Shelmar Kennels

Shelmar Kennels is an excellent dog training facility, and my husband and I highly recommend them to train your dog(s). The owners, Martin and Shelly are extremely knowledgeable about the dog psyche, and they legitimately care about your pet's training success. They come with a tremendous amount of experience training dogs, and it shows. We noticed a huge change in our dog's behavior the day we picked her up from the board and training program. She gained so many good behavior traits in the short amount of time she was there, and we wholeheartedly thank Martin and Shelly, as we could not have successfully done on our own.

After the 3 week training at Shelmar Kennels, the improvement in Declan, our 65 lb. 9 month old lab/collie mix, was truly like night and day! We adopted him from a shelter, and unfortunately he came with a host of bad habits: pulling, turning and biting on the leash during walks; jumping up on the couch when we tried to relax; jumping on us for attention around the house; playing too roughly with our older dog; not listening when we tried to call or correct him. We chose Shelmar Kennels for training because of their positive reviews, alongside Martin and Shelly's years of experience with training dogs. I'm so glad we did! Their training grounds are expansive and include a pond. We loved that Declan was both socialized with other dogs-in-training and taught to behave in a home. We checked in on him via email weekly, and Shelly replied with detailed updates on Declan's progress. On pick-up day it was truly like Declan had been hypnotized – same sweet puppy, but no more pulling, biting or jumping, and he was actually listening! Martin showed us how to communicate with him in a better way, both verbally and with our body language. When we got home, we noticed such a difference in Declan's house manners. Again, it was like he'd been hypnotized! No more jumping, constant need for attention, etc. When we would sit on the couch to watch tv, Declan would happily lay down beside us or keep himself busy with a toy. Before we found Shelmar, we were beyond frustrated and beginning to feel like we couldn’t handle Declan’s quirks in the home and on walks, especially with our other animals. Now it’s such a good feeling to know that we can confidently keep this sweet dog and enjoy him without feeling overwhelmed. Knowing that we can always reach out to Martin and Shelly for support helps tremendously too! I would recommended training at Shelmar Kennels to anyone who's looking for a trainer who meets the dog where it's at, showing them how to behave without relying on constant treat bribery like other trainers. You can tell Martin and Shelly truly care about both the dog and the owners succeeding. I’ve been telling everyone I know about the "dog whisperers!"

I can not recommend Shelmar Kennels enough! Mr. Martin truly wants to see each animal thrive with their owner. Extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Demonstrates undeniable passion for the animal as well as ensuring effective training at his property and successful return back home. Also greatly appreciated his availability keeping in touch during and after the 3-wk training process. He had our five-month-old Brittany Spaniel. At pick up, he spent nearly 2 hours with our family (4 kids from 3 to 12 yrs old), walking through everything our dog had learned and how to implement for a successful transition back home.

We searched for a trainer that could assist us with our spirited Flat Coat Retriever. He was easily overstimulated and that caused troublesome issues on the leash and when meeting and greeting others. Martin and Shelly returned our dog with perfect leash manners and a much calmer disposition around people and other dogs. Best of all, they employed us with the skills needed to continue training Pete during a thorough lesson at pick up. They offer continued support if needed. The best surprise was our dog earning the AKC Canine Good Citizen award while doing our checkout lesson. I was unaware of the test happening and at the end of demonstrating 10 skills in a row, we were presented with blue ribbon. We recognize now how we contribute to our dog’s behavior and feel like we can have a calm and mannerly pup for years to come. Beautiful location! Lots of room for dogs to have fun and train. Martin’s approach is straightforward and he will not mince words about how you are handling…kind but firm. This approach applies to his training methods as well. Highly recommend!