North Boston Dog Training

My 4yo Rescue Jada was having some issues with leash aggression towards other dogs, strangers, pretty much anything that walked past us. I found North Boston via Google, read the reviews and said well it's worth a shot, anything to keep my girl safe. I got a call from Mike who set me up with Tracey and it's been amazing every since. Jada went off to 2 weeks of board and training to Tracey's, my girl is SO anxious and timid that it took the first week and half for her to even open up. Somehow though Tracey was able to get my girl to a place where I don't need to be scared walking her, by pick up day Jada was even giving Tracey kisses. Unfortunately because she was so scared she never showed her aggression, but it didn't matter Tracey taught her how to have confidence on the leash and it has helped immensely. I obviously need and will continue with everything Tracey showed me as it's a Marathon not a sprint to get my girl to her best, but seriously I can't thank her enough. A week has gone by and Tracey is still checking in and readily available for any questions. Next up my Lucy girl, I would 100% recommend anyone to trust Tracey with their furbabies. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Amazing! Tracy Lewis did an outstanding job training my 1 year old super hyperactive puppy Brody. Before going with Tracy, Brody was jumping all over everyone, pulling on the leash when walking, counter surfing, stealing shoes socks etc. Brody went with Tracy for the 2 week training and he came back with a strong skill set for sitting, staying in place until released, down and stay, place and most importantly recall and leave it. Additionally, he no longer jumps on people. Tracy spent a lot of time with me after the training to teach me how to work with Brody. She continues to support me throughout the process via phone when needed. I can not thank her enough for the care she gave to Brody and of course the skills she taught him. I highly recommend North Boston Dog training. Tracy is an exceptional trainer.

I thought long and hard before leaving this review because I don’t typically leave negative reviews. I didn’t want to leave it if it wouldn’t add value or insight to anyone else’s experience. And I know I am in the minority here as I’ve seen the glowing reviews. But after spending such a large amount of money and being 8 months removed from training and my dog still pees from fear when I get her leash out, I felt it was time. Short answer: this style of training absolutely did not work for my dog. I think the truth is, some dog breeds are far too sensitive for this style of training. My standard poodle is one of them. I also felt a little belittled during the process. “Why is she on Prozac she clearly doesn’t need to be, a well trained dog is a happy dog” etc. As if I was doing it all wrong before I met them. We found our dog on the side of the road as a stray. She had been hit by a car and required months of PT to walk again. Once she came back to herself, she was extremely bonded with me as I was her primary caregiver. She wouldn’t ever let me out of her line of vision. This is a breed thing, yes. But it was also so much worse with her because of her accident. I had to put her on Prozac to calm her separation anxiety. She is an extremely sensitive dog. The reason I sent her to training was to hopefully help with confidence and learn some loose leash walking skills. We attended one on one training together but felt we weren’t making much progress and thought it would be beneficial to do the board and train style so I wasn’t around to distract her progress and could after learn the ropes myself to continue. They promised me I would have an entirely different dog when I picked her up and they were right, I did! Just not in the way they promised. My dog now pees and shakes like a leaf anytime she hears anything that sounds remotely like an e-collar, she pees anytime she sees a leash in my hand, and her confidence level has taken 8 months after therapy to build back up. I did reach out to my trainer to talk about all of this and they wanted to talk more which I appreciated, but to be completely honest I was so scared they were going to want to take my dog back again to retry and I just couldn’t do that to her. She was absolutely terrified for months. I think these programs can be fantastic in certain situations, but in ours it was the absolute worst choice we could have made for our dog. I have had so much guilt over ever sending her here. It took me 8 months to decide to write this review. We mostly stick to backyard play because when we walk on a leash it looks like the photo I’m attaching from this morning.

We sent our GS Victor to Tracey for the two week program. Victor was adopted at 10 months from a family that claimed he was good with everyone -Victor was nervous and reactive to people, cars, and unfamiliar with being in the house. Tracey was incredible!! She took Victor into her home and worked with him as much as she could in the two weeks. She sent updates, pictures, and became a lifelong friend! She personally brought Victor back to our home, spent the day with us reintroducing him and reviewing training skills outdoors. Thank you Tracey for the dedication that you bring to the dogs and families involved that you train!