Wonderful classes and staff! Offering and assortment of lessons and resources for all!

I cannot speak more highly of Paws 'N Effect. This crew is a talented, knowledgable bunch. We should have known from the beginning - as my husband and I were poised to adopt our first dog from a rescue, we emailed many trainers in the area asking for any pointers on what to do when we first met our dog. Kathy was the only person to respond to us, even calling my husband and answering his questions and giving some advice even before we signed up for classes. When we were ready to bring our dog to group training, unfortunately he did not react well to their facility. It's just one of those things you can't predict and is likely a reflection of something with his past. Fran and Stephanie were understanding and were able to make some modifications for small improvements, but they were also able to facilitate a transition from group to solo classes. Being able to work with Fran in our home has made a world of difference for our pup. She is a great support and has given us lots of tips and resources to continue this journey. read more

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This is a treat training facility. In my opinion, the exact wrong way to train a dog. I want a dog that obeys because he/she wants to please me, not a dog who only performs when there's a treat waiting. What happens when your dog decides to run into traffic and there's no treat available? read more

We loved our experience at Paws n Effect. Wish we lived closer so we could attend more classes here! We did a Canine Good Citizen class with Sandy and were impressed by the organization, communication, and running of the class. The facility is large, clean, and spacious, across two buildings. The store on site was a nice perk, if you were interested in purchasing food/treats/toys/accessories. All the staff and volunteers were interacted with were friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. Most of all, our dog had a lot of fun and learned a lot! Would highly recommend! read more

I have a shy dog and was looking into the nose works class as I was told it could help him build confidence. Through the 'contact us' section on their website I filled out my information and asked for more information about the class in the section to add a message. Days later I had not heard back so I gave them a call. The woman who answered the phone was very abrasive and said she had no idea what I was talking about with their website. Anyway, I told her the class I was interested in and left all my information again. I was told the trainer that in is charge of the class would contact me. I never heard back. At least I didn't waste any money on this class! Update- I saw on their website that they offer rentals for all 3 of their areas (2 indoor spaces and 1 fenced outdoor area). I was interested in renting an area to practice agility with my dog and wanted to know their hourly rates. I called and was told they do not rent out their space. Obviously they need to be more aware of what is on their website. I definitely will not be looking into this training facility anymore! read more

I was skeptical of Paws'n Effect due to bad reviews here on yelp. Fortunately, I saw their very high reviews on google and facebook and decided to give them a chance. Before taking my puppy here I spoke with my local vet and learned that not only did my vet take their dog here for agility, but several other members of the staff; all giving rave reviews. We started by attending the puppy socials that were run by Lil, she was very helpful and cautious with our new puppy and provided constant feedback and support to help our little puppy ease into the situation. After the positive experience with the puppy socials, we decided to sign up for puppy kindergarten. Training is all done using very positive methodology and I've found the trainers to be very skilled and helpful with problem-solving. Little Winston hasn't graduated puppy kindergarten but when he does we will be sure to return to Paws'n Effect for additional dog training classes. These people truly care about the dogs well being and also have a shop filled with toys and treats cheaper than what I can buy them for on amazon or PetCo. Be warned that dog-training is not over-night though and does require patience and practice at home. read more

I've had a great experience with my puppy at both their puppy social time and puppy kindergarten. They are very positive during the class and know each dog individually. They are great at teaching you not only the puppy basics but also troubleshooting with you to help with any specific issues you and your dog might be experiencing. I've learned so much more than just having my dog sit - I've learned why dogs do certain behaviors to help me understand better and not get frustrated. I've also seen the older dogs coming and going from the facility - so attentive and well trained - something to aspire to! What they've taught me in the past 6 weeks is so valuable and I'm looking forward to learning more from them as my dog gets older! read more

Paws'n Effect - My puppy having fun doing the agility course! - Pet Training Near Me - Hamden, Connecticut

I have been bringing both of my cavaliers here for almost two years, one got certified as a therapy dog, the other does agility. Safe to say I am there twice weekly for classes and or trials. I have been to a lot of training places this one is by far the most successful and when I see a well trained therapy dog, they are trained from paws n effect! Very nice people it is like a community and I am glad to be a part of it! Thank god for my agility instructor shari, without her I would be totally last and she has been such an asset to me and my dog! read more

I walked into a puppy kindergarten class and I was stared at by the instructors. I was told that since I have a Great Pyrenees mix that they didn't think she would be able to do the class based on her breed, and that she would never be social enough to attend a daycare or play date. Well I pulled her out after 2 classes, and had her trained and currently attending doggie daycare at Who's your a Doggie in Milford.... never would I recommend paws n effect to anyone if they are a first time dog owner. read more

The ladies at Paws'n Effect did a great job helping us train our puppy. Their puppy K should be considered a must for new dog owners.

We are very pleased with Puppy Kindergarten at Paws'n Effect! We did another puppy class already at another place and our puppy learned NOTHING, so we started another class here and it's been awesome. The class sizes are small, all the training is on leash with puppies far apart so they can work on their own tasks, and the trainers give good feedback about what they are observing you do with your dog. It's a great combo with Puppy Social which we also bring our pup to each week. Puppy social is GREAT for teaching your dog to listen in the midst of distractions, socialize appropriately with other dogs, and the trainers do a wonderful job of monitoring during the sessions and giving feedback to owners about what we are seeing. They also keep things from getting out of hand - at puppy social at another class, our dog was badly bitten by another puppy and the trainer just seemed overwhelmed and did not seem competent in knowing how to intervene. We will definitely be continuing advanced classes with Paws'n Effect for our dog read more

For some reason, Yelp isn't counting my review. Go figure. Anyways, as I said I am a student there. I ready one review below where someone complains that they weren't able to rent the ring. As a student, I am able to rent the outside ring, but they don't let nonstudents rent it. The agility equipment is very expensive and they said they can't rent to people who don't take agility and who aren't students. Made sense to me when I told them about the complaint on yelp. Too bad people can just post whatever they want even if it is misinformation. read more

Best dog school in the area...all trainers are great with the dogs & want each dog to succeed. Highly recommended!!!

We found Paws N Effect to be unsuccessful for our dog. He still has many of the same bad habits and we were not pleased with the program. I brought my dog here for the six week family obedience training and this is one of those places that believe in treat training your dog. By the third class my dog became food aggressive and was snatching food out of my hand. The family obedience training is a group training class that involves other dog owners and their dogs and the instructor basically gives you commands and you try to make your dog do the command while luring him or her w/treats. It was difficult for me not only to stand there in a designated spot for an hour with a hyper puppy but to keep up with the commands the instructor was giving. My dog was very excited about the presence of other dogs and they do not allow the dogs to interact so this was very hard on my dog. By the time I left there my dog was a nervous wreck with blood shot eyes and had a stomach full of treats that he wouldn't want to eat the next day. They pretty much teach you basic commands and provide you with general information that you can easily get online for FREE instead of paying $170 for six weeks. Also, note even though this is a "family" training class, only ONE family member is allowed to perform the commands at time while other family members sit on the sidelines watching. read more

This place is completely overpriced and the instructor I had dealings with was not very pleasant. You can go on youtube and get the same instruction. read more

My friend who breeds Dogue de Bordeaux (French Mastiffs) referred me to Paws 'n Effect. I have a six month old female Cane Corso who will eventually grow to be 150 pounds. Obviously, I need all the help I can get to train her while still a puppy. Sheba just completed her 6 week family training course today and graduated. She received the best training by expert instructors who share their passion for dogs to be the best that they can be. Sheba is 80 pounds today and it's fabulous that she follows my verbal and hand instructions. I can't imagine having a huge dog that wouldnt listen. Thanks to Kathy and Sandy I don't have that problem. Looking forward to the next stage of training at Paw's 'n Effect - Canine Training Center. Thanks Kathy and Sandy! read more

I've taken many classes over the years at Paws N Effect. I find the instructors very knowledgeable. It does involve doing homework. One six week class is not enough to train a dog. You get out of it, what you put into it. My dog has passed his CGC and has went on to become a very well behaved therapy dog. I am now training a new puppy at Paws, and am having the same wonderful experience with my young dog. I do practice several times a week at home also. When I run into a problem, they are very helpful in finding a way to resolve whatever that may be. I do train with treats, and my dogs respond very well. My older dog can do all commands with or without treats. I highly recommend taking classes at Paws. read more

I have been taking classes at Paws for several years now. Their classes are fun, informative and reward centered. Kathy, the owner, has got to be one of the nicest most genuine people I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with. I highly highly recommend them for any of your dog training needs. The only time I have heard of unsuccessful stories was when the owners expected the training classes to teach their dog everything when in fact the training classes are meant to train the owner to equip them on how to handle situations at home. Practice at home is what makes training successful and I fear too many don't realize that. All this to say I love Paws N Effect and look forward to bringing my pets there for years to come!! read more

After several recommendations from friends, we signed up for the Puppy Kindergarten class with our 4 month old beagle mix puppy. The classes are small with multiple instructors. Of course, you can probably find most of the information we learned on the internet, but we really enjoyed the personal service we received. While working on commands, they would help you tweak how you were giving them to ensure that your dog is really learning properly. Plus- it was really fun to watch the other dogs learn and grow over the 6 week class. At the end of each class, they would allow puppy free time for them to run around in an enclosed, controlled environment and have puppy interactions to help with social skills (and burn energy!). They also introduced some agility training opportunities at the end of each class which was cool. This included, running through tunnels, jumping through hoops, walking up ramps, etc. Paw n' Effect believes in positive reinforcement to train the dogs, which was something we really enjoyed. Also- they did not presure us into buying any products or signing up for other classes, like other businesses try to do. Overall- we had an extremely positive experience and would highly recommend Paws n' Effect to all our friends and family. read more

Paws 'N Effect is the best place to learn how to train your dog. I started out at both Petco and Petsmart with my puppy but Paws 'N Effect was head and shoulders above that training. It was worth every cent. There were at least two trainers in every class which gave us individual attention during every exercise. Every dog is different, and if one suggestion didn't work with my dog, they had another for me to try. I didn't get that at my other training experiences, nor by learning online. I was glad that there was dog to dog interaction as I was there to learn how to train my dog, not pay for puppy playtime. (Which they do offer on another evening and was lots of fun.) My puppy learned how to pay attention to me, no matter what the distractions were. We have moved on to the next level and are now working on more advanced skills.At the end of the last six week session I just took, It was really cool to see almost all of us able to drop our leashes and walk away from our dogs in class, while the dogs were in a stay position. I have to say that I do work with my dog just about every day. I know that a one hour a week class is not going to train my dog. Training comes from what I do with her outside of class, using the skills that the trainers have taught me. Classes at Paws 'N Effect are worth every cent! -I just read another review below that said that we are supposed to lure our dogs. That isn't correct at all. We start out doing that for one or two times, then we take the lure away so that the dogs work off what we are saying and our hand signals. The instructors give us homework sheets after each class which explains everything we did in class. You might want to go back and read that handout on luring. It really explains the difference and might help you. read more

My dog and I went through the family training class and followed up with training for Pet Partners Therapy Teams. Crosby and I are a registered team. The staff at Paws N Effect were highly professional, friendly, helpful and just a joy to interact with in classes. I highly recommend this facility. read more

I have to say our experience with Paws n Effect was awesome! We rescued a dog who was very dominant and pushy. We paid for another training program that did NOT work (was a 'lifetime' training pkg) but they did NOT know how to handle our dog's behavior. We then hired a personal trainer for him. Very pricey and the trainer upon the second visit was criticizing me instead of teaching me. We reluctantly gave Paws n Effect a try. It worked! Our boy is MUCH better, he has learned "with me" and "leave it" very well and is better when walking and having distractions. He isn't perfect, but if we let up on the training it isn't his fault now is it? I will say that our dog is very food motivated so this worked in our favor, but they believe in this type of training (positive reinforcement) and so do we. This program has saved our relationship with this dog and made his life much happier! He had a rough start and deserves a happy life! THANK YOU! read more

This is one of the facilities our vet recommended to us. My dog, husband and I are presently attending the puppy kindergarten class. The training is all positive reinforcement and what we really like is it covers common issues such as nipping, chewing, jumping, barking etc and is teaching our puppy to have good manners. We love the trainers and it had been a VERY positive experience for us and our pup. He has learned basic commands really fast. There are other "students" in the class but we feel we receive individual attention. Even though it was a little expensive ($170 for 6 weeks)It is worth every penny because it covers so much more than just basic training. The last part of the class each week focuses on socialization where the puppies are let off leash in a supervised area so they can play with each other. We also love bringing our puppy to the puppy social drop in each week where again he can enjoy supervised socialization with other dogs. This is an excellent facility and I would highly recommend it. We definitely plan to bring our puppy to the next series of classes when he is done with kindergarten! read more