The Wayward Hound

We brought our much loved golden retriever puppy for kindergarten with Sheryl. We liked the facility and the size of the classes (5 puppies). Her training methodology works well – we didn’t clicker train, which works for us (I’d never find the thing) and we loved positive reinforcement. Our puppy responded well and we had a nice time. We moved onto Agility and LOVED it. I’d swear our puppy smiled after learning the course! We plan to go back for another class and hope to achieve our Canine Good Citizen. The added benefit was the support Sheryl offered us throughout – she promptly responded to any email questions and all of her recommendations have worked!!!

When we were looking for in-​home training for our puppy five months ago, a friend highly recommended Sheryl and the Wayward Hound. We could not have asked for a better partner with helping us get our dog trained! From the moment I first contacted Sheryl, she returned my initial e-​mails quickly, answered a ton of questions, always showed up for the trainings promptly, and usually stayed longer than the allotted time for the session. We had several family members present for the trainings, and she involved each one. But those are just the basics! When it came to working directly with our puppy and educating us, Sheryl was tremendous. Our dog loved her immediately, and thanks to Sheryl’s positive and consistent techniques, she picked up the training very quickly. When we completed the initial puppy training, I couldn’t bare not having Sheryl on board with us, so when I asked about other classes, Sheryl recommended an agility class at her training facility. Even though our puppy may not have met the stated criteria for the class, Sheryl knew our puppy well, and thought it would be great for her vs. other classes where she might be bored. The class was a super fit, and our puppy loved it. From the moment she got out of he car, she couldn’t wait to bound up the stairs to see Sheryl. It’s clear that Sheryl cares about building relationships with her clients — both dogs and owners. I can contact her anytime for advice and guidance, and she’s always willing to give it freely. I plan to continue our puppy’s training, and can’t imagine going with anyone other than Sheryl and the Wayward Hound.

I can not say enough positive things about The Wayward Hound! After a very lengthy phone conversation with Sheryl (the owner), she invited me to come observe a class to see if it was the right fit for our puppy. Previously, we attended a training class with our puppy elsewhere and I went in for the observation with a preconceived notion that this facility would be the same. I was absolutely blown away! I immediately signed our puppy up at The Wayward Hound even though we were still enrolled at the other facility.
Our class consists of no more than 5 puppies at a time and the training is all hands on training with your puppy. Sheryl and Ronaele are so warm and kind. They go out of their way to make sure everyone is doing the training correctly and they both give fantastic advice. There are always a few laughs during class which is so nice! It makes the training feel less like work and you know everyone surrounding you is experiencing the same things with their puppies. We definitely plan on continuing our training here. People have commented on how well behaved our puppy is and we owe that to Sheryl and Ronaele at The Wayward Hound!

We love Sheryl and the Wayward Hound! Sheryl come to our home for a private training session shortly after we brought home a Golden Retriever pup with a terrible mouthing/​biting problem. The biting and mouthing noticeably subsided with Sheryl’s help. We happened to be enrolled at a puppy kindergarten at another dog training facility in Franklin at the time when we met Sheryl, but quickly left after only 2 sessions as the class was way over-​enrolled (about 12 other dogs) and our pup couldn’t concentrate with the distractions and we weren’t getting the one on one time we and our pup needed. We joined Sheryl’s puppy kindergarten and were able to start immediately, as she uses a rolling curriculum format — a big benefit for us as we want to get our pup as obedient as possible. It’s clear Sheryl loves dogs and really knows what she is doing, as we’ve seen a lot of improvement in our pups obedience and right away started learning important commands like leave it and drop it. We definitely plan on continuing training with Sheryl throughout our pup’s first year and hope to complete canine good citizen testing when she’s old enough. I’m a little surprised by the negative review here because we can’t say enough good things about Sheryl and we wish we had other friends who had dogs so we could send them her way!

The Wayward Hound is a great dog training facility and Sheryl is awesome. I brought my 2-​yr old black lab Henry to the Wayward Hound for basic obedience and later signed up for the Fun and Agility Course. From both classes, Henry went from a once whiny puppy (high pitched bark included) who constantly demanded attention from everyone to a focused and much more attentive dog. The classes are fun and the small size really benefits both dog and owner. I’m looking forward to signing up for more classes in the future with Henry and recommend any of Sheryl’s training classes at the Wayward Hound.