While I wish things had panned out differently, I had an absolutely horrifying experience with Pawsome Dogs/Melissa. My experience with Melissa started with a rave review from a friend, and I hired her for 5 lessons (with a referral discount from my friend) and later added 25 minute walks while I was at work Monday through Friday ($70/week). Initially, I was happy with the way she connected with my puppy, however I always had concerns about her communication style and lack of professionalism. [sorry for the long review...scroll to the bottom for the short version] From the start, Melissa was constantly texting me about her other clients, personal life, love life, etc. Melissa offered me discounts and requested all of my payments be made in cash so she wouldn't have to report them through her business. As a new dog mom, I was happy to put my puppy first so that he was getting the care he needed. A few months into my walking and training with Melissa, my roommate decided to have Melissa walk his dog as well. At this point, Melissa notified me that she was letting some of her walking clients go, but was planning on keeping our dogs as she was making $140 most weeks (in cash) from walking them both. She also let me know that she would give me one month's heads up if she was planning on dropping me as a walking client. Living in Chicago, safety is always a concern, and for me, trusting someone with keys to your place is a big deal, and I had informed Melissa I needed at least two weeks notice to be able to find a new walker that connected with my pup. In the most recent months, we noticed from the time stamps on our security system that she was often not even walking the dogs for the full 25 minutes as per our agreements, presumably because she was getting busier in other aspects of her life. Last week, she informed me that she was dropping me as a client effective that week. Forced to scramble together and find new arrangements for my puppy, I let Melissa know that I was disappointed in her lack of professional courtesy. At this point, I have used 4 of my 5 training lessons with Melissa, and I requested that we cut off ties and that she refund me the remaining $50 from the unused lesson. I thought we'd just wash our hands of the experience and move on, but instead, she went on a rampage about how I have no right to make such a request, that I'd be forfeiting my remaining lesson, and that she was going to go and convince my friend that I was being irrational. I was most appalled by her activity on social media following our conversation where she used profanity to describe me as a "crazy lady" for my concerns (screenshots posted in the photos section of this Yelp page). TL; DR? Melissa's lack of professionalism ultimately led me to lose all respect for her business when she broke verbal and written agreements (after I spent thousands of dollars for her services), and then harassed me about it. read more

See all

We had a great experience with Melissa! We hired her to help us train our puppy, and it was an overall very positive experience. We bought a package of 3 sessions, and she came to our condo to work with our dog- sometimes at home but most of the time while out walking in the neighborhood. We needed help with basic training needs as well as helping our dog be a better walker on a busy sidewalk. Melissa is really nice, flexible, communicative, and accommodating. It's easy to work with her, and we were overall very pleased with the experience! Would recommend again for sure. read more

Melissa has been so helpful with training my dog! We worked through most of the basics and then worked on more challenging issues like interacting with strangers, the dog walker, and my parents' dog (she even came to my parents' condo for that). Melissa is very flexible on scheduling and you can tell she wants your dog to succeed and make the right choices. I've already recommended her to my friends with dogs and know I can reach out if my dog has any issues in the future. She is very knowledgeable of the dog scene in Chicago and even recommended our new walking service to us that we also really like, as well as boarding and grooming services. read more

I only have positive remarks on Melissa's performance as a professional and ability to work with both dogs and people. I've taken two classes and had a private lesson. She is by far the most trustworthy trainer I have worked with, and having had dogs my entire life there have been a few. My golden doodle Chester loves her and I love how well trained he is! 1) The first class with Melissa was a basics class. I've seen her take a handful of puppies and train out bad habits, teach to walk on a leash, basics commands, and turn them into overall better behaved dogs. We even learned our first trick! She takes the time to explain why we would train using certain techniques as opposed to others and caters to each dog and owner individually even in a class setting. For example, with certain dogs like mine she recommended using a walking harness where it was unnecessary for others. 2) The second class was a tricks course and there must have been about 8 dogs in the class at once. Over the duration of a few months we'd learned crawl, say your prayers, cross your paws, play dead, wave hello, and a ton of other tricks. Melissa was extremely attentive to everyone and their dogs progress while also being able to address the entire class and move us along as a group. Best part is Chester loves doing play dead and now does it just to get attention when I entertain. Its too adorable. 3) I'd missed a couple trick classes and scheduled a private to catch up. Melissa was flexible with time and we worked on not only what I missed but a couple other cool tricks like play dead and cross your paws. In an hour and a half Chester was caught up and read for graduation. On the way out she even offered to stay extra to see how his walking was going and gave some additional advise and explanation on how to train out his tugging at the leash. He has gotten significantly better on a leash with the training she gave me and Chester. All in all, you can't go wrong here. Melissa is knowledgeable, easy to work with, the dogs respond very well to her, and she's a professional. Down to how after every class she sends out a newsletter with all the commands/tricks and how-to's that we learned that week in case we the people need a little reminder. A+ all around and I can't recommend her enough (and I do to everyone)! read more

Pawsome Dogs - Chester crossing his paws at trick class graduation - Pet Training Near Me

Melissa's impact on our 1 year old Weimaraner was shocking, and all of our friends had the same response. They could not believe how well behaved our dog has become. Melissa was professional, caring, friendly, honest and a real pleasure to work with. We could not have expected a better outcome. Thank you Melissa!! read more

Pawsome Dogs - Pet Training Near Me

We are truly amazed at the training we had with Melissa. Our dog did an amazing jobs with her guidance. She has a lot of advice and suggestions for all that our dog needed. We were thrilled with the service. read more

I have been seeing Melissa since I adopted my incredibly fear reactive dog, Scout, five years ago. Dog wise: Melissa is an amazing dog trainer - Scout loves her, my other dog Bonnie loves her and I really credit Scout's growth and success to her training sessions with Melissa. We have followed Melissa throughout her training career and have worked in group and private lessons (we do solely private now). Each lesson is booked for an hour, but every single time Melissa will stay until Scout is successful with what we are working on that day. Scout could be having a super "I am scared of everything in the world" day, but as soon as Melissa comes in she is all wags and doggy grins. People wise: I have found Melissa to be nothing short of extremely professional. We are emailed homework after lessons so that my boyfriend and I can both read what we are working on and what we need to focus on before our next lesson. Melissa always sends me a confirmation text 24 hours before a lesson with date, time and location. There have been a few times where I have had something personal pop up and Melissa is always willing to work with me on rescheduling. I was walking Scout this past Thursday morning and had someone stop to tell me that she was a dog trainer and asked who I worked with because Scout was such a well trained dog. I would recommend Melissa to anyone who is looking for a dog trainer! read more

Melissa is such a knowledgable and positive factor in our Catahoula leopard, Hunter's life. She knew exactly what breed he was before we did! Since then she has been an integral part in our journey with our rescue, and making sure he is well cared for. Hunter trusts and adores Melissa, which is a great feeling for a pet parent! If you are looking for dependable and experienced service, go with Pawsome Dogs! read more

Pawsome Dogs - Hunter! - Pet Training Near Me

We have taken group classes and private lessons with Melissa. She has improved our pit bull mix's leash manners, general manners, and tricks. Melissa is so easy to work with, and our dog loves her. When we adopted our dog, the only command she knew was sit, and it appeared that she had barely been walked on a leash. Within the first private lesson, Melissa had taught us how to positively reinforce loose leash walking, correct our dog on a walk, the "leave it" command, "down", and educated us on training harnesses or collars that may work better for our pup and her needs. Now that we've had our pit mix for almost a year, we see incredible improvement on so many levels - all thanks to implementing the training techniques Melissa has taught us. read more

Pawsome Dogs - Graduation! - Pet Training Near Me

Melissa is amazing! I rescued a young puppy, and as a first time dog owner had no idea what I was doing. I was feeling pretty lost and overwhelmed when I contacted her the first time, but she fit me into her schedule really quickly, which sounds like a small thing, but in the moment it really made me feel better about the situation knowing help was on the way! She was absolutely amazing with my puppy, training us both on all of the beginner commands and new puppy issues. She followed each session up with an email summarizing everything we went over, any recommendations she gave and homework to practice. Shortly after our initial training sessions ended, my dog started having a lot of separation anxiety/crate training issues, as well as leash walking issues. On numerous occasions I've sent Melissa hysterical emails, upset about the issues and uncertain of how to fix them, and she always responded right away and fits us into her schedule. She goes out of her way to come help us and even texts me to check in on him! I feel so lucky to have found her and can't recommend her enough! read more

Melissa is seriously awesome. A friend of mine suggested I get her help walking my shih tzu baby after I had surgery on my leg. She was so great with my dog that I continued to use her services after I recovered. She is flexible, easy to reach, and I trust her. And it is hard for me to trust just anybody with my baby! I think what really cemented her awesomeness was how she didn't complain or get sarcastic when my dog needed a little extra love after he had surgery. She carried him up and down our stairs while he had an activity restriction. Honestly, I can't say enough good things. Thank you, Melissa! read more

Melissa has been fantastic! We adopted two goldendoodle pups -- brothers -- and boy were our hands full! When one of the dogs got aggressive with a couple dogs, I called Melissa -- who was recommended by a friend. She's been amazing with our dogs, and now I'm often told how well-behaved they are by perfect strangers. She emailed many videos to enhance the training experience, and she has recommended other sources of training to further their experiences in group situations. Not only has she helped us train the dogs -- she's trained us in how to figure out different situations with the dogs. We are lucky to have found Pawsome Dogs! read more

Our Ludo is a German shepherd coonhound rescue. When we got him he was a puller on walks. Being 100lbs made it difficult to walk and enjoy the company of our new companion out doors. Melissa did a fantastic job and a quick assessment to identify tools that we could use for training, including a gentle leader, special treats and behavioral techniques. Now Ludo doesn't pull, he waits before crossing the street and waits for our commands when they are so many distractions while on walks! Life saver! Even after our training classes have been completed, Melissa still comes for walks. Ludo loves training! We think we may sign up for private lessons to do the "fetch a beer" trick. I'll let you know how it goes! read more

Melissa has really transformed our puppy. I adopted her at 4 months and really struggled in doing simple commands: stay, down, come. Melissa was patient in working with my puppy, regardless of how high-energy/rebellious she was. I'm so grateful and highly recommend Melissa! read more

Melissa was absolutely amazing!!! She came in to help with my 6 week old beagle Colby. Prior to Melissa coming in we had never owned a puppy our other dog was a rescue pup and was already well trained when I took him in. Our new puppy had me losing sleep from the crying at night, constant accidents around our home as well as the fighting he was doing with my senior dog. Once Melissa came in and taught us the basics her single visit was enough to teach us just how to go about training our new pup. I will definitely recommend Melissa's services as she is very knowledgeable in her skill. Thanks again Melissa you have truly helped our family welcome our newest member. read more

It's so great to have a trainer that I can trust to refer out to my dog walking clients! Melissa does a fabulous job!

I met Melissa three years ago when I first adopted my dog George. At the time she was working for a different company and I took 4 training classes with her. She was the primary reason we were able to calm George down, train him, and socialize him. Fast-forward to last year. George started having some biting issues. After he bit my boyfriend I decided to call Melissa and ask for help. She came to my home and worked with us on helping George not be aggressive with his bones or other preferred foods. She showed us step-by-step how to train him to calm down when people approach him and he has one of his bones. She also taught us (re-taught me because I had forgotten) the command "touch." This has been absolutely the best thing for George. He is a small dog and therefore easy to pick up and move, however he does not always like that and will let you know. We were having difficulty with getting George to come out of his crate or out from under places without him trying to bite (he wouldn't do it to me but had nipped both my dad and boyfriend when they tried to pick him up out of his crate or his bed). Touch is a command that tells George to come to us and we do not have to force him or move him ourselves. It has made all parties much happier. With Melissa's help we were able to learn how to manage George around other people. The training was not only for George but also for us. We learned that too many people overstimulate him and it's best to keep him in another room when we have a lot of people and food around. We also learned to not allow him to have bones around other people and to always forewarn people that certain things might set him off. He is an amazing and sweet dog but he has his quirks and learning how to manage the environment to make him feel better has been extremely helpful! We also paid for 2 additional private lessons with Melissa. She came and helped us work on George's leash aggression and learning how to train him to "go to bed." She came to our apartment and we also met her outside in park for the last lesson. We learned some great cues to help distract George from lunging and barking at other dogs when he sees them. He has definitely improved since her lessons on that (he's not perfect but that's the fault of his owners, not Melissa). Melissa also helped teach us the warning signs that George is getting excited or angry (i.e., the way his ears are, erect tail, eyes widening, huffing and puffing, etc). You would think this would be intuitive but not having grown up with dogs it was not and her pointing these out has really helped us understand George better. I would highly recommend Melissa's services! She is great with dogs and has helped us tremendously. I only wish she could come to the state we just moved to and help us train George on how to use a doggy door and the backyard. Being a city dog, he's completely clueless! read more

I am here to give Melissa another 5 star review!! I am so impressed with Melissa and her abilities to not only train dogs but give tips to their parents as well! My husband and I originally bought a package of 5 lessons. Our pup needed some help with reactivity and resource guarding so we did a combination of in home lessons and lessons in public places. We were so pleased with Melissa that we bought another package of 5 lessons to continue our great work. Not only are we doing private lessons we also were so happy with Melissa's services that we enrolled our pup into one of her group classes! He just graduated from that class last night and again, we are so pleased with everything that we plan on enrolling him in Melissa's next Superstar Tricks class to learn some new tricks. Again, I have nothing but POSITIVE things to say about Melissa and Pawsome Dogs Training. She dedicates the time to you and your pup and you can tell she really cares about her clients. read more

We have our 1 yr. old Great Dane puppy Atticus in training with Melissa, and she truly is amazing. In just a couple of sessions (and a little home practice), our dog is getting mannerly and I've learned how to be a little more accurate in our training at home. Our dog is still a bit headstrong (just like my wife and I), but at least we're speaking the same language now. ;) read more

Our pup has taken several classes with Melissa and he just loves her! When we adopted our little guy, part of the adoption agreement was that we would sign up for a training class. We were planning on only taking the "Basics" class but after seeing how much our dog learned in the first course we signed up for the "Beyond Basics" class. Our pup has so much fun in class, he really loves Melissa, and is so well behaved as a result of the classes and training. We are currently taking the "Trick Pups" class. When our little guy has difficulty with learning something new, Melissa takes the time to work with him individually and has offered to meet with us before/after class. Of course, like all classes, there is homework and for our dog to really learn the commands we do spend time during the week reinforcing what was learned in class. I've recommended Pawsome Dogs to several of my neighbors. read more

Melissa is awesome! She has been walking our puppy every week day for the past 7 months and is very reliable and professional. She sends and update immediately after each walk with details about the walk, and feeds him lunch. She went above and beyond just walking our dog by cleaning up accidents in his crate when he was really young, and giving us an extra poop bag container. She is very detail oriented, and listens to what your preferences are. And finally, she is flexible with changes in my schedule. Highly recommend! :D read more

Melissa came to my house to work with our 10 month old puppy. We have had some success with training but had hit the wall. She spent a lot of the private hour chatting, asking questions, getting information from me and did not really get down to business til 30 minutes in. During our walk, she never really explained what she was doing or why. I had a hard time "following" and when she asked questions about our dog's behaviors she would say "interesting" and not offer any advice! For $80 an hour I expected more actual instruction. I did appreciate some of the advice I got but unfortunately it was just not enough. I felt like she was withholding information so I would either have her back, buy a class or engage her further. I really think a pre session questionnaire or a 20 minute chat BEFORE the session would have been nice since she asked about a million questions! Or just observe the dog, help me correct and explain what you are doing. We have gone with another trainer. She is nice and professional but I felt like I did not get my $$$ worth. read more

Melissa is amazing! Our dog has being aggressive towards other dogs and people. We couldn't walk him outside , he would bark and growl at other dogs, kids, bikes...He wouldn't listen to any commends (except to 'seat') and was super territorial inside the house. Melissa has help us to identify reasons behind his behavior and gave us tools to work with him. He's behavior has improved greatly. In one of the training sessions, She had him walking next to another dog AMAZING!!! Melissa has being supper professional and attentive to our schedule. We are so thankful for her help!!! read more

Cannot recommend Melissa highly enough! Beau was five months old, over 60 lbs. and nowhere near housebroken when I finally started looking for a trainer. From the first lesson, things got so much better! Melissa looks at each dog carefully to understand the root of the behavior, then teaches her clients how to practice and reinforce the new behavior. Beau stopped peeing in the house after the first lesson! When she saw how he was pulling me down the stairs and sidewalks, she suggested a better training collar than the kind we were using and behaviors to target -- we instantly got better results! She showed us how we were rewarding the wrong part of the "stay" command, confusing his dog brain. In 5 lessons our Beau was house trained, learned to ring the bell to go potty outside, taught to leash walk properly and without owner injury, to "stay", "drop it" and "leave it". We are enjoying him so much more! read more

I can't say enough good things about Melissa! I adopted a mini golden doodle puppy and I needed training as much as he did. Melissa took time to sit and listen to our challenges as well as the behaviors we needed for Finley to a member of our family. She was so positive and he couldn't wait to see her. She followed up all of our lessons with emails that detailed what to practice until we saw her again. I highly recommend her to anyone in need of a trainer. read more

We are so thankful for Melissa. We have a very active puppy who we were having a hard time training. Melissa was recommended to me by a customer at a pet store. He had so many great things to say about her so I decided to give her a try. I'm so glad I did. She is amazing at what she does. The difference in my puppy over the last few months is night and day. My Tanzanian puppy is now a sweet, fun and well behaved little girl. I highly recommend Melissa. read more

I have never witnessed/experienced such a lack of professionalism. My roommate hired Melissa to train her new puppy as well as walk him during the day while she was at work. Seeing how great having a dog Walker was working out for my roommate I decided to hire Melissa to walk my dog as well. It was 70$ a week for 25 minute walks a day, I had a security camera installed in my apartment and had started to notice that many walks were cut very short and ranged from 10 - 15 minutes. Melissa had told us that she would be giving us at least a months notice that she would be dropping us as walking clients, but instead in a group text let my roommate and I know the day of that she would no longer be able to walk our dogs. As a dog owner I'm sure you all know how important it is to have someone you trust watch over your dogs, and to have someone cancel your arrangements the day of and not even give you more than a days notice to find someone new to walk your dog is clearly unacceptable. After receiving her text, I just thanked her for her time... but then was appalled to find out that she was attacking my roommate on social media and reaching out to her network of dog walkers, trainers and sitters to "warn" them about my friend. All my roommate requested was for her money to be returned for the lesson that was not used after Melissa broke verbal & written agreements. Clearly Melissa is emotionally unstable and should not be trusted with keys to anyone's place. I cannot believe that she demonstrated this type of behavior especially after requesting that we pay in her cash (which made us both uncomfortable) so that she wouldn't have to report it through her business. I would not recommend Melissa to anyone else for fear of them receiving backlash from an unstable woman who is well connected in the trainer, walker and sitter world for dogs. There is no reason for anyone to go through this when all we are trying to do is find someone that will take great care of our furry loved ones. They are family and have no reason to be collateral damage in Melissa's rampage on social media... My roommate is Riti K. Please read her review to see the images of Melissa's attack on social media. read more

I hired Melissa to train my dog Lola who recently started getting aggressive towards other dogs on the leash. I went into this situation thinking there was probably not much that could be done. Through multiple session at different locations and finding the right harness, Lola is a whole new dog! My walks with Lola are much more enjoyable now that she doesn't try to bark at every dog we pass. I highly recommend hiring Melissa for training, even if you feel hopeless...She works miracles! read more

Melissa helped train our pup Shandy in the beginners puppy class. Shandy just loved her and she is very good with all kinds of dogs. We have used Melissa several times since then and have always had a positive experience. She is quick to recommend options for new pet owners and we trust her advice. We go to Melissa with all of our puppy needs/questions. I highly recommend her services. read more

If we could give Pawsome Dogs 10 stars, we would. Melissa is amazing with dogs. She can get any dog, with any energy to do anyTHING... we saw it in person. She has an amazing technique and special connection with dogs, as well as the humans that are lucky enough to have them in their lives. We want to give Pawsome Dogs an additional HUGE "shout out" because our dog got sick and wasn't allowed to attend the LAST puppy class/graduation, and Melissa went above and beyond to come to US the following week to get him graduated. She bent over backwards to make sure our boy got his diploma and his recognition for his hard work. We thank her for making time in her schedule to come to our neighborhood for this reason. She sure does make every dog feel valued and special - and every dog parent feel like they CAN. Thank you, Pawsome Dogs!! We can't wait to see you in the next round!! read more

cant say enough about Melissa. She was able to come help with my 8 wk puppy with adjustment issues the day I contacted her! She gave us great information and responses to my emails so quickly. I highly recommend her home visit if you are in need of any support! read more

Melissa is an amazing dog trainer. We have two dogs that have gone through several classes with her - a 2 year old terrier mix rescue named Navi and a 8 month old Wheaten terrier named Grimsby. Melissa shares a wealth of knowledge of different training techniques and her problem solving skills helped us tailor certain techniques to our own dogs' individual needs. Classes are well organized and she's always able to help us with specific behavior problems we might be experiencing that are not necessarily a part of the class curriculum. She uses positive reinforcement and showed us how to motivate and stimulate our dogs to truly learn good behaviors, and not just to go through the motions. Classes have all sorts of different learning styles which really helps in the training process - watching, doing, trial and error, listening, and explaining not only how to do something, but why we do it a certain way. We look forward to class and so do our puppies. The parents have a great time bonding with our pups and the pups get to have special socialization with other dogs in the class. You can truly tell that she loves her job. She's extremely patient, calm and confident when dealing with both parents and pups. We both highly recommend her to anyone that is thinking about taking lessons, whether you have a brand new addition to the family or you want to teach your older dog new tricks! read more

Layla & I were soo lucky to get referred to Melissa. I cannot say enough nice things about her but perhaps the best compliment is that Melissa truly CARES about any dogs she takes on for training, it's not just business! She's like the dog-whisperer, Layla is alert & wants to please her. We've worked with Melissa in our home w/ private lessons (very reasonable) & in class settings. Having Melissa in our home was really important to work w/ existing spaces & circumstances that enhanced Layla's & my daily living. And classes were packed w/ key behavior techniques but also included fun games w/ our dogs, intended to improve their learned skills. Melissa works w/ you to find the right equipment for your dog; whether its a collar, leash, coat or bulk food deliveries & she always has some great advice or key website or YouTube video all to help one achieve the best relationship possible between you & your dog! We love her read more