Eight years ago when I use this company for training for my German Shepherd, this company was amazing. After Covid, he needed a refresher and my experience with them was horrible. He did not change it all in his behavior and they kept him in a cage and he rubbed his nose trying to get out so it was raw when I picked him up. I can no longer recommend this company. I don't know what happened. The owner was a great guy and a great trainer, but I don't know what happened to them now. read more

AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! My dog who just turned 2 died under their care after only 5 days. She was enrolled in their board and train program. She died with a temperature of 109!!! A necropsy proved she was in perfect health. read more

It's been over a year and this company won't bother to respond. I never received a refund on the training for my injured dog. I never received any type of reimbursement for the vet bills she incurred. My dog is also now scared of other dogs and won't get in the car for me to take her anywhere. I brought my dog to this facility to work on her manners around children. I now have a dog that has PTSD from her experience and needs further training to build up her confidence to what it was before her board & train. The goal for my other dog was to have him walk nice on a leash. He was there for ten days before I demanded to pick him up. Barely any improvement. If you are thinking of choosing this company just know if anything goes wrong they will deny deny and then ignore you. read more

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Our beloved 2 year old German Shepherd, Bogey, DIED under the watch of this horrific company. Several months ago, I reached out for nothing else but to try and get Bogey's collar back. We have not heard back. Before dropping Bogey off for his 2 week stay at SFK9, I spoke with Eddie to try to communicate my anxiety about leaving him for 2 weeks. Any dog owner knows the anxiety of leaving your dog in someone else's hands for the first time. I tried to communicate the issues he may have. I was looking for reassurance and comfort. To trust he was in good hands. I was pretty much laughed at and because of my naivety on the subject, I told myself that they knew best and tried to let it go. Upon nervously checking in on Day 2, I got a one-sentence email response telling me "Bogey is fine." Nothing more. I was horrified at their lack of consideration and empathy. I should have known then. Little did I know, he was having a hard time and as I was told on the phone when we got the news that Bogey had passed away, he "had diarrhea" the entire time he was there. A sure sign of anxiety. I was never told this until it was too late. All of his necropsy results came back negative and completely clear of both genetic or pre-existing issues. Bogey died of a broken heart. As "dog trainers," I believe it's safe to assume they understand the level of love one can have for a dog. I also believe it's safe to say that they understand the horrible heartbreak one inevitably feels upon losing a dog. Bogey was 2. It was our wedding day. We understand accidents happen...horrible things happen. What we can't wrap our heads around is the fact that they called to tell us we lost Bogey and never heard from them again. The only follow up was to send a video of him collapsing in his crate as a tactic to save themselves. The lack of communication from Day 1 is just purely shameful. The lack of empathy since that horrific call is something we will never be able to understand. Unhuman. As we have grieved our best friend and let our anger subside, we've waited to hear back from them after simply asking for his collar back. There has been nothing. We could ask for a refund, could even demand one, but we won't. We will let them keep our money that we so easily handed over to them, like we did with our Bogey. The only thing they ever cared about was the safety of their company and ensuring we don't ruin it. Covering all their bases. Shifting the blame to someone else-- our wonderful breeder-- anyone but them. Best to disappear and pray this passes, than to show a little care for your clients. I hope and pray that God forbid this ever happens again, they can react appropriately as a reputable company with integrity should be expected to and that no one ever has to go through what my husband and I did. Please think twice before sending your dog here. read more

I did the board and train for my SDIT while we welcomed my newborn baby. She is a smart girl and I fell behind on training due to. A high risk pregnancy so I had to put a hold on training classes. She stayed with Casey and she came back more obedient than before. Thank you SFK9 and Casey, I am making sure to continue to socialize and train to make sure she does not fall into bad habits. My girl comes from a very well known reputable breeder who has produced successful service dogs as well which is also important I recommend this company a lot thanks! Dolly is 10 months old and will be training til 2 1/2 years read more

SFK9 Dog Training - Dolly - Pet Training Near Me - South Elgin, Illinois

**Please use caution when purchasing/adopting a dog from SFK9.** On 8/2/23 at 9:00am, our family adopted Bridgette, a then eight month old Bernedoodle from SFK9 to add to our family and use as a therapy dog in private practice. I was assured she was potty-trained, socialized to multiple stimuli, trained in basic commands, and accustomed to children and meeting/greeting new people. The invoice a received indicated she was a "trained and certified therapy dog." Stephanie encouraged me to bring her into the practice to work with clients the week of pick-up to acclimate her to her new environment. This advice directly contradicted any I had ever utilized with previous new introductions to my home as typically introductions to new environments should be slow and gradual. On our drive home, Bridgette immediately defecated in the back seat of the car. I assumed she was anxious transitioning to a new home with new people and wasn't overly concerned as I know even reliably potty-trained dogs can experience regressions in new environments. When we arrived at our home, she repeatedly urinated inside despite being actively supervised, attempts to interrupt the behavior, and being taken outside every 30 minutes. Again, I wasn't overly concerned and assumed this was a part of the transition for her. Throughout the day, additional concerns surfaced. She cowered and yelped when I opened an Amazon box, growled at a woman carrying large bags on the sidewalk, and exhibited other fearful behaviors. Finally, when meeting our daughter, she growled, snapped and lunged at her before immediately cowering behind my husband and urinating on herself. These behaviors are consistent with a fearful and anxious dog and are NOT consistent with a "therapy dog" or family pet with a small toddler. I have had dogs all my life, including two with rescues with significant behavioral problems and am unfortunately familiar with the management of a fearful or under socialized pup. I also knew that these behaviors would be very difficult to manage in a house with a small child. I immediately contacted SFK9 around 8:00pm and spoke with Stephanie over the phone to discuss my safety concerns. I advised that we did not feel comfortable continuing to keep Bridgette and were not able to keep her separate from our toddler due to the layout of our home. She said she would absolutely take her back that evening and said she would need to "figure out what funds had been allocated where" but would refund the purchase price. I thanked her and my husband drove Bridgette back the two hours to their home in Richmond, IL. I have since reached out multiple times to both Eddie and Stephanie to discuss the refund. I eventually received an email from Stephanie in which she stated they do not receive consistent revenue and that partial payments of the refund minus the initial deposit would eventually be possible but provided no timeline for when these refunds would occur. She stated that in the eleven hours since we had picked up Bridgette, they had utilized her adoption/purchase price to contribute to their build out loan. I acknowledged that them retaining the initial deposit was fair as they boarded Bridgette at their home for one week between our initial meet and greet and our pick-up date and agreed on partial payments until we were refunded her purchase price/adoption fee. It has since been three weeks with no communication from Eddie and Stephanie regarding the refund. On multiple occasions, I have spoken with Eddie briefly on the phone who stated, "I have no idea what's going on with that. I'll have Stephanie call you when she gets home." At no time has there been any additional communication with Stephanie. I have noticed that Bridgette is now re-listed on their website as an adoptable dog is listed as an ESA/Therapy Dog Potential candidate. **Please use caution when working with this company.** read more

HI, I took my mom's dog to the one in WI for training. After 2 weeks Eddie could only tell me they were working on her trust issues. I wanted to get her and do inperson training but they said that would be a set back. After 4 weeks, I got her; she had kennel cough and a huge hotspot on her butt. We spent $2000 and then had vet bills. I was going to bring her back so they could tell me the commands she should know and they never responded. The dog never got trained. She was anxious and it took weeks for us to build trust again. These people should be shut down. Read the fine print. They have a no refund clause. I do not think they did any training and if she was untrainable, they should have allowed me, after the two weeks, to take her back. They kept her for no reason and then Eddie went on a trip. read more

This company's facility is always very clean and inviting (even during this crazy time). I can't say enough kind things about both Sara and Nicole. They take the time to listen to the issues you're having and develop a training plan specific to you and your pet's needs. It's easy to see they love what they do and genuinely care about the animals in their care. Having trainers who understand its not a cookie cutter solution is really great! I have a pup who is working through a lot of anxiety issues and fear aggression when people enter the house even if she is familiar with them. Sara has come out multiple times to see first hand how she is acting and was so positive and patient with her. I have learned so much from her about how to keep my pet comfortable and confident. Thanks again! read more

Very disappointed in this business. we brought our dog back in 2021-22 as a puppy. we started with level 1 training and were extremely pleased with the trainer sara. we were starting to experience some issues with our pup so we looked into the board and train who we specifically wanted sara for. we decided to continue with sfk9 for the board and train because they offered LIFETIME support. he came home from board and train and we were very pleased again, but continued with some level 2 & i believe even 3 classes. he completed his board in train in November at TEN MONTHS. he was there for basic puppy needs but we had some other issues we were also working on such as his pawing at us to get what he wants and nipping. we recently have had some concerns come up- reactivity on the leash. i emailed asking what the suggestion with an explanation on the behavior. we were told since it had been awhile we should start back at level 1, no problem. we tried to attend a class last week AUG 2023 as i stated, we explained the issues via email to eddie. we show up to level 1, and were told we were not able to stay which we understood because our dog was barking and nervous. so we asked what is the LIFETIME support? we were told we could do a private lesson. we show up to the private lesson and are told this ONE private lesson will be the only lifetime support we will receive because "these issues weren't issues he originally came to us with" but to restate- we were originally told lifetime support for any issues which is why we chose to continue training with this facility. the private lesson, was us standing there and talking about what we were concerned about and a few tips not actual training or working with the dog. i understand he was nervous, but this is not the life time support i was told would and could be give . the original trainer and trainers we worked with out no longer at this facility and it makes me wonder why they left? read more

We have a 6 month old mini golden doodle. We decided that since we also have two young children that board and train would be our best route so the puppy would have dedicated training and a solid foundation to be more well behaved. At almost 16 weeks old she started the program. We were told that we wouldn't get updates other than fb posts (an actual separate paper to sign in recognition of their update policy) unless we text to ask. After a full month we were told she was ready to graduate. We had a session where commands were explained and she came home. I should have been obvious that behavior hadn't changed when she went to the puppy went potty on the floor of the training space. When we go home our puppy was the same exact dog she was when she left. She also would not perform any commands and continued nipping our children, a behavior I specifically said was completely unacceptable for her to come back to us doing. The trainer came to our house and observed the behavior and said that she would perform the commands at their house so it must be environmental. They told us to anchor her with a leash so she would stay. They left basically telling us to be more firm and lock her in her crate if she gets crazy. The next night she nipped the baby and was sent back to train. She was there for a second month. During which she had a scheduled groom. Being a doodle (and also close to the holidays where I knew rescheduling would be hard) I tried to contact them to get her even if only for the day and got no answer. From Thursday to Saturday I called and texted with no response or call back. Only after she had missed the appointment did I hear back and it had been 3 days of trying to contact. After almost two months I got a text that said they saw the behavior that we were talking about that needed correction. They said it would be worked on and then she could come home. Finally. She came home for the second time. The same day she pooped on the couch, a bed and nipped the baby. I really thought maybe this puppy was more than I could handle? I called and even talked about giving her up because I really thought she might not like children? Or maybe she was just too hyper? They told me I could surrender her to them and I almost did. My spouse and I talked and decided we would train her and that she really is sweet she just had ineffective training. She still has work. She still isn't 100% but sending her to board and train didn't help. They seemed very willing to help but at the end of the day they taught her nothing. read more

I love that our dog is so cared for when he is here. They did an awesome job with Otto on his orginal train and board. We brought him back when we were out of town this week. To see Sara give him a hug when we left just makes me feel more comfortable leaving him with someone. I miss my Otto when we are out of town but it makes it so much easier to know he is truly loved by SFK9! read more

SFK9 Dog Training - Otto is happy to be home! - Pet Training Near Me - South Elgin, Illinois

I brought my puppy here after a couple people at work used them for their dogs. I wanted to get my puppy crate trained and potty trained and NEITHER of those things happened. Within ten minutes of him being home after almost a month at this facility he peed in my garage, peed & pooped in the house (after going in the yard after peeing in the garage) and howled once in his crate while I cleaned up the mess. They sent the trainer to my house...she left a huge crate that she was supposed to come pick up and never did that smelled like pee. She "calmed" the dog down & told me he needs to readjust to being back home. Now it's been like 3 weeks and the dog still doesn't like the crate. Still potties in the house and we take him out regularly. So now I have an untrained puppy and out two thousand dollars. PLEASE think twice about bringing your dog here for training. read more

Wasted $2000 for board and train. Our dog learned nothing and now has separation anxiety. Called and they said we had to train her at home with a prong collar and bring her to classes. Biggest waste of money. read more

Stephanie and Eddie have trained all of our dogs and will be training the new puppy we just adopted. (We're already on the books for when she's 18 weeks old ish) My first rescue was the sweetest boy and I thought I'd love to add another. I adopted a 5yr old GSD mix and she had some issues! I was at the end of my rope when I got to Stephanie and Eddie. GSD mix had reactive fear based behavior to other dogs and men mostly. Sadie was trained by Eddie and Stephanie and Eddie became one of her favorite people in life. I wanted to get a third dog, years later, and talked to Stephanie and Eddie about the best way to work him in and working with Sadie. They helped me get a third dog assimilated into our pack. Sadie preferred to be handled by Eddie after Jake came home from SFK9's board and train. We introduced the dogs with Sadie being handled by her other favorite human, Eddie. Now we've adopted another dog and she will be going to board and train with Eddie and Stephanie (everyone on the staff is great, but it seems my dogs love Eddie and Stephanie more than anything!) I highly recommend SFK9 if you have issues like I've had. A dog that couldn't be around other dogs and was fear based reactive and up until the day she died she was a better dog for having been with them and trained by them. She lived with 2 other dogs and even allowed my husband (then boyfriend) to move in with us. I didn't think that was going to be possible! If you have problems SFK9 has solutions. I like to call them practical life solutions because they really work in the real world in situations that organically arise. We love SFK9 and I recommend them literally to everyone I meet. Direct quote from my husband "when is puppy going for training so the house can get some structure back?" read more

Eddie and his staff are amazing! Do NOT believe the one bad review. Trust me when I say when you do the board and train program, your dog will return to you obedient and believing you are the pack leader. Our new Shepherd puppy, she was 10 months old when we reached out to SFK9, was getting worse every day with her dominant behavior. We had had a Shepherd previous to this puppy, who we successfully trained with another training program. Our new dog wasn't making progress with that program and we knew we had to find another trainer. I researched training programs and liked the cost and sound of SFK9's program. Eddie came out to our home, and we loved his demeanor immediately. He gained control of our dog in a matter of minutes. We knew we picked the right place. We set up a date to drop our dog off, paid a deposit and were set. We met with our trainer, Nicole, one evening and she explained what would take place. Our puppy would spend anywhere from 10 to 14 days at her home, though she would keep her longer if she felt it necessary. She had two dogs and two cats of her own, who our dog would learn to get along with. Currently, our dog wants to love on our cats too much, so they stay away from her. We left that night missing our puppy, and apprehensive about whether this would work. I kept in touch with Eddie as the days went by. At the 10-day mark, Eddie said our dog would need more time. At the 14-day mark, she still wasn't ready, and by the way, our dog went into her first heat. Imagine dealing with that along with training her! Finally, Eddie said she would be ready to come home, which would make it 21 days. Wow! We met at SFK9's offices on the designated night and Nicole talked through everything that had happened in the 3 weeks she had our dog. She explained everything that went on while she had our dog, every step she took, insights into our dog's personality, little nuances in her behavior to watch for and what we could expect going forward. We then went out into the big training room and waited. Nicole brought our dog out on a leash, who didn't notice us at first. When she did, she wanted to run to us, naturally, but Nicole had full command. Our dog listened to Nicole and didn't move. We couldn't believe the change in our dog. We spent time learning how to work with our dog, the commands to use, and how to handle certain behaviors. It was amazing. We have had her home now for about 3 weeks and she is still obedient and knows us to the pack leaders. We work with her, walk her, train her and use the commands SFK9 taught us. I cannot stop telling people about SFK9 and the transformation of our dog. We could not be more pleased. Thank you Nicole and everyone at SFK9 who had our dog. We are immensely grateful for your time and all you did for us and our dog. read more

We brought our 8-month-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Jade, to SFK9 in a last attempt to correct her behavior. We were at a point where we felt we had made a mistake in our breed selection and seriously considered putting her up for adoption. The results achieved by SFK9 are nothing short of miraculous. Prior to the board & train program at SFK9, Jade was largely confined to the kitchen and her crate. Any time she was given free rein in the house she was completely unmanageable. Jade would dart upstairs, steal socks and clothing, hide under beds -- a general terror. In the kitchen she was stealing items from the kitchen counter, constantly taking hand towels and driving us to exhaustion. We felt horrible for crating her most of the day. We desired to be able to relax as a family in the evening, including having Jade present, but it simply was not possible. While she had basic manners from the PetSmart basic puppy class, she was still mouthy, defiant, and just barely obedient. We now have a dog that we can let roam around the house, who walks by our side, who sits, lays, and climbs on command all while staying in place until released. Jade demonstrates far more mental discipline and calmness now, coming into a bedroom to see what is going on and laying down on her own while life continues around her. She has gone from unmanageable to walk being by my side on a loose leash, watching me from time to time to see what I am doing. On our walks, we practice sitting and laying down at each intersection, where she calmly watches life around her, patiently waiting until I release her and continue our walk. Using the techniques taught by SFK9, we've been able to continue the training at home, now teaching Jade how to come with an implied sit by our side. There is simply no way I could have imagined this behavior from her prior to the board & train at SFK9. A tremendous thank you to Nicole, Jade's trainer extraordinaire. Her demeanor, professionalism and strength were incredible. Seeing her at the end of the board & train effortlessly commanding Jade with obedient results elated the entire family. We had a changed dog! And lastly, thank you to Eddie for his continued engagement and on-going Q&A. He is prompt to respond to questions, gracious in his answers and runs a top-notch business at SFK9. I would jump at the opportunity for Jade to attend an advanced course with SFK9. If you're on the fence about such a program, I highly recommend taking them up on their consultation offer. Watch the videos on their facebook page. The results are real. Thank you, SFK9! read more

My dog was uncontrollable. Kids were afraid of him. Eating was totally a chaos. I cannot even get inside our own house without being push, pulled, hurt by our dog. He pulls on his leash, steals food, just totally does not listen at all. Since i was doing a disservice to our dog, I sent him to training. Now he is manageable...No more pulling, i can take normal walks with the kids and him. We get to spend more time with him( since were not avoiding him anymore). Thank you so much! read more

These guys are great! I would give more than 5 stars if I could! We have a 200lb dog that needed lots of training. They're very knowledgable and do great work. I couldnt believe that changes in my dog. Stephanie and Eddie really work with you on a personal level and do everything they can to help. I would recommended them to everyone that needs dog training. read more

Congratulations! You've discovered the best dog training business to give your dogs a solid foundation for a lifetime of good behavior. SFK9 deserves the highest of praise for their amazing services. They give you the tools to be successful with your dogs, provide so much knowledge and understanding of canine behavior, and build your confidence to continue the training at home. We started with the 10 day Board & Train program, and followed it with the Intermediate level class. Nicole and Sara go above & beyond expectations to make the training process fun and easy to understand. Our then 12-month-old German Shepherd was fear reactive, and has now reached milestones we didn't think possible: listening to commands with distractions, not barking at strangers who approach us, and being calm when meeting new people inside our home. We are so grateful and appreciative for their support and dedication to positive results. read more

My dog was uncontrollable. She pulled on her leash, never listened when we would call her. We would have to chase her around the house for 30 min because she refused to get in her crate or listen. Now she is manageable...No more pulling, comes when called. Very happy client. Thank you!!!! read more

Let me first say that my bf and I are not newbie dog owners. He's had dogs, my family has had dogs and we currently have our 2 pitbulls, plus are fostering 2 more dogs. But, this was our first time dealing with resource guarding issues and what we thought would "fix" it, wasnt working. Our 7 months old foster was very aggressive when food or treats where out and we knew if we didnt correct it right away, he will never be adopted. Desperate for help we reached out to SFK9. And let me tell you - dog training is not so much about training the dog but about training you, the human, to train the dog. Within an hour we learned how to help our foster to trust people and dogs around food, how to approach, interact and TRAIN him. We have the tools and knowledge to apply at home now. Eddie was the dog whisperer and more than on one occasion I said "who is this dog? I cnat believe it." Bringing our foster to SFK9 was the best thing we could do for him. read more

They have done such a great job with my rescue pup Wrigley. They are dedicated to giving you the best dog to be your best friend.

My girlfriend and i had brought our two shepherds to them. The level of care and dedication was beyond our wildest dreams. We always get nervous leaving them at a boarder or day care and we immediately felt right at home with entrusting our fur babies to them! Our shepherds were to the point where we couldnt walk them both by ourselves, it was just becoming too much to handle. They completely turned it around for us. Not only did they both come out of training with good habits but we are never without their support. The level of service is above and beyond. You may ask yourself is it really worth it? YES. It really is. We are only on day 1 of having them back but so far i am 100% satisfied with their process and the progress our dogs made. Beauty and beast thank you!! read more

We got our poodle Harry from a nearby breeder, he was used as a stud. We were told he was house trained. That was not the truth, and just the tip of the iceberg of his problems. We knew we had to do something drastic in order to make this untrained (and basically unresponsive) dog part of our family. Enter SFK9 Dog Training and his trainer Nicole. We handed over a pooch who had to be carried in and out of the house, chased around to put a leash on, pulled on his leash, had no concept of where it was appropriate to go potty, had no commands, and was just not a happy dog (his tail was mostly tucked). We didn't even attempt to force him into his crate because it seemed too traumatic. He also was very jumpy and frightened easily. Well, something magical (by the name of Nicole) happened on his board and train. Our Harry came home to us an obedient and happy dog. We still have to work with him at home and have had to make contact a few times for advice (which is always responded to quickly and patiently). He now goes into his crate easily, enters and leaves the house nicely, sits, lies down, climbs, walks nicely on a loose leash, goes potty outside (!), and is relaxed in our home. From time to time, when he is overwhelmed, he will start to shut down but putting him on a climb instantly resets him. We are so happy to have that tool in our tool chest because it helps Harry so much. We especially like that we can board Harry with his trainer when we go out of town and we know he is in excellent hands. I cannot recommend SFK9 enough, I don't know where we would be without them! read more