Active Paws Inc.

Sep 2022

While Cara was helpful in the beginning, it wasn’t helpful long term. The way Cara teaches is the equivalent of a parent trying to not use the word “no” when raising their child. She helped us get over some hurdles but to tell someone who’s dog jumps a lot, and is a literal PUPPY and just excited, to rehome them, isn’t it. If your dog is super young, this is a good choice for training. But nothing long term.

Jul 2022

We have been working with Cara for basic training for our very playful, energetic and friendly 3 month old German Shorthaired Pointer. She has been amazing! Within one session with Cara, we found ourselves with a more manageable puppy. Our puppy also loves working with Cara. Cara really cares about what she does and it definitely shows! She arrives on time and knows exactly what to do. She’s also available to field any questions or troubleshoot any situations for 2 weeks after your session. We highly recommend her to anyone!

Jan 2021

The ongoing pandemic made contacting trainers/organizations and coordinating the initial meeting tricky especially with the pet adoption boom. I admittedly got my hopes up when I saw Active Paws business given her numerous qualifications even in agility work and immediate availability to schedule a session immediately over the summer. Her rates started at $120/hour which seemed standard after also conferring with other personal dog trainer contacts. As you can tell by the low rating the stars did not align as a mutual fit. The website was easy to navigate and Cara the owner was very responsive. You can easily schedule an appointment on there for personalized training. Perhaps we didn't pick a neutral enough location now knowing what we know now (after finding on site in person group puppy classes) to set our pup up for success over the summer at 3.5 months old and 20 lbs.Unfortunately Cara came up to our back deck which may have been interpreted as an interloper encroaching on her territory so as a puppy with bad manners she barked incessantly. She threw some small pieces of mozzarella cheese that didn't interest the pup (we are realizing now she's not super food motivated). That "reactive" behavior was enough to confirm to Cara after a serious bite earlier in the week to "pass" on training our dog. We still got the folder with pamphlets, and branded pen and clicker as she quickly retreated. Maybe in retrospect we should have met up at a park instead of our property. Granted this was the reaction that our puppy has when uncertain in greeting most new people but once she sniffs them she calms down quickly once she sees that we are friendly with them. The damage was done. Cara immediately followed up through email with an apology and a couple links to other (more expensive) trainers, one of whose website wasn't even working. I flutily attempted to reach out but also received no response so those were dead ends too. As for the socialization aspect she recommended a place all the way down in Franklin, and the MSPCA Angell which was not operational or equipped to respond during the pandemic (over the summer). Of course this experience left me completely demoralized and slightly jaded. I sometimes see their branded vehicles parked at the Dog Ranch area and walkers taking dogs around there to go walking. Thankfully we were able to enroll her in puppy daycare and now start some group training classes I alluded to earlier at the beginning of this year for adolescent pups. Funny enough she's now one of the least reactive dogs in her classes.