Happy Hounds

I just moved to Chicago from NYC a few months ago and wanted to find my dog a new day care service. I had used a wonderful dog walking, day care, and boarding service in New York. I loved them and they loved my dog!
I first went to Happy Hounds because they were the closest. I made a reservation for a «temperament test.» And let me tell you, they told me that my dog did not pass their test, but in realty, they did not pass mine.
The owner is obviously a fan of dominance-​theory training (which I don’t believe in). First off, my dog was nervous walking in, being in a new place. I’m sure he thought it was the vet at first. But the owner showed no patience with my dog. He launched right into his «test.» The test consisted of the owner taking my dog and throwing him to the ground, holding him by the neck, whipping him around harshly by his collar, stabbing at him with their fingers. This just made my dog even MORE uncomfortable and nervous. And then the owner brings him straight into the area with all the loose dogs and my dog snaps at the first dog that comes up to him. Of course he did! He was stressed out after all that! And I was told my dog was too aggressive and they couldn’t take him.
Which honestly, is fine, because the way he was treated was borderline animal abuse. Can I tell you that for the next few days when I brought my dog on walks, he was scared to walk by Happy Hounds? Sorry but I don’t train my dog on fear.
SO after much research into other Chicago dog day cares, I decided to go with another one. A ten minute drive instead of a 5 minute walk, but worth it. I told them my dog’s history. How he used to go to day care, how this day care treated him and quickly judged him, etc. And they said they were happy to have him in for a test.
Their test was a 5 hour free trial, where they got to spend time with my dog, show him patience, slowly introduce him to the new environment and his new friends. Yes, again he was nervous at first in his new environment, but they were so patient with him. They obviously know how to make a new dog feel comfortable. And guess what? They said he did GREAT. I’ve brought him back to the new day care multiple times already and they said he’s sweet, he plays well with the other dogs, and they love him there. They have a happy new customer :)

We came and checked-​out the place. I was disappointed with the whole experience.
First off, the facilities look like a 1960s elementary school cafeteria.
Second, the owner was very enthusiastic, but the rest of the staff did not seem like dog people… just looked miserable to be there.
I still had an open mind, but then came «the test». George put my pup in a pin with a bunch of smaller dogs. My dog just sat there while the dogs jumped all over him. Then George personally shoved my pup all over, still no reaction from the puppy. They bring out a dog 4 times my dogs size and my dog paws him in the face playfully while the dog sniffs him. George tells us that our golden doodle is too aggressive and can’t come until he’s had more puppy play time mileage and training and «he knows a guy». Whatever, sounded like a scam, so we skiddaddled quickly.
We started going to Urban Pooch instead. Further drive, but they give you the warm fuzzies that you want to feel at a place where you are leaving your loved one all day.

We love Happy Hounds. We were a little nervous to take our puppy, Hudson, there at first. There are so many horror stories about people having awful experiences with their dogs going to doggy daycare. This place is also ½ block from our place so it just seemed too good to be true that something so convenient would also be our best option. We were happy to find out that this place is the best.
George, the owner, is basically a dog whisperer. Our pup loves him. So much so that when we’ve run into George on the street, Hudson gets SO excited to see him and basically refuses to continue on his walk sans George. He also gets extremely sad when we walk past Happy Hounds — like he’s upset that he doesn’t get to go play with all his puppy pals that day. Whenever we go to pick him up — all the dogs are obediently playing in the clean play area. It’s all extremely civilized.
The only few minor issues I have with the place is that they don’t take the dogs on walks — so they are inside all day and pee inside and everything — I believe. Also, it’s extremely clean, but the smell of whatever cleaning product they use sort of lingers on Hudson when he gets home. It’s not a bad smell… just a very distinct one. I also wish they provided updates, took photos or had some sort of video service — but that would be above and beyond!

Our dog, Barney, is a bit of handful. He’s a rescue and came to us with some significant issues; he’s scared of pretty much everything. One thing he’s not scared of? Happy Hounds.
We take Barney to Happy Hounds several times a week, and we know he gets the care and attention every dog deserves. George is incredibly knowledgeable about dogs of all types, and he will gladly spend his time discussing with you ways to train and care for your pup. It’s very clear that he opened Happy Hounds because of an incredibly deep love for dogs, and it seems to drive every aspect of his business.
Perhaps most importantly, Happy Hounds is incredibly accommodating of our schedule and always works with us to find something that works. There really is no better place in Lincoln Park to bring your dog. If you’re still on the fence, just stop reading and take your dog to Happy Hounds. You won’t regret it.

I have been with Happy Hounds for more than a year and a half now, and I have only GOOD things to say!
I like relationship, and I like when I know where I am going too, and with Happy Hounds not only its a great place, they are also professionals, actually care about your dog, and for that period I am taking my dog there everything always go smooth.
I HIGHLY recommend this company, and can not see myself elsewhere, and that is where relationship take place.
Thank you HAPPY HOUNDS for taking care of my dog… ALWAYS!

We found Happy Hounds when we got our new puppy. We are so lucky we did!
George is incredible and you can tell he cares deeply for the dogs at Happy Hounds. All of the dogs were well taken care of and almost seemed sad to leave.
George spent time helping us to get comfortable with training and obedience for our new pup. Literally, within hours we saw major behavioral differences in our little guy– for the better!
We look forward to being clients of George and Happy Hounds for years to come!

I feel so lucky to have found Happy Hounds! I take my dog, Barney, to Happy Hounds mulitple times per week, and he LOVES spending his days there so much so that once we turn the corner onto Lincoln from Lill, he starts pulling and tugging to get there as fast as possible. And George is absolutely fantastic. You can tell that he really cares for the dogs in his care, and he is constantly offering concrete and useful advice on how to deal with Barney’s anxiety issues. Happy Hounds stays open until 7pm (which is a real benefit with my unpredictable work schedule) and is super convenient to get to from the train. I’m very happy taking my dog there; Barney and I love Happy Hounds!

I would not trust any other groomer with my precious dog. I didn’t think it was possible for my dog to get any cuter, but the grooming gurus at Happy Hounds always prove me wrong. I take my Havanese there regularly and George and his staff treat him so well. My dog has a hard time socializing with other dogs but they create such a calm environment so my dog feels very comfortable around the other dogs. My mom’s tiny and fragile Maltese is also a regular customer and the apparent quality and care at Happy Hounds is very comforting to us. I love Happy Hounds and wouldn’t trust anywhere else with my precious pooch.

We are very pleased that Happy hounds already upgrade the double door, the owner really showed care for our dogs and care for all dogs go to day care there.
We are happy to go back there in the future.

My puppy loves Happy hounds, they do a great job grooming and boarding and they are very responsible and attentive.
I read the other negative reviews and find them comical, signing a waiver has become common practice in our litigious country, hence waivers are a must for all small businesses.
Give people a chance, not everyone that is great at what they do, can also be great at running a small business right away, sometimes you have to learn by being in business for a while. (dealing with humans is not easy).
I think Happy Hounds will work out all the issues and in the end, what matters most is that they love what they do and that your dog is cared for and happy, this has always been our experience with this guys.

Our dog Porter LOVES this place! George is fantastic, and he and his staff treat Porter (and all the dogs) as if they are their own. Porter has been going here since he was a puppy, almost two years now. He’s an energetic American Foxhound that just loves to play. They have separate play areas for large and small dogs. When Porter was a puppy he started upstairs with the smaller dogs and as he grew he was able to join the bigger dogs downstairs where they have more room to play. He truly looks forward to going to daycare everyday. They provide almost every service you could possibly think of for your dog and at very reasonable prices. We highly recommend them. Living in the city we’d be lost without Happy Hounds.

I love happy hounds! I took my gordon setter/​australian shepherd mix to them a couple months back to be groomed and despite him having severe separation anxiety they managed to work with him just fine and he looked handsomer than ever after!
More recently I took my portuguese water dog puppy to get a lion cut. I added some specifics on what I did and didn’t want for his cut and they followed through perfectly. Chaplin has a great cut, much better than most cuts I’ve seen on these dogs; they actually added some shape rather than just awkwardly cutting straight down at the waist.
With his excellent clip Chaplin rocked his first day swimming!

We’ve been bringing our little Ozzy to Happy Hounds for a while now and are very happy we found this place! It’s very clean and the prices are fair. Michelle is wonderful with Ozzy. When we drop him off we know that he will have a ton of fun playing with his poochie buddies in a well supervised environment.

i’m a pretty rational person, but just trying to CALL this place was painful. the man i spoke (or rather, tried to speak) to continually interrupted me, rudely, asking me what i wanted (i was trying to verify their location, which he clearly didn’t have time for) … then when i started to explain my situation (what pets i had for grooming) he started talking over me and put me on hold — abruptly. i waited awhile, then hung up. that and the combination of some of the reviews i’ve read just weren’t doing it for me. you only get one first impression, right?
wrong.
… because he called BACK. does anyone else *hate it* when businesses do this? i hung up for a reason! i explained to him that i would not be interested in his services, as i found him to be rude and unprofessional, which *he then began to ARGUE with me* about!
are you serious?
i’m thinking i made the right choice when i chose to hang up a second time. no thanks, happy hounds. i would suggest you concentrate on happy humans, first.

The reviews for this place seem to be extremely divided, so I’ll add my basic observations and hopefully it’s helpful to anyone completely confused (like I was) as to the divide between 5 stars and 1 star.
I’ve only used Happy Hounds for grooming. They explained to me on the phone that I’d need to bring a copy of my vet records, but I was in a hurry leaving the house and forgot. When I got there they explained that they could wait for my vet to fax the records, but couldn’t get started until the records came through.
I also had a 10 am «appointment», but since there are multiple dogs there at a time, my impression is that it just depends on how the schedule is going. They told me to leave the dog there and they’d call me when finished. I got a phone call later that afternoon (maybe 3 or 4?). When I came to pick my dog up, George apologized for the wait and said that both my dog and the dog before him were afraid of the clippers, so they had to have frequent breaks.
Overall I would recommend Happy Hounds. I do think that you need to be prepared for the schedule to be a little relaxed.

We missed a week of going to Happy Hounds and the day we returned I could hardly keep Sophie, my 2 year old King Charles Spaniel contained on her lease. Being in the city day care centers do not have big green yards for Urban dogs they make friends here and play all day, a good happy BARKING dog is a sign they are being taken care of properly and not caged up like many places in the surrounding area! Thank you to George, Michelle and staff for all you do and your professionalism! I recommend Happy Hounds vs. other daycares that are not flexible or as good with pups and 2x the expense AND for the record have zero windows for fresh air. Great place!!!

I have my two dogs, Charlie and Wrigley, at Happy Hounds several times a week. When the dogs see us walking towards Happy Hounds they start running, they are so excited to go. They come home happy, well fed, and well cared for. George has been so helpful and accomodating with our puppies, I would reccomend this place to anyone who wants piece of mind in their dog’s care.

THE WORST! DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY HERE.
I rushed to get my dog there on time for an 11am grooming appointment.
1. As I was filling out paperwork, I became uncomfortable with the waivers they wanted me to sign… «I voluntarily release, forever discharge, and agree to hold harmless and indemnify Happy Hounds from any and all liability, claims, demands, actions, or rights of action, which are related to, arise out of, or are in any way connected with my dog’s participation in activities at Happy Hounds, including those allegedly attributable to the negligent acts or omissions of Happy Hounds or their staff.» What? If you cut my dog’s ear off while grooming, you assume no responsibility for that? Unlikely? Of course. Yet, it seemed I was signing my dog’s life away. So, I asked to speak with the groomer about it.
2. The receptionist told me that the groomer wouldn’t be there for another 15 minutes. That was irritating. So, she called him to check on his timing. I’m not sure exactly what was said on the phone, as they were speaking in Spanish, but when she hung up, at 11:08, she said he’d be there in 5 minutes. So I took my dog out for a quick walk.
3. My dog and I returned at 11:15, and the groomer was still not there. «He’s parking right now.» At 11:20, the groomer walks in and says «Hi. What’s the problem with the waiver?» Not «I apologize for keeping you waiting.» As I began to tell him that I wasn’t going to sign anything that– he interrupted me and said that then they couldn’t do the grooming. Fine. By that point, I didn’t want to give them a penny (or leave my dog in their care) anyway.
4. When I told him that the least he could have done was be on time for our appointment, he said «Were we open at 11:00 or not??»
THEY DON’T APPEAR TO CARE AT ALL ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY, CUSTOMER SERVICE OR QUALITY CARE. IN MY BOOK, THEY GET ZERO STARS!

George and Oscar are amazing. All those stories about parents dropping their children off on the first day of kindergarten and having them run away… yeah, that is what happens when my dog, Ragnar, sees Oscar. This is vital for two reasons:
A) You know your dog is being treated well and getting individualized attention
B) it shows the staff care about the dogs they work with.
Another positive, the place is spotless, it not only looks, but smells clean, and Ragnar doesn’t comeback stinky or sick. As if it needed more positives, Happy Hounds is extremely flexible and worked with me when I had a crazy schedule. They are very accommodating, and for those of us who have to work early/​late, they open at seven and close at seven on weekdays, very convenient.
The bottom line: this place is stellar! the dogs are well cared for, both physically and emotionally and it is a clean and safe environment.

Our puppy couldn’t be happier at Happy Hounds. The staff is very knowledgeable and caring. I really feel as though they treat our pup as one of their family. He gets at least four walks a day and in one full week of daycare, he’s been better on walks at home (especially dealing with other dogs). He has also had very few accidents in the house since we started there. Our puppy definitely comes home with all of his energy worked out. The prices are very reasonable and the hours are perfect for my work schedule.
I would highly recommend Happy Hounds to anyone, especially those with puppies! The extra attention is fantastic.