Ducki was absolutely amazing! I have a high energy boarder collie, and Ducki was able to not only…read moreeducate the dog but also me. I taught my daughters how to potty train, but this was nothing compared to teaching a dog how to not poop and pee in my house. Ducki was there for me though the entire process giving valuable potty training advice specific to my dog, helping me socialize my dog, and teaching me how my dog thinks to improve my communication with him. She helped me take a dog meant for hearing sheep in the country and gave me valuable skills to control him while getting his energy out in the city. Before coming to Ducki I looked at four other trainers and none of them were anywhere near as helpful as her. I highly recommend going to Ducki for your dogs benefit and your personal sanity!

My husband and I decided to enroll our Shiba Inu at Petco. Our trainer, Ducki was wonderful!! I…read moreappreciate the positive reinforcement methods she embrace and teaching us pet parents how to train our dogs. I have a stubborn breed, so learning how to develop a parent/child bond was very effective. I enjoy Ducki's explanation of the breakdowns on the simplest movements or use of words that we parent do daily without realizing our dogs are observing us. I highly recommend anyone who are looking for a well experienced and knowledgeable trainer to ask for Ducki.

Hans and his team are the absolute best! They've been walking our pup for over a year and it's…read moreimpossible to imagine using anyone else. They are always available and communicative. Even when we had the -50 degrees Fahrenheit day his team made sure our pup got a walk. Any time they walk into the apartment our pup gets super excited to see his buddies. They're true dog people!

They have walked Maizie since we first moved to Chicago and there is no one else we would trust to…read morewalk Maizie every day; nor is there anyone else we would trust to watch her for us while we are on vacation. They are always available whenever we need a walk, whether scheduled long in advance or last minute. You can tell they are all dog people and your dog gets strictly 1:1 time with the walker, they don't take multiple dogs on the same walk (unless all of the dog owners specifically request them to). Maizie is always so excited to see them walk through our front door, so i know they take excellent care of her!

Dog Star Walkers is truly the best! I really needed a dog walker, but there was a lack of dog…read morewalking businesses that serviced my area (I live in Jefferson Park). I was also struggling with knowing if I could really trust someone to not only come into my home, but more importantly, to care for my two precious pups. Kristin came to my home, when I was there, for an initial meet & greet with the pups. They loved her right away, and I was sold. She played with the pooches and was very interested in everything I had to tell her about them, in order to get to know their personalities. The first day of walking, she stayed an hour -- the note she left said that my little girl pup, Penny, was a little apprehensive at first. Kristin cared enough to stay and make sure the pooches were totally comfortable and could trust her. I've been with Dog Star for about 3 weeks now, and I love working with them. The notes Kristin leaves each day are fun to read when I get home from work. And my pooches don't tackle me as soon as I walk in the door -- I miss that, but I know that it's because they've had some great exercise already. They're content and happy. In Kristin's note last week, she said that Penny (my apprehensive one) even greeted her with a big "toothy smile" when she'd arrived that day. I know they love her already, and I love that my pooches have someone that cares about them as much as I do. Thanks Dog Star!!

I've been using Dog Star Walkers for almost two months now and I really can't say enough good…read morethings about them. I contacted them in desperation. Our dog walker suddenly got a job and we needed to find someone to take over, quick. Between the time I contacted them via their website and the time they called me back to set up an appointment to come over, less than 24 hours had passed. Marika, one of the owners, arranged to come by and meet the pups. She brought over Patrick, who would be our walker. They were both warm people and extremely friendly with the dogs. The dogs took to them immediately. Patrick started walking the dogs the day after our walker left. We expected him to take over for a few weeks while our walker was away. The weeks turned into months (our original walker never came back), and we couldn't be happier. Dog Star Walkers is not only extremely reliable, their prices are reasonable and they offer all kinds of services beyond dog walking. If you live on the north side, they should be your first call when looking for a walker.

Positive-reinforcement only classes were not enough for our dog, Matcha. We spent thousands on…read moretraining at Tucker Pups, which she "graduated" from (we have the diploma) and still was reactive to other dogs. They even recommended Prozac, which dulled our dog's personality and didn't address the reactivity. We were feeling out of options until we found Jesse and Canine Perspective. He taught us how to properly use an e-collar, which contrary to misconceptions actually improved our relationship with Matcha, to the point where we are able to have her run off leash in fields, forest preserves, and among other dogs, while feeling confident in her recall.  This is the only place we trust to board and take care of our dogs, as they are the only ones who can provide the structure, discipline, and socialization training our dogs require. The entire crew is awesome with communicating with us and accommodating us during emergencies, and we'll continue supporting them for all our pups.

Do not use Canine Perspective, Inc.  They left a muzzle on my dog without proper supervision for 5…read morestraight days - even at night (while he is alone in his crate), which caused bleeding/blister skin irritation that no one noticed until I removed the muzzle when I picked him up. When I asked for any kind of muzzle breaks, they said no but that NOW staff will monitor his muzzle for skin irritation and rewrap it if needed - which as trained dog carriers they should've done in the first place. After being a client for nearly 1 year, this muzzle incident happened under their watch, and instead of trying to figure something out I was informed that they all of a sudden decided that my dog is "no longer a good fit" at their establishment. The owner Jesse is condescending and hides behind emails that he has the secretary send instead of dealing with any issues himself.  If/when a problem occurs seems they would rather cut you as a client over working out a resolution plan.  (If anyone from Canine Perspective objects to any of the above I am happy to post the emails they sent me that states all of this)

Best daycare! I just got a new lab 3 weeks ago, and I have been trying to find a daycare that I…read moretrust. It's hard when a dog can't talk to you. You know when you finally find the right place when a dog has a smile like this. What dog would rather be outside in the fresh air vs in a concrete warehouse?

The BEST daycare ever! We had tried other doggie day care places but our girl Olive just wouldn't…read morelet loose and play. She was rescued from a situation where she was primarily outdoors so playing on cement or indoor artificial flooring seemed to be too foreign for her. But when we were recommended Dog Country Dog Camp and learned the dogs get to be outside on acres of fenced in land, we thought this sounded perfect for her. Indeed it was! Being able to be outside in nature with lots of room to run, roll around, dig, play, and even drink from a stream there was no competition. She can let loose and do long stents of zoomies across the land and has made some best dog friends. She returns exhausted and is snoozing and dreaming within minutes. She has been going to Dog Country Dog Camp for about a year now and it is still by FAR her favorite place in the world to go to. If we happen to be home when they come to pick her up and she sees the van pull up she pulls us to it. In fact, she loves Dayna and Zach so much she often doesn't even look back at us when they come, where we would have to force her to go into the other daycare places and try to ignore her sad eyes looking at us. This is such a HUGE relief to us and feel so thankful to them to take care of our girl. They are the most kind and loving guys who are dog people so you can rest assured your fur baby is in good hands.

Nick is the best. His 20 years of experience working with…read moredogs shows, as he was able to identify and address behavior in my one year old puppy immediately. In addition to that I had to go out of town and bordered by dog with him, and this little puppy was excited to see me, followed by knocking out the rest of the day because he was tired from playing and just doing dog things...which is no small task. I happily give Nick and off-leash canine five stars.

Nick has been our dog walker for 2 years and I would highly recommend him! He's great with our high…read moreenergy boxer (Champ), and has been helpful with his anxiety. The days I have been working from home I see Champ get SO excited when Nick arrives. Nick is extremely knowledgeable with dogs/training, dependable, trustworthy, and reasonably priced. If you are looking for someone to train/walk/board your dog I highly recommend Nick!

We refuse to send our two girls Melody and Treble anywhere else! Is it expensive? It's not the…read morecheapest option, but honestly it's not much more than the concrete jails that most boarding places are around Chicago. If you love your dogs like family and want the best for them, you can't do better than Canine State of Mind! When my wife and I moved to Chicago last Spring, we were really concerned about where we could safely and comfortably leave our dogs. We love to travel and we can't enjoy ourselves fully if we aren't 100% sure our fur babies are being treated as well as we do, and we certainly can't enjoy ourselves knowing that they are stuck in a concrete kennel for most of a day or only able to go outside for short periods. We had a trip to Norway planned right after moving here and at the last minute our dog sitter fell through. Enter Sasha and Canine State of Mind! She went out of her way to make sure she had space for our girls, she told us about her farm and the grounds the dogs are on, how they get to spend their time, and it sounded like Doggie summer camp. That's exactly what it is! Our girls get to run around the grounds, have plenty of time outside and with the other dogs, and truly enjoy themselves! Just look at the photo of them running and smiling with bandanas on at CSoM! I can't speak to the training but knowing Sasha and having used them many times now, I would bet $s to dog food that it is life changing and you won't find better if you want to help your dog behaviorally, and you also need help to make sure they can be their best selves. Even without doing the training, we've noticed all around improvements in their confidence, happiness, and sociability. After living outside by the beach and seeing few dogs for 2 years prior to moving here, they were pretty reactive and unruly. I could tell that they were stressed out, but I couldn't help them, and it's impossible to avoid other dogs and people on the 606. Literally, the first time they came back from the farm that was gone and I attribute that to the environment Sasha and her team create. She helped them remember that they were safe and confident and comfortable around strange dogs and strange people. TLDR: Just use them. If you love your dogs like we do, you could never find a better place for them to stay and enjoy their own vacation while you enjoy your own! To the negative reviews about "not getting your dog back" or "not getting any pictures", I'm sorry you had bad experiences but I can't relate. They are always responsive but not immediately so, and that's fine. Enjoy your own vacation and trust the process. They never miss pick ups and drop offs. I will admit that I find the lack of photos frustrating but I also understand that the dogs are being allowed to be dogs rather than being photographed and isn't that what's most important? Plus, shouldn't I be in the moment myself and enjoying where I am instead of stressing out about what my dogs are up to at every given moment?

Do not bring your dog to this facility…read more We booked our dog for a five-night stay based on the facility's advertised promises of 24/7 supervision, cage-free boarding, hikes, and attentive care. The problems started before we even dropped him off. We paid an additional $200 for round-trip transportation from Chicago. The day before his scheduled pickup, someone contacted us from an unfamiliar phone number. Because we didn't respond immediately, they simply didn't show up the following morning. We were then forced to drive four hours round-trip to meet them halfway. Things became significantly more concerning when it was time to bring our dog home. He was scheduled to be returned on Tuesday. That day, we received a text asking if he could stay another night, free of charge, and be dropped off Wednesday instead. We agreed to be flexible. On Wednesday, they contacted us AGAIN asking to delay his return another day. At this point, we started researching the facility and discovered a Facebook post from a former employee alleging extremely troubling conditions. I contacted her directly, and what she shared was alarming. According to this former employee, the facility does not provide the 24/7 supervision it advertises. She explained that Sasha, the owner, is rarely present and leaves virtually all day-to-day operations to her assistant. She also stated that the assistant works multiple jobs and has four children, making it unrealistic for her to be physically present at the facility around the clock without additional staffing. She alleged that dogs are frequently left confined rather than receiving the advertised hikes and cage-free experience. She also described unsanitary conditions, unsecured fencing, and flooding inside the facility. We insisted on driving six hours round-trip to pick him up ourselves. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact Sasha throughout this process, she suddenly called us once she learned we intended to visit the property. The conversation was extremely hostile, and she strongly pushed back against our decision to come get our own dog. Her reaction was so concerning that we contacted local police ahead of our arrival to let them know we would be retrieving him. When we arrived, the facility was completely dark, with no staff visibly present until someone came to retrieve our dog from his kennel. Attaching photos of the main house and the garage where dogs are kept. Most upsetting of all, our dog came home approximately 10 pounds lighter than when we dropped him off, after just five nights. We were horrified. I understand that boarding facilities can experience scheduling challenges, and we were more than willing to be flexible. But there is an enormous difference between an occasional logistical inconvenience and serious concerns about animal welfare, transparency, and whether a business is providing the services customers are paying for. I would never trust this facility with my dog again. Based on our experience and the information shared with us by a former employee, I have serious concerns about whether this business operates as advertised. Please do your research, ask questions about staffing and supervision, and insist on seeing the property before leaving your pet here. No dog owner should have to fight to get their own dog back or wonder what happened to them while they were away.

I did a 2 week board & train with Matt when my mastiff was about 4 years old;…read more I originally had him in a harness & he was pulling me all over the place. His pricing was more than fair after comparing with several other competitors who charged a lot more money for group classes & didn't have the same guarantees. Before meeting with Matt I regrettably tried doing group classes & treat training & wasted a lot of time & money to get nowhere. I highly recommend training your dog regardless of age! This big guy & I have a totally different relationship post-training & I have noticed that he expends a lot of energy through quick & easy routines thst just became a natural part of our day. Matt did a wonderful job & explained why/ how all the tools he uses work best for training my dog ( or all dogs ) but that improper use of them is hard to fix. I highly recommend any dog owner to meet with him for a consultation as he shows you why he is the best guy for the job.

TL;DR: If your dog needs ANY type of training, Matt is hands down THE BEST trainer in Chicago and…read moreworth every penny. Let me just say...Matt is INCREDIBLE. Having a GSD puppy living in the city, I did so much research on where to go for training & what kind...it's OVERWHELMING. Matt is so reassuring when you initially talk with him & let's you ask all the questions you want. He's knowledgeable, kind, has top tier experience & most of all is so patient (with both the dogs AND their owners). My main goal in exploring every option was to make sure I did it right and only had to do it once. He's so good that his bootcamp comes with a guarantee (as well as 1 on follow ups) so that if your dog isn't quite there yet he will keep them longer at no extra cost to ensure they are ready to come home! My favorite part about him as a trainer though is how much he loves every dog & is personally invested in their growth. He gives them as much love & positive attention as he does teach them good habits & how to listen. He understands how they think, trains them based on his standards along with what your needs are for your pup then will walk you through the "how" and the "why" not just the "what". VIPs Pet Hotel (where he currently works out of) is now my one stop shop for everything! Kaywood started going to daycare there when the pandemic hit, gets baths there & has sleepovers there when we're out of town. She loves it there just as much as I do!