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Community K9

Dog training service in Boston, Ma. All breeds, all ages. Building safe, healthy, and ethical human-dog relationships through balanced training
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17/08/2024

🚨LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME 🚨
Name: Baloo
Breed: Cattle Dog
DOB: March 3rd, 2019
Spayed Female

Baloo is looking for a new home! She is a super fun little cattle dog who loves to train and play. Her current owners are hoping to find a home that better suits her as a high drive cattle dog. Baloo would excel in a variety of dog sports and/or would be a great hiking/biking/running companion.

No medical issues, does currently take a daily SSRI.
Motivated by food, praise, affection, and play
Crate trained
Social with other dogs with proper greetings
Knows a variety of basic obedience (sit, down, stay, place, heel, come.)
Off leash trained with a remote collar
Affectionate and loves to cuddle with her people
No kids or cats
Can be leash reactive to other dogs, but has come a long way with training.
Has one bite on record, was put in an unfair situation which can be avoided in the future.

—Videos of her in the comments—

If you are interested in adopting Baloo or have any questions about her/the adoption process please feel free to email Micaela at [email protected].

24/06/2024

I am so proud of all of the progress Ted has made over the past year! Ted was fostered with .and.coco and as a result got a free training session with me when he was adopted. A few sessions later Ted and his humans now have the skills to walk on a loose leash, pass other dogs on walks, hangout with family dogs, greet humans politely, and so much more.
Having .and.coco give Ted a strong training foundation when he was being fostered made a huge difference with how much progress he was able to make over the past year. and.coco is currently fostering another pittie mix named Cash who is hoping to land a family just as cool as Ted’s. Whoever adopts Cash will get a dog with a solid training foundation and a free class with us.
🌟Check out her profile for more info on Cash! 🌟

30/04/2024

Some of our happy hikers over the past few weeks 🌲🐕🌳

12/04/2024

Emma, our wonderful admin for is moving on to bigger and better things! We are going to miss her so much and we are eternally grateful for the amazing work she has done for us for the past few years.

For now Beth and I (Micaela) will be doing all of the admin work. We are not sure if we are going to hire another admin (Emma is truly irreplaceable.)

Thanks in advance for your patience during this transition and feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

08/03/2024

It doesn’t get much cuter than this 😍

Tugboat the Newfie puppy has been doing one on one classes with us and is going to start Home School Program with Zack this month. We are very excited to be part of his puppy education!

Before we even met Tug, his humans set him up for success by crate training him. Like most puppies, Tug threw some tantrums about being in the crate, but overall it has been a really productive tool to help with the following:

- Decreases the chance of Tug developing unwanted habits. If Tugs’ humans can’t prevent him from doing something inappropriate or dangerous he goes in the crate. This keeps Tug safe, decreases conflict between Tug and his humans, and decreases stress for Tug later on in training. If developing bad habits is avoided from the start then training is a lot more fun!
- Helps better regulate his emotions. Like most puppies, Tug is not great at knowing when he needs to be put down for a nap. He will get overstimulated and start nipping, jumping, vocalizing etc. The crate is a great way to diffuse those situations and help him successfully decompress. This leads to better emotional regulation skills as an adult.
- Helps build healthy boundaries. Daily time on his own, away from his humans, and in his own space decreases the chance that Tug will develop separation anxiety later on.

The crate isn’t a punishment, it’s a versatile tool that is an important part of your puppy’s education. We see a lot of puppy owners give up on crate training the first time the puppy throws a tantrum in the crate and then develop a variety of behavioral issues that could have been avoided with crate training.

We also understand that crate training is not the solution for every dog’s behavioral issues. We have some client that needed to remove or reduce their dog’s time in the crate to better address specific behavioral issues. However, for the average puppy it can be a HUGE benefit despite the occasional tantrum.

Post your crate training success story in the comments to inspire other puppy owners to sick with their crate training⬇️

03/03/2024

Our Group Class program is back after our winter hiatus! These classes are only available for those who have done one on one classes with us. You can sign up via Pet Pocketbook or you can email us at [email protected] to reserve your spot.

3/23 at 10:00am
Arnold Arboretum, Fairview Entrance

3/30 at 10:00am
Daisy Field, off of Willow Pond Rd in Jamaica Plain

4/20 at 10:00am
Arnold Arboretum, corner of Bussey St and and Walter St Entrance

4/26 at 5:45pm
Lowes Garden Center 306 Providence Hwy, Dedham

The following are some of the topics we will be covering in Group Class. Feel free to request additional topics or exercises.

* Emotional regulation skills around distractions.
* Loose leash walking around distractions.
* Recall around distractions.
* Stay around distractions.
* Advocating for your dog in a public setting.
* Exercises for building endurance and strength.
* Hiking/off leash etiquette and safety around water.
* Facilitating healthy social behavior with other dogs.
* Canine Good Citizen Prep.

Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns. We are looking forward to seeing you at Group Class!

01/01/2024

Happy Holidays! Hope everyone had a relaxing and joyful end of the year.

Super late on posting about this because we have been BUSY but our new website is up! And it has our updated 2024 prices on it. Link in our bio.

If you have a Pet Pocketbook account with us you should get an email with an updated Client Services Agreement for you to sign. New prices will be listed there along some new policies in regard to boarding late fees and lock boxes.

If you have any questions please feel free to email us at [email protected]. We don’t want to raise our prices, but several of our expenses increased going into 2024 so we need to compensate for that. We are willing to do reasonable discounts/payment plans for those who need financial support.

Thank you to everyone who trusted us with their dogs this year. It is such a privilege to grow, learn, and adventure with your dogs every day. We are all looking forward to another year of fun!

Lots of love
- The Community Canine Team

10/11/2023

One of the greatest gifts you can give your dog is the freedom to be themselves❤️

31/10/2023

November and December Group Class Dates!

11/4 at 10am, Arnold Arboretum Fairview Entrance

11/26 at 10am, Home Depot, 1213 VFW Pkway, West Roxbury

12/2 at 11am, Lowes, 306 Providence Hwy, Dedham

Please request the date you want via Pet Pocket Book or you can email [email protected]

Please DM us if you want to be added to the email list for Group Class scheduling updates.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

25/10/2023

Maine vacations with Annie are the best!

13/10/2023

Very excited to show you guys our new logo!

Over the next few weeks we are going to be re-doing our website and adding some cool new online programs to our offerings.

Our website should be functional during the transition, but we apologize in advance for any technical difficulties that may arise.

⭐️We are hoping to put more reviews on our website during this update. If you have worked with us we would very much appreciate a review on Yelp, Facebook, or to email us directly. ⭐️

Thank you so much for your support and we are looking forward to sharing our new website and online offerings with you!

23/08/2023

September and October Group Class dates are here!

This program has been so much fun over the past few months! It has been great seeing everyone work towards their goals each class. Looking forward to continuing this program with you all!

9/3 at 10am Arnold Arboretum Fairview Street Entrance

9/16 at 11am Houghton’s Pond, Picnic Area 5, Parking lot off of Blue Hill River Road, Milton.

9/24 at 10am Arnold Arboretum Fairview Street Entrance

10/8 at 1pm at Ponkapoag Pond, 1100 Randolph Street, Canton.

10/21 at 10am Arnold Arboretum Entrance at the corner of Walter and Bussey Street

Please request the date you want via Pet Pocket Book or you can email [email protected]

Please DM us if you want to be added to the email list for Group Class scheduling updates.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

08/08/2023

It’s that time of year again! If you are a client of ours and need boarding for your dog during Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the New Year you must contact us before the end of September to get on our list.

We have very limited spots for boarding during these time frames. This list is not first come first serve like our typical boarding. Instead we will be prioritizing dogs who have no other option and who fit in best with our households.

Please contact us via [email protected] with dates and pick up/drop off preferences before the end of September to be considered. At the end of September we will let you know if your dog got a spot or not during Thanksgiving and we will send out Christmas and New Years confirmations later in the fall.

Thank you for trusting your dogs with us!

15/07/2023

July/August Group Class Dates are here!

7/23 at 10am- Arnold Arboretum, Walter Street and Bussey Street Entrance

7/30 at 1pm- Ponkapoag Pond, 1100 Randolph Street

8/5 at 10am- Arnold Arboretum, Walter Street and Bussey Street Entrance

8/19 at 10am- Arnold Arobretum Fairview Street Entrance

8/27 at 1pm at Ponkapoag Pond, 1100 Randolph Street

Please request the date you want via Pet Pocket Book or you can email [email protected]

Please DM us if you want to be added to the email list for Group Class scheduling updates.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

09/07/2023

🚨LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME🚨

Name: Cali
Breed: German Shepherd Mix
DOB: Jan 6 2019

-Social with people, dogs, and cats.
-Food motivated and loves to play fetch.
-Very sweet and affectionate.
-Great adventure buddy, but can also settle easily.
-She is familiar with an electric fence.
-Healthy and up to date on vaccines.

-She does counter surf
-She would prefer a home without young children. Although she currently lives with a toddler without any issues. It is not her preferred environment.

Cali’s current family is deciding to re home her because their other dog, Gia, does not get along with Callie. Gia bullies her and is reactive making her harder to re home. They decided to keep Gia and re home Cali because it would be easier to find Cali a home.

Please email [email protected] if you are interested and I can connect you to Cali’s current owners. Even though this is a private re homing there will be a formal agreement for all parties to sign. Cali’s new owners will get a go-home packet with training info to set Cali up for success and a free one on one training class with me (Micaela.)

22/06/2023

Today I had a wonderful class with Ted, (A.K.A Handsome Theodore) and his foster mom Molly!

Ted is available for adoption via

Ted has a fantastic foster family who is dedicated to his training and making sure that he gets placed with the right adopter. Ted is all-around a good boy, social with people and dogs, easy going, loves to play and snuggle with both dogs and people.

In training we are working on cooperative care for grooming/the vet visits and leash reactivity with other dogs and prey animals.

In class today we worked on exercises that will decrease his frustration with being on leash and will help him regulate his emotions better around dogs and prey animals while on leash. We also covered some cooperative care protocols that will help Ted feel more comfortable and keep vet and grooming staff safe.

I am excited to see the progress Ted will make with his foster family and I hope he will find a forever home equally as dedicated to helping him be the best version of himself.

If you’re interested in adopting, Ted, please reach out to If you want to see Ted in action check out his foster family .and.coco

04/05/2023

Such a great group last weekend for our Group Class program. Thanks for coming out in the rain!

We have some new Group Class dates and times for June and July up on the website and listed below.

5/7 at 10am Home Depot 1213 VFW Pkwy, West Roxbury

5/28 at 1pm at Ponkapoag Pond, Randolph Street Entrance

6/3 at 10am, Arnold Arboretum Fairview Street Entrance

6/24 at 10am, Arnold Arboretum Fairview Street Entrance

7/2 at 10am Arnold Arboretum Bussey Street and Walter Street Entrance

7/8 at 10am Arnold Arboretum Bussey Street and Walter Street Entrance

Please request the date you want via Pet Pocket Book or you can email [email protected]

Please DM us if you want to be added to the email list for Group Class scheduling updates.

05/01/2023

Our Group Class Program is finally back! Current and past clients please request the classes you want from the list below via Pet Pocket Book. We are going to continue to keep class sizes small so everyone can get individual attention so spots will go fast.

This is a great opportunity for those who want to work on proofing their training skills around other dogs and for those of you who are prepping for a CGC test. $35 per dog, per class.

FEBURARY
2/3 at 5pm Home Depot 1213 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury. Meet outside of the outdoor section. Parking lot adjacent.

2/25 at 10am Arnold Arboretum, Fairview Street entrance. Street parking available.

MARCH
3/17 at 5pm Home Depot 1213 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury. Meet outside of the outdoor section. Parking lot adjacent.

3/25 at 10am Arnold Arboretum, Fairview Street entrance. Street parking available.

02/01/2023

Swipe through for some New Year price changes. If you have already booked something with us in 2023 under the old price you do not have to change to the new price until you book again.

Current clients please keep an eye out for a new liability waiver via Pet Pocket Book, you won’t be able to continue services with us until that waiver is signed.

Some reasoning behind these price changes (besides the economy being the way it is…)

Over the past few months we have prioritized streamlining our client communication, response time, and client support. As we have tracked the hours we spend communicating with clients/each other we realized that it is taking up a lot of our time. We want our trainers and our fantastic admin Emma to be fairly compensated for all of the work they do without having to compromise the quality of the service we have for our clients.

In calculating these price changes we did leave room for a set amount of clients to receive discounts. These discounts are reserved for clients who are in a tough finical situation. Every time one of our clients is able to pay full price, you are making room for someone who needs financial support to get access to dog training through our company.

A big thank you to all of our clients! We love working with such dedicated dog owners and we are looking forward to seeing you all in the New Year!

11/12/2022

If you are a current training client and need to book more sessions with Micaela please reach out to her or Emma ASAP via email to book your sessions. Her schedule for the New Year is filling up quickly!!

Waitlist clients please hold tight. We are hoping to get some of you off of the waitlist in the early spring. Thank you to everyone who has patiently waited on that list for the past few months❤️

01/08/2022

August Group Class dates, times, and locations listed below! You can sign up via Pet Pocket Book. Looking forward to seeing you all then!

8/6 at 10:30am
Castle Island, 2010 William J Day Blvd. Parking lot when you enter the park. We will meet up the hill past the area with the picnic tables.

8/13 at 10:30am
Home Depot - 1213 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury. We will meet in front of the outdoor section of the store.

8/27 at 10:30am
Charles River Greenway- parking lot in between Artesani PlayGround and Christian Herter Community Garden. We will meet in the grassy area to the left of the Community Garden if you are facing the river.

10/07/2022

Some happy hikers from the past few weeks! Swipe through for a very special birthday girl 🎉

08/07/2022

Over the past few months we have been referring a lot of people out to other companies because cannot keep up with the demand for our services. I assume that many of the companies we are referring out to are also just as booked as we are. So here is a short guide to help dog owners find professionals outside of our referrals list that meet our basic standards of care.
As a client you have every right to ask questions to the professionals you are considering hiring. As a dog care professional I would be so happy if a client asked me about any of the topics listed above, it would indicate to me that they care a lot about their dog and those are the clients any good dog care professional wants to have!
If you are interested in training with us, you can send us a contact form through our website. We are working hard on restructuring our business so we can meet the demand for our services. There is a chance Leritza can work with you over the next few months or that you can get on Micaela’s waitlist for winter 2022 depending on your location.

11/04/2022

Vacation is always better with friends❤️

I am back from vacation and looking forward to seeing all of your dogs again soon! I will be responding to everyone who I still owe emails and training videos to this week. Thanks for you patience with me!

09/03/2022

Up Coming Group Class Locations:

3/12 at 11am: Houghton’s Pond in Blue Hills- Blue Hill River Road Parking Lot, (across from Eileen Road) Milton. Parking lot adjacent to the park.

3/19 at 11am: Forte Field in Newton, parking lot adjacent to the field. Parking lot adjacent to the field.

3/26 at 11am: Arnold Arboretum - intersection of Bassey and Walter. Street parking available.

4/16 at 11am: Arnold Arboretum- Arborough Road entrance. Street parking available.

4/23 at 11am: Houghton’s Pond in Blue Hills- Blue Hill River Road Parking Lot, (across from Eileen Road) Milton. Parking lot adjacent to the park.

4/30 at 11am: Daisy Field- intersection of the Jamaicaway and Willow Pond Road. Parking lot adjacent to field.

In group class we have recently been working on Faith in Handler drills, fun Heeling exercises, E-Collar recall, and some CGC skills. I try to find a balance between working on life style skills and obedience skills while prioritizing how we can all build engagement, motivation, and clarity in our relationships with our dogs.
Class size maxes out at 5 dogs, so sign up soon via Pet Pocket Book or email our admin, Emma, at [email protected] to reserve your spot.
New location and topic requests are welcome in the comments!

06/03/2022

It might sound strange, but some of the biggest behavior changes I have seen in dogs start with a nail cut.
Imagine walking around with nails so long that they scrape across the ground & distort how you distribute pressure on your feet. Wouldn’t that be irritating & distracting? Imagine walking that way for weeks or months. Wouldn’t that be painful?
When a dog's nails grow long it dramatically alters how the dog walks. It can negatively affect the musculoskeletal integrity of your dog's entire body. Back issues, shoulder issues, joint pain, arthritis are just a few of the ailments that can arise because of overgrown nails.
Just because your dog isn’t crying with every step doesn’t mean they aren’t in pain. Dogs display pain in a variety of ways, aggression, low frustration tolerance, irritability, & unwillingness to move/engage in certain activities are all common indicators of pain.
Many times a trainer is contacted to address the symptoms of pain without the owner connecting the behavior to the dog’s nails. Often the root cause of the issue is that the dog is unmanageable when getting their nails cut to the point that maintaining their nail health is a very stressful task.
One of the first things we train horses to do is to stand politely so they can have their feet checked & trimmed by a farrier. It’s a core, key skill that almost every horse has because they can develop many of the same issues that dogs can if their hooves are not regularly trimmed. We prioritize this with horses because they can be very dangerous when they are scared. But so can dogs…. So where is the disconnect?
In my professional opinion, cooperative care for nail cuts, ear cleans, tooth brushing, grooming, bathing, & the vet are all necessary skills that should be taught in puppyhood. Arguably these skills are more important than sit or down due to the direct connection these skills have on your dog’s health & behavior.
Have you seen a correlation between your dog’s behavior & how long their nails are?

04/02/2022

We had so much fun in the snow this week! It’s been such a busy week I forgot to mention that our first CGC Prep/Test session is tomorrow form 9am-11am in Newton. Going forward we are holding CGC Prep/Test sessions the first Saturday morning of every month (except in April because I will be at a seminar.)
Feel free to DM me or reach out to our admin via [email protected] for more info!

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Nail cutting is such a difficult task for many dogs & success at it comes down to a few factors. . . Don’t wait to introduce the nail cutter when the dog needs their nails cut. Make it part of their life from the very beginning in a way that is not associated with a nail cut. Regularly interact with the nail cutter, show it to the dog & pair them interacting with it & a food reward. . . . Practice a lot. Being confident about cutting your dog’s nails makes a huge difference, if you are nervous they will be nervous too. Regularly practice by holding your dog’s paw & the nail cutter in a similar way, but don’t actually engage in the act of cutting. This increases your nail cutting skill set, making you more confident. It also desensitizes the dog to the act of you doing this so they are much less phased when you do actually cut their nails. . . . Start slow. Take a lot of time developing your new nail cutting skills before you jump into cutting all the nails at once in one conflict free sitting. You & the dog need to be very familiar with the action of the nail cutter touching the nail before it cuts into the nail. Start off cutting small pieces of the nail off so you have zero chance of cutting the dog’s Quick which is painful & bloody. . . . Use tools. Food rewards, a Treat n’ Train, a clicker, a leash, & a muzzle are all great tools to help the dog understand what their role is in the nail cutting process. . . The goal is to communicate to the dog that the moment of stress they endure during a nail cut is worth the subsequent reward. They need a strong reward history with a steady & systematic increase of stress in order to understand that getting their nails cut is worth it. . . . I wish I didn’t take a time lapse so you can see Benji’s lips tighten right before I cut each nail. He doesn’t like this, he’s stressed, he’s weighing the options of dipping out or staying put. His history with this circumstance is the only reason he is avoiding conflict & enduring th

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Community K9

Community K9 is a Boston based dog training program aimed at creating healthy, safe, and balanced relationships between humans and their dogs. We offer in home one on one training sessions, one on one training sessions out of Falco K9 in South Boston, Board and Trains, and Community Pack Walks

Community K9 is owned by Micaela Purnell who is a AKC-CGC and APDT certified dog trainer who has years of experience training and rehabilitating dogs and horses. Her goal is to build a safer and educated dog community in Boston. She has two dogs, a Boston Terrier and a Pit Mix. She has experience working with a wide variety of behavioral problems as well as dog grooming and nutrition. For her, dog training is far more than a few commands and tricks, its a lifestyle choice for you and the dog, and a good one at that!

We offer a wide variety of methods, skills, tools, and exercises to train your dog. Our goal is to make you and your dog have the highest quality of life, no matter what behavioral issue you are faced with. We offer a free meet and greet to all new clients to discuss your dogs unique curriculum before starting classes.

17/08/2024

24/06/2024

30/04/2024

12/04/2024

08/03/2024

03/03/2024

01/01/2024

10/11/2023

31/10/2023

25/10/2023

13/10/2023

23/08/2023

08/08/2023

15/07/2023

09/07/2023

22/06/2023

04/05/2023

05/01/2023

02/01/2023

11/12/2022

01/08/2022

10/07/2022

08/07/2022

11/04/2022

09/03/2022

06/03/2022

04/02/2022

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