Canine College, Bow Wow Resort

My dog he is 1 year old pit bull has been there for one week now — behavior training — he has sometimes very selective hearing ;(In one week my baby can walk next to me without trying to take his collar off by walking backwards also he will stay for over 30 seconds which he has never done before. He is still a happy boy wagging his tail… His behavior went from a naughty not listening boy to a well behaved young man. Bruce spend one hour with us showing what my baby has learnt and most of the commands are in German. (I started it that way and Bruce helped him stay that way) I am curious what else he will learn when I pick him up in one week. I compare it with boot camp for misbehaved teenagers… so far so good my baby is on the right way to become a good role model for any pit bull. Will write another review after I pick him up. So far I am 100% satisfied :)

We took our Great Dane puppy here for obedience training. It was a 5 week group training program at night and I cannot express how grateful we are. We liked it so much that we continued on from Kindergarten to Elementary 1 and 2. I was amazed at how well he responded to us. He completed tasks like jumping over poles and staying at attention even when we left the room. He clearly respects us now and listens to us which allows for a much better relationship. I highly recommend the group training sessions.

This was not a good experience at all. We’ve been through training with another puppy many years ago at a different location and had an excellent experience. We brought our two, 5.5 month old puppies here for basic obedience training. We walked the puppies in a circle for just about all of the sessions. The trainer rarely explained why we were doing certain activities and commands, which IMHO is a cornerstone of effective training. She was rough with our dogs and there was very little positive reinforcement. We’re now taking basic obedience again at the MSPCA and couldn’t be happier with the training. Don’t waste your money or time at CC.

I love Canine College. Both of my dogs have stayed here numerous times. Amanda, who usually works with them, take very good care of them. We also used their training classes which were great. It is a family run business that shows.

This place came highly recommended to me so I decided to try it. I brought my dog to get shaved, washed, nails cut, teeth brushed. They did such an awesome job with Artie. He looked so handsome and smelled really good. Artie even loved it there. Then I boarded him there for two days and they were so good to him. Artie had a blast with the staff and other dogs. I really like how well canine college accommodates Artie’s needs … Even if I call that day. Artie hates leaving this place but i keep telling him that he will be back for his weekly baths. I give this place 5 stars and a thumbs up.

I debated writing a review for this place. On one hand, I don’t want to upset anyone but on the other hand, I really struggled trying to decide whether or not to send my puppy here for resident training and I feel that if they had more reviews or testimonials I would have been better informed to make a decision. So I hope that I will be able to help people that are considering it.
I want to start out by saying that I am not happy with the resident aspect of the resident training program but I am happy with Bruce, the owner and trainer of the facility. My puppy who is 5 months old just spent 2 weeks with him and it is clear that he loves Bruce. I find him very knowledgable and he seems to be excellent with dogs of all breeds and temperaments.
As for the resident training, I feel as though it may be worth it for someone who is going away and needs to pay board anyways, so they might as well add training in. I would not send my puppy again just because I don’t feel that I got $ 900 worth of improvements. I was told that the change would be «night & day». Of course I realize that I wasn’t going to be handed a puppy that knows everything and that Bruce taught him the basics and now it’s my job to engrain it in his everyday behavior. I thought I’d see an improvement on listening to commands and a few behaviors in particular. I must say though, leash walking has improved 100%. Regarding the training, I would absolutely recommend Bruce, but more in the capacity of a daily or weekly training session in person with the owner there. I feel that it would be more cost effective.
As for the «residential» part of the program, I am not pleased. When I dropped my dog off I had many questions regarding what a typical day would be like but it was very hard getting an actual answer. I feel that that question must be asked by all of the owners who are dropping their beloved dogs off. I was weary to leave him after meeting one of the people who works with the dogs. She was so miserable and unfriendly, but then I spoke to a lovely young girl who walks and bathes the dogs and she answered all of my questions. I had previously read a review about the «daycare» facility where the dogs are left unsupervised and her dog allegedly got hurt by another and it was basically covered up by the staff. I saw the daycare area when I got to the place and it was, in fact, unsupervised, despite their website saying otherwise. I asked Bruce if it was supervised and he said «semi», and I asked him not to let my puppy go in there at all during his stay because I didn’t feel comfortable with that. He told me that it was not a part of his program anyways so I didn’t have to worry. When I dropped my puppy off, I left his bed, food, treats, and toys so he could feel at home in his kennel. I asked that he have a kennel facing the facility so he could see what was going on instead of looking into the woods. They told me it wasn’t a problem. A week went by and I came back for a training session. After, I asked if I could go inside the kennel to give my dog a treat and Amanda took me inside. I found him in a different kennel, with no bed, no toys, nothing. All of his toys were in the bag I dropped him off with and on a shelf, obviously having been sitting there for awhile. I asked her why he didn’t have his bed and she said it was wet. Understandable. Regarding the toys, she said that he is tired after his training and doesn’t need them. Well, I would prefer if you let him decide that. Thinking of him just sitting there on the cold wet cement with nothing of his really broke my heart. I asked that his toys be given back and leave them in there. Amanda also mentioned that he gets really tired after being in doggie day care all day, and I should look at their facebook page to see pictures of him in there. I was extremely upset because I had asked that he not be put in there, and i was told that that wasn’t even an option. When I asked Bruce about it, he said «oh that’s my fault, I didn’t tell the girls». Well, that’s not an excuse, an apology would have been a better idea. I paid $ 900 and I didn’t want to be lied to or have my concerns brushed off. When I picked up my dog after the two weeks, they told me that he chewed up his bed so they threw it out. I am very suspicious of that as all of his toys were completely intact and he has never chewed his bed. Even if he did, I think it should have been returned to me and I could have made the decision on what to do with it. I didn’t see the bed in sight at all the week prior when it was «wet» and I feel that something happened that they didn’t want me to know.
If I could go back in time, I would never have left my dog for the resident training but I probably would have sought out Bruce’s expertise in private training sessions. My advice is that they keep a tighter ship with their employees and be honest with their clients and address their concerns in a more professional manner.

I foster rescued dogs for Last Hope K9 Rescue out of Boston, MA (check out our website!
). I am fostering a dog aggressive/​fearful Cane Corso Mastiff/​American Bully mix (85 lbs). Bruce, the owner, gave me some amazing basics to handle him while leash walking him around other dogs, and Amanda helped me fine tune my handling skills while around other dogs — in just two private lessons. My dog was playing with a few of their resident dogs at the end of the 2^nd session — something I would have never imagined possible. EVER. If you are working with a difficult dog, take them here. They help train you to train your dog in a caring and positive way. Plus, they always have farm fresh eggs, chickens, turkeys, hens, ducks and goats for sale. Really cool place with very helpful staff. I highly recommend Canine College for training.

My mom was bringing her dog here for a few weeks, mostly without issue. When she went to pick him up yesterday she noticed that he had been bathed, which they had NEVER done before. She asked the girl, Amanda, why she had bathed him to which she vaguely replied that she «was bored». When my mom got him home she noticed he had several large puncture wounds around his neck and he was bleeding, bleeding enough to drip onto the floor. She called the Canine College to find out what happened, after several unsuccessful attempts to get anyone on the phone, to which the girl said nothing happened. Understandably, dogs will get into a scuffle, the problem is that she denied having any knowledge about what happened, yet she bathed him??? If he was bleeding enough to drip onto the floor, you’d think she’d have noticed? Advertised as SUPERVISED doggie daycare, that’s debatable. They wouldn’t say which dog got into the fight with our dog, so he needed to be put on antibiotics and get a new rabies shot.

I boarded our dog there once, never again. The staff was very rude and inattentive. There were too few staff members around for the number of dogs being boarded. I only saw one staff member around when I dropped my dog off and one when I picked her up.
The biggest issue I had with this place is when my dog got home she vomited up her food for a few days and panicked whenever we drove her in the general direction of the boarding facility. When I picked her up the rather unfriendly staffer who was working at the time did not alert me that our dog had been sick or had any issues during her 5 days of boarding. I’m guessing she either didn’t know or didn’t care. This was not the first time my dog has been boarded and she has never come home sick or frightened of a boarding facility before.
Fortunately, my dog came home without any scratches or problems other than the vomiting. She did have a lot of energy when she came home, more than she typically has after being boarded. I’m guessing either the playtime was shorter than they told me or they didn’t take her on the walks that I paid for.
I strongly recommend you use a different boarding facility. The grounds are very nice and the kennels were clean, however, based on my experience this is just not a good place to board your pet.

Canine College is absolutely the BEST!
My 4year old dog initially attended the 2 week resident training program as a crash course refresher. The improvements made in this 2week period were amazing. In addition the wonderful trainers helped teach me how to be more effective with my dog on a day to day basis. After seeing what a difference this program made i decided to continue her training at Canine College, and now go back every couple weeks. I am beyond impressed with Canine College and the variety of training packages and services they offer.
I highly recommend educating your dog and yourself here.

I thought this place was great. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. We dropped our five-​month old puppy there for a week for resident training. I’d never done something like this and was very pleased with the outcome. He wasn’t Wonder Dog when he came back, but he has the basics down and is much more eager to listen.