Pet Services in Providence

At A Fox & Hounds Pet Care, four-legged friends lap up first-rate treatment from a team of dedicated, nurturing pup professionals. Tailored to each pet's needs, services range from full-time daycare and overnight lodging to training programs for dogs both young and old. Inside, furry visitors bound across 6,000 square feet of climate-controlled, cage-free space, and outdoors, the large, fenced-in play yard's special pet grass allows for quick drainage and prevents pooches from tunneling out and running away to the frisbee factory. The day care's special-needs areas can also accommodate animals that are shy or recovering from injuries.

Bentley is a poodle–shih tzu mix with hair flowing down the floor. His distrust of strangers was so intense that he couldn't even go into a PetSmart without getting kicked out. The same story applied to Brodie, a rescued poodle, who snapped at every groomer he ever had. But because she was a certified trainer before becoming a groomer, Mandi Gorton could read their signals and knew when they just needed to chill out and when they needed to know they were safe. Now the two dogs are among the most well-behaved clients of The Green Paw Spa. As Gorton observes, dogs—like people—are just more agreeable when they know cookies and massages are coming.

When Gorton describes The Green Paw Spa as a "holistic pet salon," she means every word. Each appointment begins with Gorton bringing the furry client to a relaxed state. Then she starts pampering with organic, biodegradable shampoos and conditioners. Her own dog, a border collie mix named Wamba, has allergies so intense that just the air of a traditional grooming salon causes her to break out in hives. So to help keep her and all dogs healthy, Gorton bans harsh chemicals from the spa, right down to the furniture, which is made of recycled materials. In fact, the South Bark blueberry facial she uses is so pure that it's edible, which probably explains why most dogs don't mind having it worked into their snouts. Further eco-friendly touches include a bathing system that uses approximately 2 gallons of water to wash a dog, compared to the 10–15 gallons used by traditional baths, and a pet taxi that carpools companions back and forth from their homes to save owners gas and let dogs brag to their friends about having a chauffer.

Due to improper training or seemingly aggressive appearances, some dog breeds have bad reputations. At Northeast K-9 Academy, however, the trained and dedicated staffers see past stereotypes and offer grooming, boarding, and training services to dogs regardless of their size, breed, or questionable musical tastes. Inside the three spacious indoor playrooms, pooches can explore, romp, and nap. Outside, a fenced-in stone play area provides dogs with fresh air and room to run while keeping their paws and coats clean.

At South Shore Equestrian Center, students of all skill levels trot atop well-trained steeds during private, semiprivate, and group lessons. Before lessons, an instructor pairs each student with an appropriate horse, usually the one that perches on the student's outstretched arm. Then, the instructor—who is licensed, insured, and possesses more than 20 years of experience—walks the class through the basics of horsemanship including feeding, handling, brushing and grooming, riding, jumping, and showing. Subsequent lessons delve deeper into different riding styles such as English hunt seat and Western horse thief.

South Shore Equestrian Center houses a riding ring, field, and sandy practice corrals to give students a more comprehensive and realistic sense of how it feels to ride. The training staff leads more advanced sessions for serious riders, as well as horse-lease programs and discounted practice ride sessions for students who wish to compete and travel without personally owning a horse.

A Tails Readers’ Choice Award winner, Tail Waggerz accommodates canines with a 7,500-square-foot pet daycare facility, cage-free boarding, and grooming services. The caretakers devote their indoor and outdoor spaces to keeping guests stimulated with social games of fetch, hide-and-seek, and Texas hold'em. Dogs are invited for crate-free boarding after a personality analysis to make sure they'll get along with other dogs. Seven nights a week, caretakers sleep in the same room as four-legged guests that curl up on pillows or futons.

John Edwards founded The Well Fed Dog several years ago after falling in love with a raggedy lab mix named Sasha. When John and his wife adopted Sasha, she was 6 months old, underweight, underfed, and riddled with fleabites, but the family was determined to nurse the small pup back to health. During the process, John discovered Sasha had a chicken allergy, and so he had to carefully read the labels on the dog food they were buying her. What he discovered disgusted him—many foods were composed of animal byproducts, synthetic vitamins, and other ingredients unfit to feed a cherished member of the family, no matter their species. And so John began to craft his own recipes for dog food, using careful research and advice from veterinarians, fellow pet owners, and even professional chefs.

Featured in the Boston Globe and national Natural Dog magazine, The Well Fed Dog and its recipes include real meats, such as lamb, salmon, and beef, and vegetables including sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and celery, and the products can now be found in many stores. All of the handpicked ingredients are also human grade, perishable, and packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids. The food is slow-cooked then frozen before being divided into small batches to help with quality control and is packed into cooler bags for safe keeping. To keep pets happy between meals, The Well Fed Dog also sells special treats that dogs love, such as deer and moose antlers, smoked-beef marrowbones, and pictures of cats wearing humiliating hats.