make him more in tune to you and more able to listen in any situation. My neighbors routinely comment on how well behaved my dog is. I have already recommended Colonial Dog Training to several people and I will continue to! read more

We had an excellent experience with colonial dog training for our rescue Pitt mix Bodie! He had a lot of aggressive and anxiety related behavioral issues and the training really has made him a happier and much more well behaved pup! Jenna has been so amazing in helping us and Bodie to maintain this good behavior and she has been such a vital resource to us! We can't thank you enough for all your help, great work and professionalism!! read more

We had a great experience training our standard poodle puppy with Jenna at Colonial Dog Trainers. The one-on-one training means your dog gets your trainer's full attention, and the sessions are tailored specifically to your dog's needs. Jenna was available nearly all hours of the day to answer a text or phone call between sessions if we had any questions or worries, and this helped us get through some of those tricker puppy days with a lot of peace of mind. What I love about Jenna is she doesn't just teach you the proper way to give commands -- she helps you learn how dogs think, how their brains develop as they grow up, why they do what they do, why they respond to certain stimuli and behavior, and more. After her extensive work with us and our puppy, I feel like I'd confidently be able to train another new puppy using all the knowledge she's equipped me with (although I'd probably still want to work with her for the specialized attention to that particular dog). I'm sure all the trainers at Colonial are great, but if you can request Jenna, I recommend it! read more

Jackie is the best dog trainer in Boston, hands down! She takes a no-nonsense approach to helping dog owners get the results they're looking for, and she commits to their success. I had the privilege of working with Jackie with some rescue dogs, and I was most impressed with her ability to handle even the most difficult cases. Jackie's protocol teaches people how to communicate to their dogs what good behavior looks like, and allows them to choose to behave well by their own decisions, not through domination. If you're in need of real solutions for dog behavior problems, you will not find better in the Boston area than Jackie at Colonial Dog Training! read more

Just finished wasting 7 months with this trainer. She knows her stuff from a basic obedience standpoint, but if you have a dog with real issues, look elsewhere. She guarantees to work with you until you get results which is the only reason I would spend the ridiculous $900 fee, but after 7 months of no improvement, had to cut the ties even though that meant she got to walk away with money for nothing. She will only work with you on weekends, no holiday weekends, and only twice a month (must be nice) so beware if you have a dog that takes more attention or if weekends aren't good for you. If your dog has issues with other dogs like mine does, she will not provide other dogs or staged situations for you to work on. You are expected to provide the guinea pig dogs. How am I supposed to do that exactly? Save your time and your money, there are much better options. read more

We adopted a 2 year old american bull dog about 6 months ago and we knew we needed to hire a good trainer. He was a good dog but a big boy (80 lbs) who really didn't know any commands. After calling a few different trainers we finally hired Jackie. It was the best decision we could have made! She came to our house for a few months and kept working with our dog until he had accomplished all of the things she promised. It wasn't a buy 5 classes and see what happens kind of deal. She will work with you until you are happy with the outcome. She was also always available via phone or text if we had questions or concerns in between our sessions. Our dog can now heel, sit, stay, focus, ect but best of all he is playing off leash and comes when called. It wasn't always easy; there were definitely bumps along the way but Jackie didn't give up. I would highly recommend her! read more

Jenna has been a HUGE help to me with my rescue. My dog is a Chow/Akita mix (breeds notorious for aggressiveness towards strangers and anxiety) and she's made a ton of progress since we began working with Jenna ~6 weeks ago. We still have work to do, but she's now much easier to manage on leash and her general anxiety has gone way down around the house. The price is steep but worth it - Jenna is always professional and responsive to all of my questions or texts and really knows what she's doing to get the best results. Results came much quicker than I was expecting and the program we follow is very structured and universal. I didn't love the idea of a prong collar but my dog likely would have hurt someone if we didn't get her under control. She isn't afraid of the collar and is still excited when I put it on her. Along with the lifetime guarantee, they also provide you with a dense manual with everything gone over in the program to help with future dogs or correcting behavior down the line. Overall I'm extremely happy with my decision to work with Jenna and would recommend her or this company to anyone! read more