We enrolled our puppy in the Puppy Training Beginners course when he was about 10-11 weeks old,…read morehoping to start early with basic training and socialization in a structured setting. To start with positives: Marianne's intentions seemed well-meaning, and her co-trainer Katie was phenomenal-we would gladly work with Katie again. The class helped us establish foundational commands like sit, stay, recall, and down. Unfortunately, our overall experience was negative enough that we chose not to attend the final two weeks of the eight-week course. The class included a wide range of puppy ages, from 3 months to nearly a year old. While that's not inherently problematic, it led to unrealistic expectations being placed on our younger puppy. The older dogs could complete tasks our 3-month-old naturally struggled with, and we felt Marianne held our puppy to the same standards unfairly. Around weeks 4-6, Marianne's handling and feedback became concerning. During one class, our 14-week-old puppy got overstimulated and began biting at his leash. Marianne offered to handle him, and when he became mouthy, she shouted, "Damnit dog, you bit me the last time too!" in front of the group. He did not bite her-he's a teething puppy with sharp baby teeth. When I tried to explain, she dismissed it, saying, "That doesn't matter." The interaction felt unprofessional and unnecessarily harsh. Her advice following the incident-such as suggesting we crate him for timeouts-was inconsistent with the situation. Rather than recognizing overstimulation, she treated it as defiance. We later overheard her referring to our puppy as "that small white one" in a negative tone, which was disappointing. Other participants privately expressed that they also found her behavior inappropriate. After we withdrew, Marianne called to suggest we see a behavioral trainer, implying our puppy was aggressive-something completely misaligned with his temperament. She also veered into unsolicited commentary about dog vaccinations, which felt unprofessional and outside her expertise. While she offered a refund (which we declined), our main concern was the handling and judgment, not the cost. Our puppy is now six months old-friendly, playful, and well-behaved with other dogs and children. The progress he's made has been thanks to other's advice, not Marianne's approach. In short: Katie was excellent, but our experience with Marianne was inappropriate, dismissive, and not developmentally attuned to young puppies.

The only reason I didn't give one star was because my dog did learn.... no thanks to Marianne…read more Marianne refused to work with my dog and even asked if a man could train my dog. I felt this was extremely inappropriate because I am the dog's owner, not a man. They also push prong collars here when not every breed can have a prong collar. Kristy was much more welcoming, but for 100 bucks for 8 classes, I guess you get what you get. Very disappointed in the instructors and will NOT be recommending these classes to anyone. So disappointing.

Incredible Nose Work instructor. The Basic Obedience was also very helpful. A great facility…read more Really AKC legit

The description on the phone sounded good as well as the description here "Is impulse control a…read morerare occurrence? Whether you have a young dog, a rescue dog, or just highly excited dog. This weekly drop-in class will cover everything needed to teach your dog self-control and how to appropriately respond to external stimuli." They absolutely DID NOT cover everything you need to teach your dog self-control. They teach ONLY ONE thing every week while you sit and wait for the trainer to address each individual person. You have one hour for that for $30 (unless they raised those prices as well). Waste of time and money.

Enzo is a 4-year-old (almost 5!) Aussiedoodle and my DAD service dog, so building and maintaining a…read morestrong bond with him is incredibly important to me. We're currently training with Fabio at Lucky Dog Academy, and it has been a wonderful experience. Enzo absolutely loves the classes--and so do I. Fabio is an amazing trainer. He's patient, encouraging, and always takes the time to make sure you understand each step so you can execute it successfully with your dog. His teaching style really helps build confidence for both the handler and the dog. If you're looking to learn agility, strengthen the bond with your dog, and work with a fantastic trainer, I highly recommend Fabio at Lucky Dog Academy!

While my dog may not have the ideal structure for agility, the experience has been far more…read morerewarding than I imagined. Haven loves running the courses since they are always flowing and fun. Haven gets so excited when we pull into the parking lot.

Our dog Indy has high anxiety about getting his nails clipped. Dr. Wong did such a great job with…read morehim and got his dewclaws back to a normal length. She also provided some medication to help Indy next time. We are very grateful to her, and are LONG time patrons of this excellent animal hospital, their caring Veterinarians, and equally caring front office staff and Technicians.

Dr Maria is amazing. She spends time in her exams, is constantly checking the heart ( she found a…read moremurmur on my old dog who had been cleared by a cardiologist at 1yr. She recommended we get an ECHO before the dental, which we did luckily, because the cardiologist wanted him on specific meds before the dental was done). On my puppy she said her heart sounded great and I trust her!! My puppy came out of the vets office with a sample bag, her first puppy shot, and with a wagging tail. Dr Maria sees all of my 12 dogs. I show in obedience, conformation and nosework and I am very picky. Dr Maria gets super high marks from me on everything, but mostly, in trust. Her supporting staff from vet tech to front desk is top notch and always very nice. To add the icing on the cake the price at the end of the visit is pretty much what I expected, I'm never surprised by a huge number I wasn't prepared for. Nowadays, it seems regular vets charge emergency prices, but not this hospital. I highly recommend.

Utterly disappointing We became members 4/2024. 2:2026 my…read moredog was attacked by Jake the pitbull male who tried to hump her. He almost ripped her ear off if she had not reacted. We thought all was well, the owner John Quinn assured us the dog would be removed permanently, but that wasn't true. My girl experienced trauma from the attack and I didn't want a reoccurrence so we had to withdraw her from attending. We just recently tried to take her to another facility, but unbeknownst to us she was removed from the system. Now the process has to start from scratch because the facility manager at Plainfield will not communicate with another facility to validate my girl. I don't want to speak ill of the situation, but my rating speaks for itself. My girl deserved better!

My Goldendoodle loves going to Camp Bow Wow to play either his "friends "! The staff is friendly,…read morekind and lots of fun! The facility is clean and welcoming. I highly recommend it!

Our one year old American Staffordshire/Pitbull mix completed her first full day of "daycare"…read moretraining, a drop off program offered that provides training throughout the day. Our family is amazed at ONE day of training being so effective! As a puppy, she is rambunctious and full of energy, and as a breed she is stubborn and incredibly strong - we are very pleased with how one day of training has improved some basic skills such as sit, heel, stay, etc. while supporting basic skills like not jumping up. Looking forward to seeing her ongoing progress and working with the K9 Guardians team!

I have only used the boarding services with K9 Guardians twice and we won't be back…read more I honestly thought the first time was fine, I have two dogs a husky and German shepherd and I know they can be a lot to deal with at times being high energy working breeds. Yesterday was the second time I picked my dogs up after a 4 day stay. My husky had speckles of urine all over his white face and down his chest. My shepherds fur was all crusty on his stomach, as if he'd been lying in urine and had feces in the fur around his butt. They both stunk and felt grimy to the touch..these are show dogs and I am a professional groomer, meaning I normally bathe them every 2 weeks, so for them to come home like this after 4 days, I was disgusted. I check over both dogs once we were home and both had a dry nose and deeper red gums that were very dry, indicating dehydration. They went straight for the water and drank about a bowl each. They make you pay before getting your pet, if I would've seen them I wouldn't have paid for such poor service. This bordered on animal abuse and I won't be leaving my pets in their care, or lack there of, again! Just to note: Before my dogs stayed the first time I asked for a tour so they showed me the back kennel area and dog run section. The "day camp" dogs are in VERY small kennels (maybe 3x3 I'm not sure) and they keep their prong collars on them while kenneled. This to me is a safety hazard but I'm not certain if boarders are handled the same way. Boarders are in larger kennels I think 6x6 or 6x9 but the runs are just large enough for them to pee and move around some. Outside of that pets are not exercised, unless you pay an additional $50 a day for training... and thats supposed to be 15 minutes of training an hour....Not a walk or actually exercise activity

I took my 4 month old American Eskimo puppy "Gibbs" to Nadine at the beginning of August '15 and I…read morewanted to wait a couple months before I posted my review. I needed help with housebreaking, basic commands (sit, come, off the couch / people/etc) and crate training. Gibbs absolutely hated going in his crate and would whine and bark the entire time he was in there. I searched everywhere to find a reputable trainer that wouldn't use force or hurt my dog in an effort to train him. Thankfully, Nadine's approach revolves around love, affection and positive reinforcement. So I dropped Gibbs off on a Wednesday with his food (enough for two weeks), a collar and the crate that I would want him to sleep in. As promised, Nadine would sent me progress updates and pictures every day! This definitely helped put my mind to ease since it was difficult not knowing what type of dog I was going to get back or what was happening to him. When I went back to pick Gibbs up two weeks later, he was the same loving playful puppy that I dropped off. But, something was different... He was potty trained, he liked going in his crate, he obeyed basic commands and was actually more fun to have around. Nadine even trained him to alert me by barking when he needed to go outside. Not sure how she did it, but I can't say enough good things about her. There are other reviews on Yelp that are a couple years old so I figured I would post a recent review.. because my experience was fantastic!! If you've got a puppy or a dog that needs to be potty trained, you should seriously consider contacting Nadine for her help. She's professional, clearly loves what she does and gets results. Thank you Nadine!!!

I thankfully found Nadine online, I was new in Chicago and had no one to ask for references. I…read moreCalled her with questions about my hamster size 8 week old teacup Yorkie. Nadine called me back within 24 hours. She answered all of my questions. After three long phone calls (they must have been 45 minutes to an hour long) I decided to drop off my boo bear for a two week training session. My little Chloe was a tough cookie! After two weeks Nadine called and said "I would like to keep her another week-free of charge." Bahaha! Like mother like Furr baby....I thought...my dog is as stubborn as me! The hardest thing I ever did was leave my first with a stranger for three weeks. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when I picked her up and honestly I didn't care if she was trained at this point! I just wanted her back. I was amazed.. Chloe was so calm and submissive, yes just like how Ceasar Milan does it on TV! I was not allowed to look at her at first while Nadine "trained me." I needed it more than Chloe did. I was doing so many things wrong like baby talking her, letting her walk all over me, picking her up when she barked at me, letting her walk in front of me...so many things were wrong. Nadine taught me how to discipline Chloe and structure her days to make HER happy! Dogs love discipline, they love a challenge..Chloe like a lot of small dogs was a challenge. It took a lot of time, patience and discipline to get her where she is today. Well worth the effort. Chloe Johnlyn Boo Boo Bear is now 3 years old, 4 LBS and sweeter than Fanny May Melt aways! She travels with me EVERYWHERE. She has walked the streets of 5th ave in NYC, shopped in Dallas, we even got lost and ended up in the Tenderloin in San Fran (yikes-that was scary thank goodness it was 4PM and still light out!) HAHA People always ask on the plane if I drug her because she is so chill. ah no! I constantly get compliments when I take her out-besides that she is absolutely friggen adorable, that she is well behaved and sweet! She loves to meet new dogs, new people, fetch with Dad and roughhouse. She loves kisses and a nap snuggled up in the sun. MOST IMPORTANTLY- we recently moved into a new home with brand new carpet and I am proud to say Chloe has not had one accident! EVERY single time has been on a pee pad or outside! YAAY! Go Chloe! I will keep you posted on her success! I owe this thanks to Nadine. Without her we would be a hot mess! I am so happy to have a place where I can drop Chloe off for boarding that is not like an institution but a warm home with people around who love animals.She only accepts a few at a time so your baby gets so much attention. Nadine continues her training while boarding! She takes Chloe on long walks, socializes her with other dogs and people... Nadine has become family to us. I would recommend highly taking this route. Just call Nadine with your questions and I am sure you will understand why I trusted her just from talking to her on the phone!

I have two pups; a pitbull/America bull dog mix and a German shepherd/pit bull mix…read more I got them both around the same time and put them both in bootcamp for three weeks and went through the group training that went with that at the time. I don't want to brag, but...my dogs are VERY well behaved. And it's not just me...I get compliments ALL the time on how good they are, how well they listen and walk, and how they even know sign language. Having two bully breeds my life could have been so much more challenging had they not got properly trained so I'm glad that things worked out so well.

BUYERS BEWARE!! 12…read moreyears ago I hired Toriano to train my German Shepard. She learned a ton of great things. Toriano agreed to barter dollar for dollar with myself/company to do hardscaping in exchange. We agreed to have my employees 2-3 stay at his place because the commute was too far for my crew and shop. When it came time for the work to start Toriano decided to change the agreement and terms. He demanded that my top employees submit their information to him so he could do a background check. (This wasn't apart of the agreement/contract we had upon signing) He refused my guys staying with him. The job ended up costing way more due to this inconvenience. I told him that since he changed the agreement that he owes me $3500 to cover my costs). He never paid and I got screwed. Toriano promised to get my dog certified which also never happened. His price was too steep given these factors... Fast forward... My wife and I hired Toriano and his company to train our newest member of our family. Toriano promised us it would take 8 weeks. He told us he will get her certified in Therapy. It took him an additional 4 weeks in training and never got her certified. My wife and I were pissed because not only did he make false promises but also demanded that we pay for the extra time it took to get our dog trained and food he supposedly supplied. We couldn't pick up our dog until the balance was paid in full. He's made several promises and absolutely No follow through. (We were on vacation the time our pup was there.) When our dog was there longer than expected Toriano said he couldn't get her certification because we were picking her up early. Mind you he forced us to pay him the extra month it took for training instead of it being on his business to eat. 2022 - my friend was looking to hire someone to train her dogs. I told her about Toriano the good and bad. She decided to give him a try and do something at her house instead of boarding. Toriano quoted her after coming out to see the pup $7500 for one week. She could afford it but thought that was too much for someone without overhead expenses as this is what he'd charge when having overhead. Toriano business partner send my friend a text offering 50% off the price quoted to earn her business. She declined because it appeared that because she's a female that they we're trying to pull a fast one on her. Why wouldn't they have just offered this in the beginning?? Just shady business. I've heard this nonsense from a few people I referred to him and his company. He only hires people that he can 1099 so he's not responsible for actual payroll and laws. However he sets time of operation and makes the 1099's obied by the Illinois laws of an employee. Now we have our dogs trained out by us. We found out that certification for dogs aren't for every dog as Toriano said. False promises, false agreements or claims. We all who have experienced this don't trust him. SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHES AND TAKE YOUR DOGS- MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE!!