For those who have been challenged with handling a reactive dog , you understand the mental toll it…read moretakes and how isolating and hopeless it can feel . You thought you did everything right by giving your dog so much love and socialization only to now be faced with questions and comments like " why didn't you just train your dog ?" , " you're not the alpha to your dog", " you shouldn't be a dog owner" on a regular basis. I have a 6 year old boxer ( the social , goofy clowns of the dog breeds) . I've worked with dogs in the past as a kennel attendant, and grown up with dogs my entire life and never thought I would be in this situation . I struggled to find a trainer whose techniques showed progress which lead to inconsistency, a lot of frustration and doubt . Eventually taking him places like the vet and groomer caused me such extreme anxiety. When I met Tom , my dog was unapproachable by strangers , including Tom initially. It took a month or so of meeting up , going on walks and practicing techniques at home but I was seeing improvement! Not long after Tom was able to take the leash from me and walk Gus, and we could walk near other people without Gus acting like a total maniac , lunging , barking and snapping. It was like he was a normal (ish) dog . Gus is 6 , so it will be a slow process to break him out of this behavior , but he has improved so much in the last 6 months .. I never thought I would get this far. I still have my work cut out for me but this training has also helped me increase my confidence as a dog owner and learn to trust my dog again. I'm not longer so nervous to take him out on walks because I feel like I'm in control.( Holding back an 80 pound boxer is not an easy task ) . I definitely recommend Tom if you are struggling with a similar situation. It probably has been the best thing I have ever done for Gus!

Highly recommend, they know their business and can handle highly aggressive dogs. Tom is ver…read moreinformative.

The staff is always welcoming and when our dogs heard the words "Metro Pooch" they always got…read moreexcited. The older of our two dogs suddenly passed away and our younger dog has been taking it harder than we have (which is pretty hard). The staff has been very concerned, and when we took our dog back in to see how she would do without her sister, everyone was good with her and very helpful and she did just fine! Also, my husband had an unplanned hospital procedure and we needed to book our dog in overnight without notice, and Metro Pooch accommodated us. I don't know what we would have done had they not folded us in. We have only had really good experiences here and recommend the daycare and boarding facilities!

I am so thankful for the owner, Kristen, who personally spent an entire day helping my senior dog…read morewho was not able to be groomed anywhere due to health reasons. He is a frail dog nearing the end and we didn't want his last days to be uncomfortable. Kristen patiently dematted and groomed my dog by hand in such a gentle caring manner. She went above and beyond to care and treat my dog with respect and love. I am incredibly thankful and appreciate. The metro pooch is a clean and significantly more peaceful and quieter environment than other grooming and boarding facitilies in the area. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Metro Pooch to others.

I recently completed puppy kindergarten with Bryony and it was wonderful. While we still have a…read moreways to go with our pup the information, patience and support was so valuable. The class was also a lot fun (and felt very safe) which given these troubling times was so needed. I am looking forward to continuing to work with Bryony and highly recommend her.

Sandy Paws is by far the best pet walking//training/sitting service out there! Bryony has been…read morenothing short of outstanding with my energetic, strong, big dog! I have such ease when I know she is with him. I get pictures of their time together as well as funny notes from both Bryony and my dog! She does exercises with him both physically and mentally to tire him out and allow him to relax. Bryony goes above and beyond in every aspect and I will never use any other service when it comes to my big boy.

Bonnie exceeded every expectation I had…read more I thoroughly vetted her both personally and professionally because trusting someone with your dog for ten days is not an easy decision. From the moment Bonnie picked him up, I knew he was in capable and caring hands. Sending my dog to Bonnie was one of the best decisions I could have made for him. She is kind, compassionate, firm, and incredibly intuitive with dogs. Bonnie brought balance to my guy and returned him to me not only in great condition, but with the foundation to be a happier, more well-behaved dog. Her ability to understand and communicate with dogs is truly remarkable -- she is a true dog whisperer. Thank you so much, Bonnie!

From the owner: Offering Board and Train Programs and In Your Home Training for…read more the State of Connecticut.

We had trainings with Donna when we brought our girl home. She taught us how to potty train,…read moresocialize, basic commands and so much more. Boonie has grown into such a great playful, loving, social family dog, that we are grateful to take everywhere.

Donna and Thomas have been training my dog, Tiller, since he was about 5 months old. He is now…read morealmost 2 and 1/2 years old. Donna and Thomas have been professional, caring, patient and committed to fostering an environment where both you and your dog are comfortable and feel like part of a family. They teach you and your dog basic obedience and in my case have trained Tiller to be my service dog. My family and I are so glad we found them. I wouldn't want Tiller to be trained by anyone else.

Amazing staff and great assortment of products. Great advice as well. Highly recommend.read more

Great store! More than always helpful!…read more The store is fantastic. Usually has most things in stock even hard to find items that you can't find in chain stores like Petco etc. , and one thing they have that doesn't exist in a chain store ---EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE! Anything you need they're extremely helpful and happy to find or get. I had my dog training classes here, and that's how I started coming to this location; but I have to tell you the customer service from the store is unrivaled. If there's something you need, just call and check on it. They're happy to check in stock, They also have a website you can order through that too, 99.9% of the time what you're looking for is a stocked item,and on the rare occasion that it is not or you have an item as I did a special cat food recommended by the vet they did not have on the shelf they called another location, had it there for me the next day! I also have a bad back and I cannot carry large bags of dog food for my dog....put my back out once they had the food delivered to my house free of charge which is a service they offer as well; if I go to the store, they are happy to bring it to my car for me if needed. In short, go here, I highly recommend it.

Adoption of my puppy Cowboy went through after we already had a vacation booked, we were so nervous…read moreas he is a young puppy still getting used to us, he had a marvelous time! The staff was very communicative and sent us updates and photos of him. He is back home now and we are so happy we didn't have to stress or worry while we were away. We also think his stay really helped him in socializing and learning from other dogs

We started going here when we adopted our dog back in 2017 and loved it. We used them for doggy…read moreday care when in a pinch and our dog needs extra play time. I appreciate that they keep up to date with vaccines. The last few years it has become more difficult to get a reservation and work with them at all. Ultimately, we decided not to go back, the last time we called for a reservation they wanted us to do a whole new meet and greet. The owner is very nice but we won't be going back.

Brian understands dogs, but he can be rude and unprofessional to people- especially women. He does…read morenot want anything to do with you while he has your dog, despite what he says. He will warn people that his communication is "direct," but that is inaccurate. His responses are dramatic cut-and-paste messages that often have nothing to do with your own request. My dog got what it needed from training, but lost a good amount of weight. When this was pointed out to the assistant, they reviewed their instructions- sure enough, the wrong amount of food was listed. It should have been obvious for a dog that size.

Canine Behavioral Services is incredible! Brian and his staff worked with my two dogs to get them…read moremore comfortable around other people and dogs. They also guided us on behaviors to implement at home to create a more balanced life for each of them. Most importantly, these techniques helped the dogs become comfortable and confident in our home when we welcomed a baby. With the help from Canine Behavioral Services, this transition happened nearly seamlessly, which I am confident would not have happened without Brian's help. I cannot say enough great things about Canine Behavioral Services, they have created such positive change in my two dogs and allowed for them to grow and flourish in our home! Brian continues to support us even after the completion of the program which has been incredibly helpful as we continue to maintain a balanced household for the dogs.

Doug Salvio worked wonders with our dog, Bruna, a young rescue hound mix, who is SO super high…read moreenergy. Although we love her dearly, she was wreaking havoc in our house- the kids were scared of her, she was making a mess of the house and yard, and quite honestly we had zero control over her. She wouldn't stop barking at my husband, and I was covered in bruises from her jumping on me constantly. We were fed up and desperate, so we hired a trainer who came to our house- long story short, she charged us a lot of money, and we got nowhere. She was a positive reinforcement only trainer, and it basically just made our dog obsessed with performing for treats. In the absence of treats she did not follow any commands, and she'd break the command as soon as she was rewarded. I do think strictly positive reinforcement might work for some, but not all. We opted for a new solution, and I found Dogs by Doug online, with good reviews. Upon our consultation, I got the feeling he understood exactly what Bruna needed, and he recommended a four week board and train program. It's always a risk leaving your dog with a stranger for four weeks, it requires a lot of trust. I instantly felt like I could trust him, and you can tell he really cares for his client dogs and remembers all of them. He sacrifices a lot to constantly have dogs boarding in his home at overlapping times. Well, fast-forward four weeks, and Bruna is home. We instantly noticed a difference in her overall behavior. He told us he was going to teach her to relax, and that is literally what he did. She has been responsive to all of her commands, and at times when she breaks a command or does an undesired behavior, we now have the tools to deal with it. Walking her on a leash has become a great experience. She walks at our side at our pace, no longer dragging us down the sidewalk. I am beyond impressed with Doug's ability. You can tell he's a master of his craft, with lots of experience. He did his job with Bruna, and now it is our responsibility to keep up with the training. We are going to try our very best, and follow up later this summer! We HIGHLY recommend Doug. Our household is entirely different, at peace again and we got to keep our good girl (and our sanity). Doug Salvio worked wonders with our dog, Bruna, a young rescue hound mix, who is SO super high energy. Although we love her dearly, she was wreaking havoc in our house- the kids were scared of her, she was making a mess of the house and yard, and quite honestly we had zero control over her. She wouldn't stop barking at my husband, and I was covered in bruises from her jumping on me constantly. We were fed up and desperate, so we hired a trainer who came to our house- long story short, she charged us a lot of money, and we got nowhere. She was a positive reinforcement only trainer, and it basically just made our dog obsessed with performing for treats. In the absence of treats she did not follow any commands, and she'd break the command as soon as she was rewarded. I do think strictly positive reinforcement might work for some, but not all. We opted for a new solution, and I found Dogs by Doug online, with good reviews. Upon our consultation, I got the feeling he understood exactly what Bruna needed, and he recommended a four week board and train program. It's always a risk leaving your dog with a stranger for four weeks, it requires a lot of trust. I instantly felt like I could trust him, and you can tell he really cares for his client dogs and remembers all of them. He sacrifices a lot to constantly have dogs boarding in his home at overlapping times. Well, fast-forward four weeks, and Bruna is home. We instantly noticed a difference in her overall behavior. He told us he was going to teach her to relax, and that is literally what he did. She has been responsive to all of her commands, and at times when she breaks a command or does an undesired behavior, we now have the tools to deal with it. Walking her on a leash has become a great experience. She walks at our side at our pace, no longer dragging us down the sidewalk. I am beyond impressed with Doug's ability. You can tell he's a master of his craft, with lots of experience. He did his job with Bruna, and now it is our responsibility to keep up with the training. We are going to try our very best, and follow up later this summer! We HIGHLY recommend Doug. Our household is entirely different, at peace again and we got to keep our good girl (and our sanity).

I am writing to recommend Doug, who recently trained our 10-month-old pitbull mix, Lucas. Before…read moretraining, Lucas was difficult to control and didn't follow commands, mainly because of his size relative to our three smaller dogs. After a month of training with Doug, Lucas is now trained on all commands and the e-collar. Since Lucas has been back home, he listens very well and has a much better relationship with our other dogs! Most importantly, it was clear that he loved Doug. Doug was an excellent trainer for Lucas and our family. He is extremely patient with both dogs and humans and is incredibly knowledgeable about all things dogs! He loves what he does, and it shows. I am so grateful to have met Doug and highly recommend him for any behavior or training issues your dog may have.