Board and train for Exeter, NH dog owners

Exeter's ordinance lists the behaviors that make a dog a nuisance: running at large without a leash, barking for sustained periods of more than half an hour, chasing people, bikes or cars, and growling or snapping at people. Most of those are impulse-control problems before they are legal ones. Foundation, one week, works on leash skills, place, stay, recall and impulse control; Advanced, two weeks, adds distraction proofing, real-world outings and neutrality, which is what a dog needs to let a mountain biker pass on a narrow forest trail without lunging.

The drive is the honest cost: about 70 minutes each way outside rush hour, by our estimate, for the assessment with Gabby, the free evaluation, drop-off and the coaching at the end. What the trips buy is a fear- and force-free program, positive reinforcement only with no prong, choke or shock collar, run in a 10,000 square foot building where your dog sleeps in an overnight suite with 24/7 monitoring and trains every day. Gabriella Pope leads it, with more than ten years of hands-on work with behaviorally complex dogs behind her.

Henderson-Swasey Town Forest is 220 acres of conservation land west of Newfields Road, Route 85, south of Route 101 near the railroad trestle, managed by the Exeter Conservation Commission. Its loops are short enough for a first walk after the stay: the Green Loop is 1.65 miles, the Blue 1.75 and the Yellow 0.98. Leashed dogs under their owners' control are welcome, hunting is not permitted, and the town may close trails in very muddy conditions, with notices at the entrance kiosks.

Oaklands Town Forest, 230 acres north of Route 101 and west of Newfields Road, is the longer test, with a 5.1-mile Red Loop used mostly for hiking and mountain biking; the two forests connect through a large culvert under Route 101. Leashed dogs under control are permitted there too, but hunting is allowed in season unless posted, and the town asks visitors to wear blaze orange during hunting seasons, so dress your dog in it as well. A cyclist overtaking on a narrow trail is exactly the neutrality exercise Advanced practices: step aside together and reward your dog for watching the bike go by.

Foundation ends with one go-home lesson and Advanced with two scheduled coaching lessons, both at Dogtown. The trainer runs each cue with your dog, then hands you the leash and corrects your timing until your dog answers you. Ask for time on loose-leash walking with a passing distraction, because that is the Exeter walk, and bring whoever does the weekend forest hikes.

Home visits in Exeter are not on our published menu; ask the front desk. If a skill stalls, private sessions at Dogtown start from $94. Canine Campus, our hybrid program of 2, 4 or 6 weeks, includes pick-up and drop-off, but from Exeter that pick-up may not be possible, so ask before you plan on it. Most Exeter families carry on alone with what the coaching showed them and a weekly forest walk that gets a little harder each time.