The Dog Wizard

A One-​Star review is more than The Dog Wizard deserves. I interviewed Dog Wizard in Wilmington, NC and walked away terrified! First, there are dogs running around the yard completely out of control! Then you meet in a room that looks like a torture room for your pet. After the shock of looking around at all of the «tools» hanging on the walls that are used to make your dog be «trained», the shock collar is brought out. It’s never called a «shock» collar, but an «e-​collar». Of course I was shown the low settings of the shock collar, but do not be nieve… the higher settings are what is used on your loved pet. And the price for this is outrageous! Do you honestly think that I would leave my dog with you while you have the ability to shock my dog! And when it’s not being shocked it’s inside in a little crate!
I know of 2 dogs that have gone through The Dog Wizard and have walked away completely broken. These dogs have had to be built back up to trust people again. People… in the long run this does not work. Positive reinforcement is the only way. How would you like to be pinched or shocked every time someone asked you to do something. Think about your dogs wellbeing before you sign up with The Dog Wizard

Wow. Watched a dog handler at Freedom Park with a German Shepherd today. I didn’t realize what was happening at first as I walked past. This poor dog kept crying out and slinking away, trying to get back to the company (Dog Wizard) van. Then I realized the handler kept SHOCKING this poor dog. Over and over. Before I realized that the dog was literally being tortured, I whole list of possibilities ran thru my mind. It must have been abused. It had some sort of neck injury. It was scared of people. But no. It was suffering severe pain. The worst part is that the dog wasn’t doing anything wrong. At all. There was no simple «heel» command. Or sit. Or stay. The handler was «training» it by only shocking the dog. It was simply horrible to watch.

We have completed our 3^rd puppy preschool with our almost 3 month old Alaskan Malamute and already excited about what Lightning, my sons and I have learned and experienced… I highly recommend The Dog Wizard Puppy Preschool for every family with a new puppy. The socialization with other puppies and people and objects. And the tips and tricks. My favorite so far is the wooden spoon/​electrical tape Lickidty stick to help with our walks (vs tugs)
The staff are so nice and helpful and looking forward to Tuesday nights and Saturday afternoons for the next 3 months!

We have a Cane Corso Italian Mastiff who was very people shy. Kira definitely needed some socialization and Dog Wizard was perfect for that! We signed her up for puppy preschool which we got a coupon from living social so it was very affordable. They have a huge warehouse where they have 10 – 15 min puppy play time then each session they choose a different area to focus on whether is agility, obstacles (fears) and recall. It took Kira several classes and constant training to get comfy. All the trainers were awesome and were very helpful! They knew Kira’s limits and were willing to try different things to get her moving forward in her fear of humans. We have graduated from puppy preschool and recommend it to everyone who has puppies! Kira is still shy around new people but hasprogressed immensely! Thank you Dog Wizard!

I love love love the dog wizard! You can tell everyone that works there is an animal lover. I took my collie there a couple of times for boarding and was really interested in the training program because I never really trained my dog at all. He’s old and I thought it might be too late but their mantra is that no dog is untrainable (money back guarantee). I took him in for a free consultation and the muscle stimulation collars they use aren’t brutal shock collars like the other review made them sound, they put the collar on your hand so you feel exactly what your dog feels (I could barely feel it at all). They went over all of his problem behaviors and recognized some quick fixes in my behavior as an owner that could help as well (putting him on a feeding schedule for instance). I have a friend who had a very aggressive dog that is now doing great so I signed up for the program. He will train with them for two weeks (They even post photos of your pup at parks and things on their FB page while your dog is in training) and the package comes with a lifetime of free lessons. I just want my dog to learn commands, stop marking in the house and stop his food aggression with other animals. I can’t wait to see his progress! They were so nice, answered all of my questions (and I asked about a million) and went over all of my concerns with me. I totally trust my dog is in good hands here.

Awful.
I have a lot of training experience being involved in rescue. The best trainers have a full arsonal of training techniques… not just shocking the dog into submission. I guess with some dogs it works… but with others it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t work they label the dog as bad. Plus they are afraid to work will bullies and if you have more then a couple of dogs they call you a collector.
I would never reccommend. Ever.

We decided to use the Dog Wizard dog training on our dogs, Addie and Wilson, but we had our doubts. The pulling on the leash, jumping on visitors, and lack of listening when called had gotten WAY out of hand. We saw that the Dog Wizard methods were guaranteed, and this was important because it felt like we had tried and failed at EVERYTHING thus far in terms of correcting bad dog behaviors. Well, I can assure all of you that we WERE NOT disappointed, and in fact fully regret not doing the training earlier on. Our dogs live a different, much more fulfilled life now. They are off leash 75% of the time, and we can rest easy because they actually listen now. They walk right beside us on a long walk, no longer jump on visitors, and come when called. It’s amazing, and I know THEY appreciate it most of all! They are now able to experience freedoms we never thought possible — running free on the beach, walks without a leash, leash-​free hiking, and playing outside without the confines of a fenced enclosure. The Dog Wizard trainers are also very responsive, friendly, and do their part in helping dogs in need around the area. Couldn’t ask for a more compassionate, dog-​loving group. Not to mention, if you ever need a refresher session, or have a question because of a new bad behavior pops up, they are right there to help. Use the Dog Wizard to train your excited, unruly pup. It will be the best decision you ever made, and your dog will thank you TEN FOLD!