Canine University — Local services in Malden

On April 18th, I purchased a 12 week training course with Canine University for $575. Canine University's voicemail states: " to observe a class you have to have registered". On their website it states: "Pre-registration and payment is required to reserve a spot at orientation. Orientation is without your dog and does not count as one of your training weeks." So my partner and I signed up to learn more about their training, while looking at other options to determine what was best for our dog.

We went to orientation on April 27th at 7pm where we received a booklet explaining their method and had a chance to ask questions. As our dog's aggressiveness was getting worse, we decided to start implementing some of their exercises in their book. We also agreed to confirm our attendance originally for May 11th and after emailing Canine University that we were struggling, we were moved to the May 4th class and confirmed our attendance.

As our dog's behavior was escalating, we decided to contact another trainer that provided in-home service. We then emailed Canine University on May 4th that we would not be attending their classes and requested a partial refund. We received an email that they do not give out refunds and then they tried to convince us to go to the first class and then to private training. The cancellation policy on their website states: "Full refund if you notify us 48 hours prior to class start date. No refunds after the first class." We attended orientation and not a class. We asked where on their website the policy of no refunds after orientation was stated and it was extremely hard to...

We are really enjoying our time in Canine University, taking our newly adopted 2 year old dog for some beginner obedience lessons. Most of the dogs in class are closer to puppies, but they welcome and accommodate all types. The class leaders are very friendly and know a lot about how to get the best from your dog. They're also very willing to answer any questions you might have, whether related to the lesson or not. The classes take place in a sort of small warehouse room with a concrete floor, with chairs and floor mats provided along the edges. Lessons are taught from the center of the room so everyone can see and work along at their own pace. It's been a great experience and we've learned a lot about how to properly encourage good behavior with positive reinforcement, while also withholding reward (not punishing) when things go wrong. Highly recommended if you're looking for a nice, small and friendly dog...

Once you get past the warehouse location, you'll quickly be surprised by how knowledgeable and tuned-in the people at Canine University really are. They can read your dog almost instantaneously, in a way that I imagine only comes with decades of experience. More importantly to my specific situation, I was very frustrated with the slow progress of my new puppy, and Canine University was accommodating, more flexible, and more supportive to me than they had to be, to try to get me restarted in classes with more success on the second go. Their daycare is also a cut above the rest, with a individually tailored curriculum of small group play to keep your doc not just exercised and safe, but also to build the dog's socialization and behavior skills through structured activities. Highly...