Shelmar Kennels

Shelly and Martin did a great job of training our puppy, Tucker. He did not even know how to walk on a leash, jumped all over the place, and was always very hyper. After 3 weeks of training, he is well behaved, calm, listens and walking great on a leash! We will need to be consistent with our training at home now, but they have layed out a great foundation for us and Tucker. Very nice couple and would highly recommend!

We brought our adopted dog, Dexter, to Shelmar Kennels in June 2024 for training and boarding. Dexter is a 1.5 year old dog that we adopted from BARC in September 2023. I was very interested in Shelmar because of the peaceful space, and the training methodology that Martin and Shelly use (particularly no shock collars). Shelly was my primary correspondent leading up to the training, and she was extremely responsive and informative with all my questions. She continued with updates throughout the 4-week training so that we knew Dexter was doing ok with the other dogs. Shelmar Kennels was also so flexible around Hurricane Beryl, which struck on the day we were set to pick up Dexter. They kept us updated, and were able to kennel Dexter for a few more days while we attempted to get back to Houston after the storm. I later found out that Dexter was in a better position than us, as the Kennels are equipped with industrial-sized generators in case there is a power loss. At the time we left him, I thought Dexter was moderately trained, and we just needed help getting him across the finish line with some listening skills and dog socialization. He would listen and walk fairly well with me, but rarely listened to my husband and daughter. Distractions posed an issue on peaceful walks, such as dogs, people, squirrels, and particularly cats. Also, he would often nip at us in the evenings when he wanted to play, and be difficult to keep calm. After 4 weeks, I picked up Dexter and attended the owner training session. Martin spent a long time with me, answering all my questions, and helping me with practicing the commands. Martin clearly loves dogs, and was a wealth of information on how to best keep up the good behaviors once we got home. Dexter was like a different dog. He was very calm, responded easily to commands, and was very attentive to all my actions. In addition to sit and down, Dexter had learned new commands, such as here, stay, wait, kennel, and load up. Martin mentioned that Dexter was out of control when I left him in June, and that comment didn't really make sense to me...until about 36 hours later, and the marked improvement helped me understand that we had raised an out of control dog. Dexter now listens to everyone in the family, can readily kennel when asked, and the nipping is completely gone. He still dislikes cats, but I can keep him under control when we encounter them on our walk. He is very good with all other distractions, and stays focused and calm while we pass other animals and people. I am very pleased with the results of Dexter's training, and look forward to returning in the future for boarding and additional trainings. Many thanks to Shelly and Martin for all the hard work they do to help families with training their dogs.

After 3 weeks with Shelly and Martin, my Min Pin puppy came home with knowledge of the basic commands including: recall, sit/stay, settle down, kennel, wait. She’s a well behaved household member now. Her house training is doing much better than when she left home, and we’ve got a new schedule to continue the progress. She is showing much more confidence after being socialized with new people and the other puppies she played with. She is calm and listens well to what I’m saying. Now it’s up to me to follow through with all she’s learned. I highly recommend Shelmar for dog training. Both Shelly and Martin are so professional and know what they’re doing! Thank you so much!

I was disappointed with my experience at Shelmar Kennels. While Martin might be successful with puppies, I don't think that he is used to handling adult dogs. The whole consultation felt off-putting. Martin kept starting sentences with "not to be rude," but then came across as arrogant and unprofessional. He tried to justify it as being direct and blunt, but it just felt rude. Looking at other reviews, it seems Martin excels with puppies. However, if you have a young adult or older dog, I would recommend looking elsewhere for a trainer. Edit to correct the statements below: - The dog is 2.5 years old (not a puppy like the trainer is accustomed to) - The dog was at no point aggressive, he did try to hump the trainer, but it was not aggressive.