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Monday 10am - 9pm Tuesday 10am - 11pm Wednesday 10am - 11pm Thursday 10am - 11pm Friday 10am - 11pm Saturday 10am - 11pm

Central Mass Dog Training and Pet Services

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Athol, MA
Central Mass Dog Training and Pet Services

Central Mass Dog Training & Pet Services is owned and operated by Michael Nappari and is located in Athol, Massachusetts. We are fully licensed and insured.
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Biography: Michael Nappari

I grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. I was born with a dog in my life. My parents got "Lady" shortly before I was born, and I grew up with her. By the time I was ten I was part of a pack of dogs. Each day all the neighborhood dogs would gather at my house(there weren't any leash laws back then). All the kids in the neighborhood called me "the dog man of Fitchburg". Ev

en at that young age I was the "alpha" of the pack. By observing a pack of dogs on a daily basis, I learned a lot about dog behavior. I learned how dogs communicate and was able to use that to control and maintain order in the pack. My life with dogs continued until I graduated high school. At that time I decided to follow my other passion, wildlife. I enrolled at University of Massachusetts majoring in wildlife biology. After 2 1/2 years I took a summer job working at a high-end landscape construction company (working to build the landscapes at mansions). At that time I met people who had similar degrees who could not find work in their field and had ended up in the landscaping field. I decided to stay in landscaping and see where it took me. In 25 years I went from a laborer who had never done a day of landscaping to running the company. The problem was that I had gotten into the field to help design and build these beautiful landscapes and now I was working in the office working 14-16 hour days. I was miserable. One day I decided I did not want to spend the rest of my life doing something I hated and decided to go back to my true passion - dogs. I really never left my true passion. In 1992 I got my first Great Pyrenees, Blizzard, and fell in love with the breed. Shortly after that I got my first rescue Pyr. "Heather" had been a kennel dog for the first four years of her life before we got her. She knew very little of the outside world or being in a house (she was not house trained). Stairs, floors, lights, tv's, radios, crates, ceiling fans, refrigerators, collars, leashes all terrified her. With other dogs she had no fear. She was the queen. People, on the other hand, terrified her. With my own knowledge that came from living with dogs and my own research, I began her rehabilitation. Over the course of the next two years she came to accept most of the things that had terrified her and became a well- adjusted, happy, obedient dog. After feeling the satisfaction of turning a dog's life around, I joined Northeast Pyr rescue. I did training, socialization, fostering, home evaluations, transport and anything else I could do to help. From Pyr rescue I went on to adopt Beowulf (1997), Abby (2000), Loki (2007) and Babyface (2009). Loki and Babyface are my current dogs. Some of them had very sad stories(abuse and neglect)and all of them had major behavioral issues. Although it took great patience, I managed to turn each one into a happy, healthy, obedient dog. In 2011 I enrolled in Animal Behavior College. The next eight months were spent learning every facet of dogs, dog training and dog behavior. I got to work with a mentor-trainer and helped teach 12 of her classes. After my obligation ended I was asked to continue volunteering to teach her classes. I also volunteered to work with two other top trainers trying to gain as much knowledge and experience as I could. I also got experience in the different training techniques trainers use, giving me a well-balanced outlook on training. I went on to volunteer at the Monadnock Humane Society and the Winchendon Animal Shelter helping to train and socialize the dogs to help make them more adoptable. I am now the official trainer at the Winchendon Animal Shelter. At the same time I took time to get certified in pet CPR and first-aid to help round out my experience with all pets. After graduation it was time to think of what kind of company I wanted to start. I did not have the facilities to have group classes, so I chose to concentrate on individual, in-home training. I already knew that individual training was what worked best. Obedience training is much easier and faster if you can start without distractions (distractions abound in group classes). Problem behaviors are usually home-specific (they occur in/at the home) and need to be resolved at the home. Through the years I have been asked many times to pet/house sit for different people and always loved it and was always asked to do it again. I really wanted to make that a part of my company, so I went back to Animal Behavior College and took classes in pet sitting and dog walking. After getting to the point where I was extremely confident with my skills and knowledge and had the proper experience, it was time to put everything into practice. I started Central Mass Dog Training and Pet Services and have never regretted it. It has been a joy and an honor to be able to work with animal lovers and their pets.

08/06/2024

❤️🥺

07/01/2024

Best Comic funny😂🤣..

06/20/2024

6/18/24 Let's talk about all things heat!

With the next few days promising to bring extreme heat conditions to our area, please be reminded that with extreme heat comes dangerous conditions!

Leave your Pets Home:
NEVER leave animals in a vehicle unattended for any length of time. Leaving the A/C on is not acceptable. Vehicles and A/C can malfunction and lead to potentially fatal conditions.

Take short walks:
Watch your pets on walks. The pavement heats up and can cause serious injury to your pets paws. Please, if the pavement is too hot for your bare feet, it is too hot for theirs. Leave them home!

Watch your pets for Heatstroke:
If you notice your pets not acting right after time out in the heat seek medical advice/attention immediately.
Signs of Heatstroke in animals
1) Excessive Panting
2) Excessive Drooling
3) Redness of gums
4) Vomiting
5) Diarrhea
6) Loss of consciousness
7) Uncoordinated movement
😎 Collapse and Unresponsiveness

Brachycephalic breeds (short muzzled dogs) are much more susceptible to heatstroke!

Ensure your Pets are provided shelter to escape the elements as well as plenty of water to hydrate. MGL Ch. 140 Sec. 174E prevents animals being left unattended in extreme environmental elements, such as extreme heat, for long periods of time.
Please take care of and look after your pets and as always your neighbors!

If you see something, say something!

7/17/23 We know it's been raining non- stop, but now let's talk about all things heat!

With the next few days promising to bring extreme heat conditions to our area, please be reminded that with extreme heat comes dangerous conditions!

Leave your Pets Home:
NEVER leave animals in a vehicle unattended for any length of time. Leaving the A/C on is not acceptable. Vehicles and A/C can malfunction and lead to potentially fatal conditions.

Take short walks:
Watch your pets on walks. The pavement heats up and can cause serious injury to your pets paws. Please, if the pavement is too hot for your bare feet, it is too hot for theirs. Leave them home!

Watch your pets for Heatstroke:
If you notice your pets not acting right after time out in the heat seek medical advice/attention immediately.
Signs of Heatstroke in animals
1) Excessive Panting
2) Excessive Drooling
3) Redness of gums
4) Vomiting
5) Diarrhea
6) Loss of consciousness
7) Uncoordinated movement
😎 Collapse and Unresponsiveness

Brachycephalic breeds (short muzzled dogs) are much more susceptible to heatstroke!

Ensure your Pets are provided shelter to escape the elements as well as plenty of water to hydrate. MGL Ch. 140 Sec. 174E prevents animals being left unattended in extreme environmental elements, such as extreme heat, for long periods of time.
Please take care of and look after your pets and as always your neighbors!

If you see something, say something!

05/30/2024

Buddy's not doing well. He's back to being super anxious and is clearly not feeling well. He just had his wellness check and everything checked out fine except he tested positive for Lyme. Today he went in for a C6 blood test to see if he actually has Lyme disease. If that turns out to be negative, he will have to go to the vet again because something is definitely bothering him. He's an old dog so there could be lots of possible things wrong. In the meantime, I have to figure out how I'm going to sleep at night with him constantly panting and pacing. I tried Trazadone last night, but it didn't seem to help.

05/28/2024

🙏🐾

05/06/2024

This is so cute😍

04/30/2024

💕L o v e💕

04/23/2024

04/23/2024

4/23/24 Today is Lost Dog Awareness Day! If you see a wandering dog, the safest and quickest means of helping reunite that dog is to call your local animal control officer.

If you're aware of a lost dog in your community, or if you see a flyer matching the dog's description, call the number on the flyer directly to report the sighting instead of trying to catch the pup.

Pursuing and calling out to a dog, who may be in survival mode, can force the dog to hide, or run in a panic near busy roads.

A great way to help owners reunite with their lost dog is to help hang flyers locally, and enter the number in your contacts so you can report sightings ASAP, this is much safer and more effective than heading out and actively searching for a scared dog.

And remember, a dog's appearance can change quickly when lost - fur becomes dirty and matted, dogs can lose weight if there isn't a reliable food source - it doesn't mean the dog was neglected or unloved.

Help spread awareness!

04/21/2024

Love this! ❤️

04/14/2024

❤❤❤

04/09/2024

7/9/24 We wanted to reshare this post again. While we do our best to educate owners on these scammers, they get more creative every day - sending texts impersonating animal control, sending messages saying they are a paid service(while there are many legitimate companies, there are many scammers out there as well), sending texts saying to send gas cards or money. Every day it is something new. There are many sick individuals out there who will go to any length to try to prey on desperate owners of lost pets to get money. If you are ever in doubt, reach out to your local police, Animal Control or your Missing Dogs Mass volunteer that you are working with. If it sounds like it may be fishy, then it probably is!

12/12/22 We wanted to share information again regarding scam texts/calls for lost pets. Many owners of lost pets have been subjected to various kind of scams lately. One such scam is where someone sends a text message to your phone and asks you to reply with a "code" to get pictures of your pet. There are many sick individuals out there who will go to any length to try to prey on desperate owners of lost pets to get money. If you are ever in doubt, reach out to your local police, Animal Control or your Missing Dogs Mass volunteer that you are working with. If it sounds like it may be fishy, then it probably is!

3/11/24 We wanted to reshare this post again. While we do our best to educate owners on these scammers, they get more creative every day - sending texts impersonating animal control, sending messages saying they are a paid service(while there are many legitimate companies, there are many scammers out there as well), sending texts saying to send gas cards or money. Every day it is something new. There are many sick individuals out there who will go to any length to try to prey on desperate owners of lost pets to get money. If you are ever in doubt, reach out to your local police, Animal Control or your Missing Dogs Mass volunteer that you are working with. If it sounds like it may be fishy, then it probably is!

3/22/21 Many owners of lost pets have been subjected to various kind of scams lately. One such scam is where someone sends a text message to your phone and asks you to reply with a "code" to get pictures of your pet. There are many sick individuals out there who will go to any length to try to prey on desperate owners of lost pets to get money. If you are ever in doubt, reach out to your local police, Animal Control or your Missing Dogs Mass volunteer that you are working with. If it sounds like it may be fishy, then it probably is!

8/11/20 BEWARE! Many owners of lost pets have been subjected to various kind of scams lately. One such scam is where someone sends a text message to your phone and asks you to reply with a "code" to get pictures of your pet. There are many sick individuals out there who will go to any length to try to prey on desperate owners of lost pets to get money. If you are ever in doubt, reach out to your local police, Animal Control or your Missing Dogs Mass volunteer that you are working with. If it sounds like it may be fishy, then it probably is!

04/06/2024

Buddy's new favorite place. On the couch with me. Unfortunately, he is having a hard time these days. He can no longer get in the car without me lifting him (not good for my sciatica). Some days he won't even go for a slow, short walk. He still loves the dog park and still tries to play with the other dogs. Everyone there loves him. He has become a very sweet, loving dog and seems to be happy these days. His time might be coming to an end, but I'm so happy I could give him some happiness in his life. He deserves it.

02/28/2024

2/28/24 Dangerous wind advisory in effect from 7 pm tonight through 7 pm tomorrow night means lots of down fences, open gates, fallen trees and branches as well as power outages. Take precautions BEFORE you let your dog out and put them on a leash. You don't want to find out you are missing a part of your fence when it's too late. If you have no power, then an electric fence will no longer work either!

The wind advisory also means your pets can't be left outside for longer than 15 minutes. Best to go out with them and then bring them right back inside. If you see something, say something to your Animal Control Officer!

02/18/2024

Buddy might be old. but he's still trying. Up until very recently he could at least get his front paws up in the back of my car. Then I lifted him in the rest of the way. Now sometimes he can't do that. I have to pretty much lift him in. I've started to train him to use a ramp, but as of now, he REALLY hates it. I am looking into getting him stairs to get in. Of course, he is having a hard time with the stairs in my house. He still does fine on our walks. Actually, he still walks faster than Bruin used to walk.

02/13/2024

2/12/24 Heavy Wind & Snow coming over the next 24-48 hours in the Northeast! Take precautions with your pet!

Dangerous winds, heavy snow means lots of down fences, open gates, fallen trees and branches, as well as power outages. Take precautions BEFORE you let your dog out and put them on a leash. You don't want to find out you are missing a part of your fence when it's too late. If you have no power, then an electric fence will no longer work either.

Do not shovel piles of snow against fences, this creates an easy way for your dog to walk up the snow mounds and go to and over the fence!

- If you must go outside, take your dog out on a leash and hold on tight, even in your own yard;

- Always have a collar and tags on your dog. Make sure your pet’s microchip information is up to date;

- Check fences and gates BEFORE you let your dog out;

- Secure any items in your yard that may blow around creating extra noise;

- If you have electric fences, and you lose power, those fence barriers will not work anymore... (and should your dog get out, be sure to turn the fence off so your dog can return without getting zapped);

- Secure doors to houses when entering and exiting;

- Give your dog a quiet, safe space during the storms;

- Bring outdoor cats inside now and keep inside for the duration of the storm;

- Have an evacuation plan in place that includes your pets. Do not wait until the last minute to leave - have food, water, pictures, collar, tags, carriers, leashes, medications, etc. ready.

Take precautions now and use continued caution until you know your yard is safe and secure. The last thing you need during a storm and clean up is for your beloved family member to go missing!

Be sure to report lost and found pets to your Animal Control Officer and Missing Dogs Massachusetts!

Stay safe!

02/06/2024

what touched me🥹🥰❤🐕

01/30/2024

1-29-24 Little Finn missing in Orange was trapped today by MDM volunteers.
He is safe and warm in his new home tonight!
Special thanks to Maggie H. and Deb B. for their keen trapping skills!

01/29/2024

Rare shot of an endangered species

Credits goes to the respective owner ~✍️
Follow us

01/29/2024

1-29-24 Little Finn missing in Orange was trapped today by MDM volunteers.
He is safe and warm in his new home tonight.
Special thanks to Maggie H. and Deb B. for their keen trapping skills!
Link to trapping photos: https://www.facebook.com/missingdogsmass/posts/pfbid0kBA6Wr77e98GBTotzH1tiiL4hc7iBvpgezWzc3yYsCwFE4qj7wuD5yf4RomKVrSHl

Missing Dog: Male Toy Poodle - MA 1/27/24
Finn is 9 months/12 lbs. He is White & Tan. He is missing from the area of New Athol Rd/East Main St/Near Storage Units. Do not call out to him or chase him!
call: 413-336-6125/413-336-8661

Address

1805 White Pond Road
Athol, MA
01331

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 9pm
Tuesday	10am - 11pm
Wednesday	10am - 11pm
Thursday	10am - 11pm
Friday	10am - 11pm
Saturday	10am - 11pm

Website

http://www.centralmassdogtraining.com/

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Videos

Helped NEPR transport "Missy" to her new foster home yesterday. She was adorable. If I thought I could have her in my house with Buddy without risk, I might have kept her. I'm sure NEPR will find her a wonderful home.

Max after working on "leave it" for 30 seconds.

Loki being trained. A work in progress.

I got a call from Pyr Rescue yesterday. They told me that they weren't going to be able to find Buddy a home (because he is elderly and dog aggressive), so they were going to have to have him put down. That's NOT going to happen! He might be the polar opposite of what I was looking for, but he is a good dog, and he has won me over. I love the little guy. It has taken over three months, but he has suddenly become very affectionate. He is even getting up on the couch and bed with me. He was found as a stray and was in bad shape. Covered with mats and infested with fleas (that's why they had to shave him). My guess is that he hasn't had anyone he could trust for a long time and that's why it has taken him so long to become affectionate. Well, now he has someone he can trust that loves him. I am going to be adopting him and this is going to be his forever home.