About Meraki Canine LLC
For more than 14 years, our journey has been shaped by a love for dogs and a willingness to grow alongside the families we serve. It began in 2012, when Hannah opened Down Home Dog Training, LLC at just 19 years old. In 2022, she and her husband Mick expanded into Down Home Dog Resort, bringing structured playcare and boarding into the business.
​
Since then, families from Crawford County, across Pennsylvania, and beyond have trusted us with their dogs. As Meraki grew, so did the demand for our services, with training and boarding regularly maintaining waitlists of 10 or more dogs.
​
Our own lives have grown, too. As a family-owned business balancing children, our own dogs, family, professional commitments, and life outside of Meraki, we made the intentional decision to stop measuring growth by how many dogs we could accommodate. Instead, we began focusing on deeper, long-term relationships with the dogs and families already working with us.
​
Today, professional training is the foundation of Meraki Canine, while boarding and playcare have become client-exclusive services designed to complement those established relationships.
With the opening of our Cochranton location, we knew it was time for a name that reflected not just what we do, but why we do it. That’s how Meraki Canine LLC was born — a brand that honors the heart, intention, and care behind every decision we make for the dogs and people we serve.
OUR STORY & VALUES
A New Name, A Deeper Purpose
WHY MERAKI?
​
Meraki is a Greek word used to describe putting a piece of yourself—your soul, creativity, love, and intention—into the work you do. The name reflects how this business has been built from the beginning: personally, intentionally, and with genuine care for the dogs and people we serve.
RELATIONSHIPS OVER VOLUME
​
As demand grew, we chose to become more client-exclusive rather than continually increasing the number of dogs in our care. Training allows us to truly know each dog's personality, needs, strengths, challenges, and behavior, creating a foundation that carries into our other services.
THE FULL PICTURE
​
Boarding and Playcare give us opportunities to know our training clients beyond the training floor. Time without owners present allows us to observe separation, settling, social behavior, arousal, routines, destructive tendencies, and other behaviors that may not appear during a traditional training session. Playcare can provide appropriate socialization and real-world practice, while boarding allows us to see how dogs adapt to longer stays, downtime, handling, and changes in routine. Together, these experiences help us understand each dog as an individual and provide more informed support to their owners.
Our goal isn't to serve the most dogs. It's to truly know the dogs we serve.
Our Facility: Designed With Dogs in Mind
Our downtown Cochranton location is a 3,500+ square foot, climate-controlled, multi-level facility designed to bring professional dog training, client-exclusive care, enrichment, and The Meraki Pet Mercantile together under one roof.
Our main level serves as the heart of the facility, providing space for professional training and group classes while also becoming home to The Meraki Pet Mercantile. The space is intentionally arranged to allow dogs to work around real-world distractions without overwhelming them, while giving each dog-and-handler team appropriate space to learn, build confidence, and practice skills.
Our upper level provides additional space dedicated to training and program-specific activities, allowing us to offer opportunities in obedience, dog sports, fitness, conditioning, agility, rally, specialty programs, and other areas of canine development.
Our facility continues to evolve alongside Meraki. Rather than designing our space around accommodating the highest possible volume of dogs, we focus on creating a versatile environment that supports thoughtful training, individualized care, appropriate enrichment, and the needs of the dogs and families we serve.
Every part of Meraki is being built with purpose—from the dogs we train and care for to the products and resources we bring to our community.
Health, Biosecurity & Environmental Standards
Vaccination & Illness Policies
Cleaning & Disinfection Protocols
-
Dogs must remain current on all vaccinations required for the services they attend.
-
Puppies must have a minimum of two rounds of age-appropriate vaccinations prior to attendance.
-
Dogs showing signs of contagious illness are not permitted to participate in services.
-
Owners should notify us of known exposure to potentially contagious illness prior to their dog’s next visit.
We utilize:
-
Commercial veterinary-grade disinfectants for applicable flooring and surfaces
-
Air sanitation protocols
-
Commercial-grade air scrubbers and air purifiers
-
Daily sanitation of high-traffic areas, kennels, yards, and common spaces
-
Routine deep-cleaning protocols
- Weekly strip and deep-clean protocols
Training, enrichment, and shared equipment are cleaned and sanitized routinely and between uses as appropriate to help reduce cross-contamination between dogs and programs.
Food Handling Standards
For pest control, cross-contamination prevention, and animal safety, food brought into the facility must be stored in sealed containers in accordance with facility protocols. Loose or open bags are not permitted due to the risk of spillage, pest attraction, or accidental access by other animals.
Climate & Air Quality Monitoring
Our building is climate controlled and monitored using multiple temperature and humidity gauges throughout the facility. Conditions are checked throughout the day to help maintain a safe, comfortable environment for the animals in our care.
Behavioral Safety & Individual Monitoring
Dogs participating in our programs are observed for stress signals, arousal, avoidance, frustration, changes in behavior, and other threshold indicators. Because many dogs utilizing our client-exclusive services also participate in training with us, observations made outside of formal training sessions can provide valuable insight into their overall behavior.
Social and group interactions, when appropriate, are intentionally selected and supervised based on compatibility, individual needs, comfort, and skill level. Dogs are not simply placed into groups for the sake of group play.
​
Our relationship-based approach allows observations from training, boarding, and playcare to work together, giving us a more complete understanding of each dog while prioritizing structure, safety, appropriate social experiences, and emotional regulation.