Sheryl Carver, Dog Trainer / Behaviorist

Sheryl Carver is one of the most patient and talented dog trainers I have met. She is very smart and very caring, and understands dogs, cats, and other mammals very well. She helped us with our basenji and Italian greyhound mix; poor Marty was a rescue and an incredibly insecure and unhappy puppy. Her attention to detail and methods of working with dogs of all types through behavioral methods was astonishing! My husband and I strongly recommend Sheryl to train both humans and pets alike.

Sheryl is our favorite dog trainer — I found her through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers website (heard that they were good). Our dog, Flash, is a rescue mutt who had been abandoned, and Sheryl’s approach worked great for him. She used positive reinforcement, and was always gentle. Flash responded really well to her, and everyone else who we know who has hired her has been pleased with the results.
Sheryl came to our home for private lessons, and was fabulous. (She travels around the Peninsula to various clients during the week.)
I like that Sheryl has a lot of patience and found a way to make our dog think learning can be fun. Our dog had a lot of anxiety, and she helped him relax and enjoy learning.
She also does some bodywork on pets, if clients want that along with the training:
Jin Shin Jyutsu (like acupressure)
Tellington TTouch (like Feldenkrais for animals)
We treated Flash to some of her bodywork, and he went from hyper and anxious to super, ultra-​calm and mellow. Sheryl’s definitely one of his favorite humans.
We were afraid we’d have to find our previously wild dog a new home after having a baby, but we’ve learned a lot from her and we’re a happy family! We credit Sheryl (and some key lay-​out changes suggested by baby-​proofer Larry Mitchell) with enabling us to keep our dog after having our baby. That was HUGE!
We did some clicker training (not initially, but later on), and our most useful command (with or without the clicker) is «In your crate.» Sheryl adjusted to what our needs were, so we learned what was a priority for us when we needed it. Thanks to Sheryl, Flash also knows (among others) on your bed, shake, wait, sit, stay, down, touch, and where’s daddy?.