Board and train for Wenham, MA dog owners

A board and train fits a Wenham household when the problem is clear and the calendar is full. Your dog lives at Dogtown for one or two weeks, trains every day with our team, joins a playgroup when it is ready, and you come back for the handover. Foundation, the one-week program, covers 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, confidence building and structured socialization.

Because Wenham is close, a day option is realistic too. Canine Campus trains your dog by day and sends it home each night for two, four or six weeks, with homework every evening. A stay concentrates the work into a few trips; Campus spreads it out and keeps you practicing alongside. Gabriella Pope, our Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist, helps you choose at the training consult, once she has heard what you want to change.

Essex County Greenbelt lists dog walking at two Wenham properties. Nickerson Knoll, opposite 82 Cedar Street, has about half a mile of trail, and you park on the side of the road. Dodge Farm on Porter Street covers 3 acres with a very short accessible path rated easy, plus two small lots of 3 and 10 spaces. Greenbelt asks owners to carry a leash, leash any aggressive dog, keep noise under control, pick up and carry out waste, and never leave a dog unattended.

Use the two in order of difficulty. The Dodge Farm path is short enough for a first outing in the days after pick-up: a few minutes of loose-leash walking, a sit at the edge of the lot, then back to the car while it is still going well. Nickerson Knoll suits the next stage, a longer walk with a recall on a long line and a settle beside you when you stop. Change one thing at a time, distance, distraction or duration, and drop back a step whenever the place is new.

Two Wenham places are not for this practice. The posted rules for Pleasant Pond Beach, revised May 12, 2026, say no pets are allowed on the beach. Mass Audubon's Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on Cherry Street prohibits dog walking altogether and asks visitors to leave pets at home, with service animals welcome. Save those outings for a day without the dog, and keep the training walks on land where the manager lists dogs.

Foundation ends with one go-home lesson and Advanced includes two scheduled coaching lessons. In each, you take the leash while the trainer watches your timing, your cues and your rewards, and you leave with an order of places to practice. The lessons are held at Dogtown, so build the Route 128 drive into the plan and bring everyone in the household who walks the dog. Gabby sets the dates at the consult, before the stay begins.

If something slips once your dog is home, private sessions start from $94, booked through the training team, who answer the form within one hour on business days. Canine Campus is the longer follow-on, and from Wenham it is within reach: day training for two, four or six weeks, your dog home each night, a daily report and homework every evening. Campus includes pick-up and drop-off, so ask whether that reaches your Wenham address before you plan around it.