North Country PAWS for Obedience, LLC, a successful canine obedience business with an operation in Hudson Falls, has opened on the 12.6-acre former property of the Greenfield Tavern at 3230 Route 9N.

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and local officials will be held Friday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. 

On Saturday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26, PAWS will open its doors for any member of the Greenfield community (humans only please!) from 9 to noon to tour the facility, take a pond walk, check out the new retail store, participate in raffles, enjoy refreshments and other fall festivities.

“We are delighted to welcome this successful business to Greenfield,” said Town Supervisor Kevin Veitch. “It seems that the perfect business has found a perfect location. This beautiful and rural property has big history and we’ve all been waiting for the right type of business to come along. I think that PAWS, with its community focus, is going to fit right in.”

The Greenfield facility features indoor training space, private rooms for crating and training, and a retail shop. A separate building will house the puppy programs, the grooming salon and a business office. Both buildings on the property have been completely renovated. Future plans include fencing and cleaning the large pond and adding a dock for dock diving activities. Trails will also be added to the property.

“Our entire property is being carefully designed with a dog’s best interests in mind,” said Managing Owner Lora Bacharach. “Being outdoors in nature puts the dogs in a better state of mind. Dogs are happiest when they can sniff, run, chase sticks and swim in a pond. We aim to be a one-of-a-kind resource center for owners and their dogs.”

Greenfield Resident-Owned
Owner Bri Rabine has lived in Greenfield since 2021, when she purchased an old family farmhouse on Strakos Road with her husband Danny O’Leary.  Rabine is thrilled to have opened a facility so close to home and finds Greenfield to be an ideal home and place to work.

“I love the rural feel of our town with its ponds and rock walls,” said Rabine. “Everyone has been so welcoming here and it’s super dog-friendly.” Rabine also cited the incredible educated and wonderful” staff at Greenfield Animal Hospital, TOG’s small pizza shops and Greenfield’s Forever as being special parts of our town.

Rabine and Bacharach of South Glens Falls met through a mutual friend and they quickly became business partners. It makes sense, since both spent their childhoods engrossed in dog training. Bacharach became a kennel technician at the age of 16 and Rabine ran a dog walking business in her childhood.  After graduating from Penn State, Bacharach worked as a graphic designer at Pet Partners, a Veterinary Animal acquisitions company. After getting married and having a daughter, she decided it was time to invest in her love for dog training fully. Rabine operated North Country Canine until she partnered up with Bacharach in 2017.

“This business would not have been so successful if not for this partnership,” said Bacharach. “We both believed that our business wouldn’t be successful if we were too money hungry and grew too quickly. We are both completely invested in the idea that people should be committed to their relationship with their dog. This shouldn’t be rushed. We share a passion that dogs need to live enriched lives that involve a lot of time outdoors.”

Together they aimed to create a one-of-a-kind resource center for dog owners. Over the years they have learned from many dog behaviorists and mentors and attended dozens of workshops and seminars across the country. Bacharach has received three levels of certification from the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), where she also serves as a member of its board of directors.

Classes are currently booked to 80% of its present capacity. In Greenfield, dogs can be enrolled in day train programs, a structured full-day program of training that includes training videos, report cards, behavioral evaluations, centers focused on training, sensory, social and fulfillment and even homework. PAWS also offers similar private lessons, and pup-focused and owner continued education. The PAWS Purpose Program is a live in “board and train” program where dogs live with Rabine for anywhere from three to eight weeks.

Monthly memberships at PAWS offer a variety of benefits, service discounts and access to special events like play days and field socials. The Puppy Preschool will open in its own dedicated building in late October and grooming at The Muddy Paws Salon is scheduled to begin booking by November 1.

PAWS will offer frequent seminars and workshops for the community such as first aid training, nutrition or therapy dog training. Each PAWS location offers multiple “Bark & Paint” classes each year that feature a painting project to benefit a local charity.

The retail shop will sell a myriad of dog merchandise from sweatshirts to mugs, homemade leashes, locally baked treats, training tools, toys, bones, dishes and more. It will be open Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon through Jan. 1 and then will be open two days a week.

The mission of PAWS is to offer adventure, fulfillment and relationship building for its canine customers in addition to traditional lessons in obedience. Free phone consultations are available and by appointment PAWS will create a free training roadmap for your dog.

Two Locations & Four Owners
The first location opened in 2017 at a small location in South Glens Falls. PAWS opened a 32-acre PAWS Canine Enrichment Center at 4202 Route 4 in Hudson Falls in 2020. The Hudson Falls location offers the same programming as Greenfield, except it also features more Adventure Dog programs such as hiking, water sports and dock diving, with its state-of-the-art dock diving pool. Additional owners today include Lora’s husband Managing Owner Will Bacharach and Owner and Lead trainer and founder of the ADK GRC (Gameness Relationship Control Dogsports) Club Jen Wolfe. The new location is fully staffed with four full-time and four part-time employees. PAWS closed its Queensbury location when Greenfield opened.

All the PAWS’ staff are trained throughout the year. Cleaning is one of the top priorities for staff Bacharach said. Every day every inch of the facility is sprayed with dog-safe “rescue spray.” In addition, all dogs are required to have updated vaccines and two fecal checks a year.

For those with fond memories of the Greenfield Tavern, the owners hope you will come and take a peak. The new business has kept a good amount of the tavern’s vibe with the original flooring, the bar and wood paneling.

A full brochure with current services at PAWS is included below. Call 518-636-3603, visit the website (there is an online contact form) or email info@paws4obedience.com to book an appointment or learn more. Follow PAWS on Facebook here.