Upcoming
Cochranton
Canine Development Courses
CURRENT LOCATION:
105 Smith Street
Cochranton, PA 16314
(with Outdoor Outings in downtown Cochranton, and occassionally in Meadville, too!)
JANUARY/FEBRUARY
COCHRANTON COURSE TUITION:
$50
** Puppy PROdigies: $60 **
TUITION INCLUDES:
Full 5-Session Course
** Puppy PROdigies: Full 6-Session Course **
Kids & Canines — Safe Handling, Communication, and Family Teamwork
Do your kids want to help train the dog but end up winding them up?
Does your dog struggle to listen to children?
Do you want safe, positive interactions that help both grow into confident teammates?
Family Fresh Start teaches children how to communicate with dogs using games, fun challenges, clear leadership, and age-appropriate skills. At the same time, dogs learn patience, gentleness, listening, and engagement with the younger members of their family.
We focus on:
• Safe handling and boundaries
• Family-friendly training games
• Trick-based confidence building
• Listening to kids as well as adults
• Strengthening bonds within the home
• Teaching responsibility, empathy, and leadership
Families leave feeling more connected, more confident, and more capable.
Training isn’t just for dogs —
it’s for families growing together.
Therapy Dog Track + CGC Skills — Calm, Presence, Heart
Do people naturally gravitate toward your dog?
Do you want to share their gentle spirit with others?
Or do you simply want a dog who is calm, steady, emotionally neutral, and excellent in public?
Compassionate Canines helps dogs develop the presence, confidence, and steady temperament needed for therapy work — while also preparing teams for Canine Good Citizen-style expectations.
We teach:
• Soft greetings with all ages
• Relaxation around equipment, walkers, wheelchairs, hospital or nursing home noises
• Emotional neutrality
• Controlled leash handling in public
• Being polite and gentle under attention
• Remaining calm when the environment is not
Even if therapy work isn’t the goal, owners love the calm, predictable, relaxed dog this program creates.
Kindness changes lives.
We help your dog share theirs.
Beginner-Level Super Course — Build Skills, Rebuild Balance, Reconnect With Your Dog
Does your dog jump on guests, drag you through the door, ignore you when you really need them to listen, or struggle to calm down after getting excited?
Do you ever feel like you love your dog but sometimes don’t fully understand them?
Or maybe you adopted a new dog or puppy and want to start off on the right foot?
Fresh Start Foundations is built for the everyday dog — the dogs who are sweet, loving, enthusiastic, a little chaotic, and trying their best but lacking structure and clear communication. This course transforms daily life by teaching practical manners, impulse control, attention skills, and emotional regulation in a way that feels achievable and supportive.
We help owners rebuild a foundation that makes life easier:
• Walking politely on leash
• Listening the first time
• Staying calm when excited
• Understanding what you’re asking
• Developing confidence through clear expectations
This course feels like a breath of fresh air — for both dog and human — and creates a partnership rooted in communication, patience, and progress. It’s the perfect first course or reset for families who want harmony at home again.
Your “new beginning” starts here —
and it starts with clarity, confidence, and connection.
Beginner/
Intermediate Bridge — Sharpen Skills, Build Reliability, Strengthen Follow-Through
Does your dog “know it” but only when they feel like it?
Do they listen beautifully at home but fall apart around distractions?
Do they need a reminder of calm behavior, structured responses, or listening even when they’d prefer to do something else?
Reset & Rise is the solution for the dogs who aren’t beginners — but aren’t quite ready for advanced skills either. These are the dogs who have foundations but struggle with consistency, real-world distractions, and sustained focus.
This course helps:
• Dogs who speed through cues instead of performing them mindfully
• Dogs who forget their training when excited, overstimulated, or unsure
• Dogs who breezed through beginner class but still lack reliability
• Owners who want more polish, better behavior, and deeper communication
We refine behaviors, tighten expectations, and build a dog who makes good choices even when tempted not to. The transformation is powerful: a dog who not only knows the skill — but knows how to use it in real life.
A gentle reset.
A confident rise.
And a dog who truly steps into their potential.
Urban Manners, Public Behavior, and Everyday Life Skills
Do walks feel chaotic or overwhelming?
Does your dog pull you toward people, dogs, smells, or movement?
Do they struggle in waiting rooms, on sidewalks, at outdoor events, or in any public setting that feels crowded or unfamiliar?
City-Smart Canines teaches your dog how to function like a well-mannered companion in busy, real-world environments. We prepare teams for the actual places you live your life — sidewalks, storefronts, parks, lobbies, events, and appointments.
We build:
• Neutrality around people, dogs, noises, and motion
• Polite movement through tight or busy spaces
• Calm behavior in public seating areas
• Safe, controlled greetings
• Confidence when the world feels overwhelming
• Skills that prepare dogs for CGC, therapy work, or public outings
If you want a dog who goes anywhere with grace — not just the training floor — this program creates the dependable, steady companion you envision.
The world is busy.
Your dog can learn to navigate it beautifully.
Off-Leash Skills + Reliability + Trust — The Path to Safe Adventuring
Do you dream of letting your dog run free — but your fear of them not coming back holds you back?
Does your dog chase wildlife, run toward people or other dogs, or tune you out in exciting environments?
Do you want off-leash adventures without off-leash anxiety?
Freedom Foundations teaches the real building blocks behind reliable off-leash behavior — starting with confidence, connection, and impulse control long before a leash ever comes off.
We help owners develop:
• Rock-solid recall
• A dog who checks in automatically
• Calmness around distractions
• A relationship where the dog chooses the owner over the environment
• Focus even when excitement spikes
• Safety awareness around roads, wildlife, and unpredictable environments
If you want to trust your dog with more freedom — in yards, on trails, at parks, or during real-world adventures — this course creates the foundation for a lifetime of safe exploration.
Freedom isn’t magic.
It’s training, reliability, and teamwork.
We build all three.
Behavior Modification — Emotional Regulation, Confidence, Recovery
Does your dog bark, lunge, growl, panic, or shut down around people, dogs, cars, noises, or movement?
Do you avoid certain routes, times of day, or environments because your dog is overwhelmed?
Do you want to help your dog feel safe, understood, and capable — not punished or misunderstood?
Reactivity Rehab & Renewal is for dogs who experience the world with more intensity than most. We focus on emotional stability first, behavior second, and handler confidence throughout the journey.
We teach owners and dogs how to:
• Recognize early signs of stress
• Build safe coping strategies
• Recover more quickly after triggers
• Gain confidence through achievable success
• Communicate clearly under pressure
• Replace reactive patterns with regulated responses
• Create a calmer inner world so the outer world feels less threatening
This program is compassionate, structured, and deeply supportive.
Your dog doesn’t need to be perfect — they need to feel safe.
Renewal begins here.
Beginner-Level Super Course — Build Skills, Rebuild Balance, Reconnect With Your Dog
Does your dog jump on guests, drag you through the door, ignore you when you really need them to listen, or struggle to calm down after getting excited?
Do you ever feel like you love your dog but sometimes don’t fully understand them?
Or maybe you adopted a new dog or puppy and want to start off on the right foot?
Fresh Start Foundations is built for the everyday dog — the dogs who are sweet, loving, enthusiastic, a little chaotic, and trying their best but lacking structure and clear communication. This course transforms daily life by teaching practical manners, impulse control, attention skills, and emotional regulation in a way that feels achievable and supportive.
We help owners rebuild a foundation that makes life easier:
• Walking politely on leash
• Listening the first time
• Staying calm when excited
• Understanding what you’re asking
• Developing confidence through clear expectations
This course feels like a breath of fresh air — for both dog and human — and creates a partnership rooted in communication, patience, and progress. It’s the perfect first course or reset for families who want harmony at home again.
Your “new beginning” starts here —
and it starts with clarity, confidence, and connection.
Agility × Rally × Freestyle × FUN — High-Energy, High-Learning Variety Class
Does your dog have energy for days?
Do they light up when learning new things, moving their body, or working as a team with you?
Are YOU looking for a class that feels like an outing, an experience, and a highlight of your week?
Fusion Fridays blends multiple dog sports into one high-engagement adventure:
• Agility foundations + obstacle flow
• Rally obedience patterns + precision
• Freestyle tricks + creativity
• Focus games + handler engagement
• Movement conditioning + coordination
Every week is different — which keeps dogs excited and owners inspired. This is the class for dogs who love to do things, learn things, jump, spin, weave, pivot, and think.
If you want joy, movement, laughter, and teamwork…
Fusion Fridays is your new favorite night of the week.
Tricks, Stunts, Showmanship — Performance With Heart
Does your dog love attention?
Do they thrive on learning new tricks, showing off, or having all eyes on them?
Or maybe they’re shy and you want to build confidence through fun, expressive behaviors?
Spotlight Stars is where dogs become performers — learning precision tricks, stunt-based skills, routines, and showpiece movements that look incredible in person or on camera.
We explore:
• High-value trick sequences
• Polished showmanship skills
• Fun stunts and attention-grabbing behaviors
• Foundations for performance and confidence
• Teamwork and timing
• Stage presence for dogs who love to shine
Whether your dog is dramatic, comedic, athletic, or simply adorable — this course builds a dog who shines from the inside out.
Lights up.
Tails high.
It’s showtime.
Enhanced Puppy Development — Social Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Early Learning Done Right
Is your puppy bouncing between adorable genius and fuzzy chaos?
Do you want to avoid future behavior issues — not just fix them later?
Are you hoping to raise a confident, social, emotionally intelligent dog from the very beginning?
Puppy PROdigies is not just a class; it’s early life shaping designed by professionals who understand developmental stages, fear periods, behavioral windows, and how fast puppies absorb the world.
We focus on:
• Confidence-building experiences that prevent fear-based problems later
• Early social boundaries (because polite puppies become polite adults)
• Handling that prepares them for groomers, vets, family life, and public outings
• Problem-solving and puzzle-solving that build cognitive flexibility
• Calmness and neutrality around other puppies
• Foundational obedience that grows with them
Owners walk away saying, “This is the dog I always hoped to raise.”
Your puppy only gets one chance at early learning.
Let’s make it extraordinary.
Confidence, Courage, and Emotional Bravery for Shy or Sensitive Dogs
Does your dog hesitate, freeze, shrink back, or worry in new environments?
Do they avoid trying new things?
Are they thoughtful and sweet but just a little unsure of themselves?
Watch Me Win is a gentle, uplifting workshop that helps sensitive dogs discover bravery through controlled challenges, trick-based confidence building, and performance-style exercises that inspire them to step forward instead of pull away.
We create a series of “small wins” that snowball into big transformations:
• Confidence in movement
• Courage trying new tasks
• Emotional resilience
• Willingness to explore and experiment
• A stronger partnership with their person
Shy dogs become curious.
Worried dogs become willing.
Thoughtful dogs become proud.
This is where courage grows.
Movement • Mindwork • Mastery — Total-Body + Total-Brain Conditioning
Does your dog need more than basic training?
Do they crave both physical and mental stimulation?
Do they get bored easily or struggle to settle unless meaningfully challenged?
Or do they lack confidence and need structured, achievable victories?
Kinetic K9 Academy is your dog’s ultimate enrichment course — a fusion of canine fitness, movement science, parkour-style obstacle work, scent games, tracking foundations, puzzles, problem-solving, and cognitive challenges.
We build:
• Core strength
• Balance + stability
• Proprioception and body awareness
• Mental endurance
• Emotional resilience
• Creative problem-solving
• Whole-dog engagement that tires the body and mind
This course is perfect for:
• Energetic dogs needing an outlet
• Nervous dogs needing confidence
• Smart dogs who get under-stimulated
• Sport prospects building foundation skills
• Pet dogs needing meaningful enrichment
Strength meets strategy.
Movement meets intelligence.
Everything becomes mastery.
Your dog becomes happier, more confident, more athletic, and more fulfilled — one thoughtful challenge at a time.
Upcoming
ERIE Group Courses
LOCATION:
Lucky Dog Stay & Play
9170 Lake Pleasant Rd. | Erie, PA 16509
ERIE COURSE TUITION:
$150
TUITION INCLUDES:
Full 7-session course
Erie Courses will resume in March 2026!
READY TO ENROLL?
Now Booking Through
Paw Partner
Meraki Canine LLC has transitioned to Paw Partner for all Boarding, Playcare, and Training reservations.
Clients can now create or claim their account, upload vaccination records, and sign required agreements directly through the Paw Partner App or www.pawpartner.com
(search: Meraki Canine LLC).
Please switch over as soon as possible. Gingr will be discontinued on December 17, 2025.
Need help getting started?
Watch our step-by-step tutorial:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a1JVsWZWa5wXx47EAm9aTWiXSubMsnpJ/view?usp=sharing
Where are classes held?
Dog Training Services in Crawford & Erie County
Down Home Dog Resort & Training proudly offers professional dog training services in Crawford County (Cochranton) and Erie County (Erie).
Whether you’re looking for obedience training, manners, enrichment-based learning, or specialized training for dog sports, we have programs tailored to fit your needs.
For our Erie County training classes, we partner with Lucky Dog Stay & Play (learn more about them, by clicking here), a premier dog care facility offering a safe and engaging environment for various dog needs. This allows us to provide top-quality training in a convenient location for Erie-based clients.
If you’re ready to strengthen your bond with your dog through effective and fun training, contact us today to learn more about our upcoming classes and private training options!
