Board and train for Peabody, MA dog owners

With most city parks closed to dogs, a Peabody dog does much of its exercise on a leash along streets and the Greenway, so pulling, lunging and zigzagging show up on every walk. Foundation, the one-week program, works on basic obedience and leash skills, place, stay and recall, impulse control, and crate and household manners. Advanced, two weeks, adds distraction proofing, real-world outings, neutrality and structured socialization, for adolescents who know the basics indoors but lose them outside.

During the stay your dog lives at Dogtown, trains daily with our team under Gabriella Pope, and joins a playgroup matched by size and temperament when it is ready, which gives it off-leash time the city's parks do not. Our methods are fear- and force-free and built on positive reinforcement, so leash skills come from rewards and clear communication, never from a prong, choke or shock collar. A daily update in the Dogtown app tells you which skills were worked on and how your dog responded.

Peabody's park ordinance bars dogs from public parks, playgrounds and recreation areas, with one written exception: the Peabody Independence Greenway. The city's recreation department lists the Greenway in two parts, Lahey Clinic to Peabody Road and Ross Park to the Middleton line. Sections of the Greenway close for repairs from time to time, so look at the city's facility page before a long walk. The six-foot leash rule applies on the path.

The Peabody Dog Park at 0 Perkins Street is listed by Recreation, Parks and Forestry as open, but the department posts no rules for it online, so contact its office at 50 Farm Avenue before the first visit. Brooksby Farm states plainly that no pets are allowed on the farm. A long line longer than six feet does not meet the city's leash rule off your own premises, so keep long-line recall work to your yard, and use the Greenway for the short-leash skills in the plan below.

Foundation ends with one go-home lesson and Advanced includes two scheduled coaching lessons, all held at Dogtown. Bring the leash you will actually use on the Greenway, since a six-foot leash handles differently from a longer one, and bring everyone who walks the dog. The trainer runs each skill first, then hands you the leash and coaches your timing and rewards until the cue works for you as well as it does for us.

Once home, follow the order of places from the lesson: inside first, then your street, then the Greenway. If the leash starts to tighten again after a few weeks, message the front desk in the Dogtown app; private sessions start from $94. Canine Campus, two, four or six weeks of day training with your dog home every night, suits a dog that needs more real-world repetitions. It includes pick-up and drop-off, so ask whether your Peabody address is covered.