Wolfman's Canines

tl;dr: Absolutely stellar training, Walter's work made a life-changing difference in working with our new dog. I cannot recommend him highly enough! Our journey with Walter began early in 2025. We had acquired a stray dog from Gigi's named Iris. She was at least 5 years old, was stray for an indeterminate period of time, had been a mother at some point, and had to have 14 bad teeth removed! She spent a good hour with our alpha cat on a visit to the shelter, so we gave her a chance. It quickly became obvious that although we had dogs in the past, managing Iris with her background and integrating her into our tribe of 7 cats was beyond our skill to handle. A comprehensive search led me to contact Walter and arrange a meeting to evaluate her. Walter hails from the West Coast, and would easy blend into the crowd in Portland or Seattle. He is friendly, down-to-earth, honest, and doesn't BS you. He tells you exactly what you need to know, gives empathetic advice, and will train you for success. (Because the training is also for you.) Needless to say, I was impressed with Walter from the start, and we signed up for a series of lessons. Fast forward 8 months later... Iris Papyrus is now fully integrated into the cat tribe. She has taken on cat traits like sleeping in our cat condos, and jumping around with her toys like a cat would. Also, our cats now show dog tendencies, like lying spread-eagled on their backs copying their dog sister Iris' favorite snoozing pose. Iris responds almost instantly to commands (exception for some barky dogs and squirrels), will follow on the "invisible bungee cord," and mingles well with people - even strangers are greeted warmly now. She super-sits on ask, loves to go for drives in the car, and has learned to show and give affection appropriately (i.e. no jumping!). She's not perfect by any means, but her intelligence coupled with Dunbar Training techniques we've learned from Walter, have made a huge difference in all our lives. Walter's training was key to this success, and without his guidance I honestly know we would be as far along with Iris. I would give him 10 stars if I could. :)

We searched around and called around to look for a board and train program for our dog, who had a bite history and reactivity to people and dogs he doesn't know. This was the best decision we could have made and I kick myself for not searching out Walter when Charlie was a puppy. Our dog spent 6 weeks with Walter and now in his 1 on 1 at home training sessions afterwards. I can see keeping Walter in our lives to help with our dog for the rest of our dog's life. Working with Walter is a really, really good thing for us and for our dog.

Walt of Wolfman’s Canines helped us tremendously with our young Collie, Luka. Luka was hyperactive with extreme pulling on walks, plus he was barking and lunging at other dogs and people. Walt worked with him during a Board&Train and plus private training afterwards. Luka came back to us with much better manners the ability to walk with us without pulling. He also got good socialization with other dogs and puppies. Walt helped us to work with Luka out in public situations. Our dog can now go places and see people and other dogs without going into barking fits. Our life is so much more enjoyable with our dog. Walt’s facility was very clean and orderly. He and Hannah have good organization and really care about their canine charges. I am glad we chose Walt to work with our dog. There was no harsh methods, no firm corrections, no shock collars. Just gentle, patient training .

We took our dog Mack to Wolfman's Canines for training. Mack is a three year old, large dog who has always been anxious which has caused some reactivity. Mack has been through other training programs prior to starting at Wolfman's so when we decided he needed more training we met with several trainers before making our choice. After meeting with Walter for the initial evaluation, he recommended a program of private sessions to start. Although I see the pros and cons of the board and train program vs the private sessions, I am glad we started with the private sessions because I learned a lot and feel I lot more confident working with Mack at home. Although Mack is nowhere near perfect, he has improved so much in the past few months and I feel confident he will keep improving. Our primary goals for training were to improve behavior around other dogs and learn to stay in the house and yard even when triggered to leave. He has really made strides with regard to leaving the house and yard without permission and has made moderate progress toward behaving around other dogs. Today he was able to go for a 3 mile walk past several dogs and people without pulling on the leash or barking which is a huge feat for him. Once he masters the skills he learned in his private sessions, we plan to have him go back for some more in depth training through the board and train program. I would highly recommend Walter for any reactive dog and only wish we had of started with him when Mack was a puppy.