Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    The Happy Retriever

    3.5 (20 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Services - The Happy Retriever

    Dog boarding and training

    Private dog training

    Puppy socialization classes

    The Happy Retriever Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - The Happy Retriever

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Puppy

    We took our 4 month old puppy to The Happy Retriever's Puppy 101 class for her initial training. The instructor was very knowledgeable and gave clear instructions as well as handouts that we could follow for continued training at home. We then moved on to their Boot Camp I course since we felt our pup needed more structured and advanced training. In one week we had a different dog (shout out to Hannah!) They provide "bump up" days which are not just doggy daycare with dozens of dogs but individualized training sessions throughout the day with a trainer who works on learned commands and sends a report card at the end of the day so you can keep track of progress or issues. The staff have all been very professional in my experience and willing to help and follow up with any of our concerns.

    See all

    1 year ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lisa W.
    63
    33
    5

    10 months ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Very good trainers however they consistently open late, causing me to be late for work.

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of A L.
    0
    2
    0

    9 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alyssa D.

    Alyssa D.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - The Happy Retriever

    Review Highlights - The Happy Retriever

    The bump up days have also been helpful to act as a refresher and continue good habits in our dog.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Pet Training 609 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    The Wayward Hound

    The Wayward Hound

    (5 reviews)

    I can not say enough positive things about The Wayward Hound! After a very lengthy phone…read moreconversation with Sheryl (the owner), she invited me to come observe a class to see if it was the right fit for our puppy. Previously, we attended a training class with our puppy elsewhere and I went in for the observation with a preconceived notion that this facility would be the same. I was absolutely blown away!! I immediately signed our puppy up at The Wayward Hound even though we were still enrolled at the other facility. Our class consists of no more than 5 puppies at a time and the training is all hands on training with your puppy. Sheryl and Ronaele are so warm and kind. They go out of their way to make sure everyone is doing the training correctly and they both give fantastic advice. There are always a few laughs during class which is so nice! It makes the training feel less like work and you know everyone surrounding you is experiencing the same things with their puppies. We definitely plan on continuing our training here. People have commented on how well behaved our puppy is and we owe that to Sheryl and Ronaele at The Wayward Hound!

    We brought our much loved golden retriever puppy for kindergarten with Sheryl. We liked the…read morefacility and the size of the classes (5 puppies). Her training methodology works well--we didn't clicker train, which works for us (I'd never find the thing) and we loved positive reinforcement. Our puppy responded well and we had a nice time. We moved onto Agility and LOVED it. I'd swear our puppy smiled after learning the course! We plan to go back for another class and hope to achieve our Canine Good Citizen. The added benefit was the support Sheryl offered us throughout--she promptly responded to any email questions and all of her recommendations have worked!!!!

    PAWsture Perfect K9

    PAWsture Perfect K9

    (2 reviews)

    Tina is amazing. She really knows what she is doing and talking about and has a great way of…read moremaking the customer understand why their dog is doing or behaving the way they are. I have referred her to so many people and they all rave about her!

    We reached out to Tina to get support and guidance around our 5 year old Australian Shepherd…read moreexperiencing anxiety, and therefore becoming reactive. Tina initially spoke on the phone with me for a long period of time to understand our history, our needs, and our hopes for the future. Tina worked with us over a few sessions in multiple location (in our home, in our backyard, for walks around the neighborhood & at our dog's doggy daycare set) to address our concerns. Tina was very supportive, informative and thoughtful. She was AMAZING with our nervous Aussie and was not afraid to point out things we were doing as owners that were unintentionally reinforce the problem. Tina was willing to work with us in each session for as long as our dog had energy and attention for (and us too). We saw an immediate improvement in our initial areas of concern and still see the rewards of our work. The sense of support has continued beyond our training sessions. Tina is often checking in with us to see how our Aussie is doing. We could not have ask for a better experience. We certainly would recommend PAWsture Perfect K9 to anyone and have already given friends her contact information.

    Hilltop Canine - Structured Daycare.

    Hilltop Canine

    (4 reviews)

    Brought my dog in for a bath and nail clip. There was no check-in process, they had me write my…read morenumber on a post-it. When I came back to pick up my dog they said they did the bath, but won't charge me for the nail clip because their groomer isn't actually there and they tried to clip her nails, got to her back ones but couldn't get her front ones. If an experienced groomer wasn't available I would've like to know ahead of time instead of giving my dog to inexperienced people without my knowledge. The way they dragged her in the back made me uncomfortable and even though the didn't charge me for the nails I still don't like the way she or I were treated. Won't be coming back.

    We highly recommend Hilltop Canine, and will definitely be bringing our dog Stella back! We were…read moreworried about boarding her because she had a bad experience at a dog park once and hasn't been very comfortable around other dogs since. One weekend at Hilltop and that's been totally resolved! The staff listened and took in our concerns about socializing her and assured us that if it didn't work they would walk her alone, which made us feel better. After they socialized her with other dogs while there, she now can walk down the street without barking and pulling at the leash when she sees other dogs, which is huge. We loved getting photos and especially the report card and photo gallery at the end - it was great to see what she was up to each day. The staff were all very kind and seem to genuinely love and care about the dogs in their care!

    Holliston Meadows Pet Resort - Pet supplies and toys

    Holliston Meadows Pet Resort

    (22 reviews)

    We have used Holliston Meadows for more than 15 years over which time we had two Goldens, an Aussie…read moreDoodle and a rescue Lab mix. The staff throughout has been professional, friendly and most importantly, truly caring for our dogs. I can't imagine going any other place for daycare or grooming. Mookie, our Aussie, loved to go for daycare and would jump out of the car when we arrived and run straight to the front door. Mikaela was his favorite and he would go right to her in the reception area (or anywhere else). Maya is a fantastic groomer and always had Mookie looking sharp. Our rescue was skittish about going inside so Maya would come out to the car to clip her nails. I have to reiterate how outstanding everyone at the Meadows is and how Mookie was always greeted by name and with smiles, rubs and love. John and MJ

    Firstly, I was already working on alternative locations due to my dog suddenly developing severe…read moreseparation anxiety and aversion to his crate after taking him here. One day when I picked him up I asked to see where he was being kept and found that it was essentially a kennel daycare with limited free range for half the day or more. This place requires a flu vaccine, after we got the first dose, my dog was showing issues with his front legs so we were working on diagnosing that and found he had elbow dysplasia and some shoulder OCD. When we first started bringing our dog here, we essentially got daily email reminders to provide them with my dogs full vet records, apparently they don't send reminders for expired vaccine records. My wife is away this week and I am solely responsible for my young children and dog, the last thing I expected was this daycare to be the most challenging part of the week. I dropped him off on Monday and Antonia confronted me immediately about his 3 week out of date flu vaccine record, I told them we could get it the following Monday. Tuesday, Antonia confronts me again saying my dog has to be isolated without the records, not having much choice I stated my objection but complied. Today, Wednesday, I was met with an extremely cold Antonia but nothing was said which is better than the confrontational attitude I was getting. Now, end of day, the kennel manager Mikaela sends my wife an accusatory email stating I lied to them and he is not welcome anymore. I'd like to thank this daycare for failing me and my dog. Thank you for the separation and crate anxiety my dog now has, thank you for not giving us grace while we work through a difficult medical issue with my dog, thank you for the horrible attitude and most of all thanks for not giving us an opportunity to fulfill your stringent record requirements. Send your dog somewhere else, unless you like your dog sharing a cage with another dog half the day. Send your dog someplace that values reliability and will send a reminder if their records are showing out of date. Antonia, Mikaela, do better.

    PetSmart

    PetSmart

    (33 reviews)

    Nice store but watch out in the parking lot with you and your pets for some reason POS RI drivers…read moreseem to fly in and out of it like it's the Daytona 500 ...literally 2 of them whipping there cars that they screeched the tires !! WTF!!!. They don't care about your safety or your pets safety be careful. Disgusting drivers that can't drive right in the first place

    I cannot speak highly enough about the grooming team at PetSmart in Bellingham, MA. From the moment…read moreyou walk into the grooming salon, you are welcomed with genuine warmth, professionalism, and an obvious love for animals. The staff here goes above and beyond in every sense--they treat each pet as if they were their own and ensure that both pet and owner feel completely at ease throughout the grooming process. What sets this location apart is the consistency in service and the high standard of care they maintain. Whether it's a full grooming appointment, a nail trim, or a quick bath, every interaction has been exceptional. The groomers take the time to ask questions, understand your preferences, and most importantly, make sure your pet is comfortable and happy. They're patient with nervous dogs, incredibly thorough with the grooming itself, and very communicative before and after the appointment. You leave not just with a clean pet, but with peace of mind. Each member of the grooming team deserves individual praise--they're knowledgeable, skilled, and clearly passionate about what they do. It's rare to find a team so cohesive and dedicated. They've built a culture of kindness, attentiveness, and trust that's incredibly refreshing in the pet care industry. If you're looking for a grooming salon where your pet will be treated like family and leave looking (and feeling) fantastic, the Bellingham PetSmart is the place to go. I am consistently impressed and grateful for the love and professionalism they show every single time.

    The Happy Retriever - pet_training - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...