Wonder Dog Training & Games — Local services in Memphis

My husband and I got our Labradoodle, Max, as a puppy in October 2020. We had dogs before Max, but had no experience with Labs/Poodles/Doodles. We were very successful in house training him, but he was super energetic and just seemed wild outside as we tried to walk him, and was reactive to people/other dogs. Despite our efforts, he would not come when called (unless he felt like it). He had been off leash about three times and on two of those occasions we thought he wasn’t going to come back. It reached the point that I told my husband, “We have to do something”!

We found out about Wonder Dog and reached out to them. We scheduled an in-home evaluation to explain what Max’s issues were and what our goals were for training him. We were skeptical after the evaluation because Max was very suspicious of Megan (his evaluator) and was very reluctant to approach her, even with plentiful treats. But, we signed up for the full program of on- and off-leash training.

At the first session we learned our program included the provision of certain tools to support Max’s training—specifically the Remote and prong collars. Corey was our primary trainer, and over the 6 weeks of in-home training visits, we witnessed a miraculous change in Max’s behavior. Interestingly, Max never really seemed to like Corey—he was suspicious and wary when Corey came and barked a lot to express his reluctance. Despite this, Corey taught Max (and us) what was expected of him and Max learned quickly everything Corey wanted to teach him. It wasn’t like Max loved Corey and wanted to please him, but he did comply with all of Corey’s instruction and was a good student. Early on, we realized Corey knew exactly what he was doing and we had great confidence he would successfully train Max.

The result of Max’s training was as follows: He now comes when called, both inside and outside. When outside and off leash, he comes when called—every time. He loves to fetch a ball thrown (when off leash) and he immediately brings it back—every time—to be thrown for him again. He goes to his bed on command, and stays in place until we release him. When we go outside, he sits by the open door (after we have told him “Stay”) until he’s released. Before we cross the street, he will sit on command while we check for traffic, then crosses with us after he’s released. On-leash, he walks at heel on command, and walks on a loose leash (doesn’t pull and act crazy while walking as he did prior to training). Oh, and he also learned the “Down” and “Leave It” commands.

Corey stressed what our role was in reinforcing everything that Max learned between the in-home sessions. It turned out that Corey was also training us. We realized that you don’t pay for the training and then say “Well, based on what I’ve paid, the trainer is going to have to do it all”. We realized that thinking that way was not realistic and couldn’t possibly be effective. Rather, we knew we had to take responsibility to build on what Corey taught Max by following through each day with the “homework” Corey gave us. He made it very clear to us that we would have to do our part to reinforce the training he provided each week. We did this and the results were amazing. We also realize that although Max has “graduated”, we must continue to reinforce what he has learned going forward if he is to strengthen everything he’s learned.

Also included are weekly game sessions with other owners and their dogs who are in various stages of Wonder Dog training. We went to our first one this weekend and it was a very positive experience. The event was very well organized and we were all told to keep our dogs on leash and properly separated. Max was very well behaved and did not react to the other dogs the way we thought he might. We will continue to attend these sessions whenever we can.

Wonder Dog training is not inexpensive, but we feel it met our needs for in-home/one-on one training. We highly recommend it!

(Also, a shout out to Max, another trainer who came to several sessions...

I can't say enough good about Wonder Dog! (I'll try though) We walked in to our free assessment with Corey exhausted and frustrated with our 18month old rescued pitty mix. Brutus was an under-socialized rowdy 60lb bundle of energy. By the end of the meeting, Brutus was sitting calmly beside Corey, who was so understanding and patient with us. From that moment we knew we were in good hands and couldn't sign up quickly enough! Because of his lack of socialization we chose to have him trained in the facility rather than in our house at the time. Brutus' first day started off a little rough and I honestly was afraid to leave him because I thought they would be calling us to come get him by noon. But Corey sent me a reassuring video almost as soon as I left, and I cried with relief (not an exaggeration. Pet parents who are wondering if their dog is even trainable will get it). When we picked him up that evening, we were given a 45 minute lesson ourselves (they are actually training us humans more so than the dogs, of course) and homework for the coming week. Over the course of our lessons, our trainer, Jesse, was always available for questions or assistance whenever we needed her. It was easy to see that everyone at Wonder Dog is well educated and truly loves dogs. After Brutus' first 6 weeks, we decided he wasnt quite ready to graduate and we actually added another 3 "a la carte" home lessons with Gordon. Gordon had been at the facility during the days too and knew (and loved) our Brutus already. Gordon helped us at home with Brutus jumping on US and by our last day, Brutus was walking calmly beside us on walks and it was like a weight had lifted from me! Brutus isn't perfect, he's still a rowdy 60 lb bundle of energy, but we know better how to control that energy and with consistency and commitment on our part, he just might be our own Wonder Dog! But the best part is, being part of the Wonder Dog Tribe, I know I have a safety net because if Brutus "backslides", I can call them for help walking me through it or even be available for a refresher lesson if needed. (This is a priceless benefit of Wonder Dog and such a relief, knowing I'm not alone, and have a pro available to help me if necessary! ) I cant wait till we can attend a Tribe game day with other...

If you're in search of a dog trainer who can work wonders, look no further than Evan. My experience with Evan has been nothing short of exceptional. I brought my rambunctious 3-month-old Mini Aussie to him, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, he transformed her into an incredibly well-behaved companion.

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