Thinking Dog Academy Wake Forest, North Carolina

Great instruction in a purpose designed facility

Melissa and everyone at thinking dog is amazing! They're knowledgeable, quick to respond, and do a great job of keeping the building clean. You can tell when you drop your dog off they truly treat them as if they were their own.

Nice place, but fully booked apparently. Somewhat frustrating.

Poppy and I have had such a great time at the training classes!

Our pups loves their doggie daycare. Everyone is super helpful and responsive and they send videos/updates while he's there!

Melissa and her staff are awesome! We had fun and learned a lot in our puppy training class. (And our pup did too!)

I did not like the location.

Awesome staff provides loving care for our fluffy Samoyed. Highly recommend!

The girls there are really awesome and seem to really care about the pups. Took our pup there for their day care so that he can have fun and socialize. Unfortunately though he learned some new behaviors from the other dogs that aren't the best for our household with cats. I also didnt agree with some of the statements the owner made about dog and cat interactions. Seemed like a very one sided view of how the 2 types of animals would interact. When we tried to give more information she seemed very disbelieving. Just didnt end up having a good outcome. Many others seem to absolutely love it for their dogs. Wasn't a good fit for our pup though.

Melissa and her team are amazing. We started taking our rescue pup here after she developed some leash reactivity and other fearful responses to other dogs (due to trauma before we adopted her). Melissa's classes are fantastic and we've seen such an improvement in our dog from the combination of training class and day camp. Melissa provides time for her at camp to be around other dogs in a way that is fun for her and keeps her comfortable since she has had negative experiences with dogs in the past. Our sweet girl has more confidence, better leash manners, and is all around better behaved in the house and around other dogs. Cannot recommend this place enough!

Thinking Dog is the best place to take Dog Class. I love going to class! Melissa is a Certified Dog Trainer with tons of experience and has helped me and my mom so much. The mention of her name makes me smile and wag my tail. Bexley the dog:)

If you happen to be a guilt-ridden puppy parent (like I was) and struggle with leaving your pet at home while you head out the door to work for 10 hours a day then the Thinking Dog LLC is the answer to your prayers! I promise! I had tried to hire various puppy sitters to come to our home, let her out etc. It's difficult to find someone experienced, responsible and trustworthy enough for that task. When that didn't work, I exhausted myself trying to race home during lunch everyday just to let her out for a quick non-quality 10 minutes then get back to work on time. What kind of life is that for a pup? Not a good one. :( All of that running around prompted me to search the Wake Forest area for a Puppy Camp. I saw several and was a bit nervous with what I saw - until I came to Thinking Dog. I was instantly comfortable. The owner, Melissa, has extensive experience (explained on her website) and a positive indoor-only approach is a WONDERFUL environment for our pup and comforting for us. Melissa takes the time to evaluate which dogs are a great fit together and gives them a structured playtime in a clean environment. Aside from playtime, they get nap time, lunchtime etc. At the end of the day, I also get a report card of her activities and behavior. I conveniently schedule our Day Camp dates online, then drop our pup off on my way into work. This has also helped us immensely when we're at home at night. Our pup is happy and exhausted from her big day in camp and we aren't obligated to spend our entire evening playing like we did when she was crated all day. Now, we can get some quality play time and still get things accomplished around the house. Is this an added expense? Yes, of course. But, the advantages are well worth it. And, Melissa truly treats our dog as if it were her own. What better care could you ask for from someone? :)

Thinking Dog is an awesome place! The owner Melissa has an amazing process she implements using techniques from enlightened animal trainers, teachers, psychologists and coaches,. Through positive motivation the Thinking Dog training program has proven to be invaluable to my family! The difference Thinking Dog has made with my dogs' behavior has decreased our family's stress level and frustration. Now our dogs are well behaved and everyone is happy. Don't go anywhere else! The Thinking Dog is hands down the best. Other local training companies just don't compare!

Melissa at Thinking Dog is the best trainer I have ever found. We refreshed our older dog's training and have used her extensively for teh last 3 years with our rescue pup Monty. If you are looking for well structured and managed training or a place where you can drop your dog for a day to get excercise and positive motivation, this is it! My dogs have never been happier!