K9 University

This place is very responsive and I love the pick-​up and drop off. My dog does not run to anyone but when they show up for daycare he is like lightning off the bed to them.
I have used 3 dog daycare’s in the last 8 years because of moving to different parts of the city. I started using K9 2 years ago when I moved to the Streeterville area and I’m excited that now that I just moved to Lakeview East they also do pick-​ups. Typically deal with a move is the most stressful part but for me it was the dog’s care.

Based on mixed reviews I thought I’d give this place a try. I took my dog for stay and tray and I really loved Manny’s approach on training my dog. Some staff seemed friendly, while other staff seemed too busy on their phones to actually assist. The few times I stopped in to visit my dog she was very dirty. I was told they play a lot outside, and was told she would get a bath that same day. Well I went to visit in the morning the next day and same scenario. This is the only thing I did not like. She’s a white dog now with visible stains that I’m sure will come off with time. However, I think for the price I’ve paid the least they can do is clean dogs once in a while. wipe their paws and faces is not so much to ask for

This place is so so so so so so wonderful! My father was in the hospital and they were so nice and watched my barking baby! I can not thank them enough for being so terrific!!! There daily rate is very reasonable.

3 strikes, you’re out.
I moved to the city and was intrigued by their pick up/​drop off service. I work long hours and it was one less thing to stress about.
I used the pick up service and at the end of my work day I picked up my dog myself. We got home and he was super aggressive towards me ie: barking, scattering away when I tried to pet him, acting «wild». I have a very chill, mellow, dog that has never acted this way. Weird. I get home to see his food was left on the console table next to the door, where I advised K9U it would be. So not only did he not eat all day, they didn’t even tell me or call me to say they never fed him or couldn’t find his food. Strike 1.
Next visit the driver who picked him up could’t find the food, but they let me know. I TAPPED IT TO THE BACK OF THE DOOR ABOVE THE HANDLE! The driver thankfully grabbed his huge bag of food so my bae wouldn’t go without AGAIN, while in their care. But really? Couldn’t find the food? Strike 2
And lastly, I called several times to verify their closing time. No answer. Went on their website. Down. Perhaps IT problems, I get that. But several calls without anyone picking up frustrated me. Strike 3!
My dog had been to an amazing day care before I moved (which is closer to my work) so I’m definitely going back there. A bit of inconvenience to me doesn’t compare to my dog’s happiness.
I love my dog like a child and this place was just not up to his or my standards.

I think these people don’t need new business for some reason. TWO terrible service experiences!
I think the shelter we adopted our dog from should reconsider referring clients there because it will eventually make the shelter look bad. I won’t mention the name of that shelter but it’s a really well-​known one in Chicago.
Joan doesn’t return calls. I left three messages over a few day for her on a question I had outside one of our obedience classes there. (BTW​.to be fair: The obedience classes are fine enough and pretty standard clicker training. No problem with the class itself) I finally called back one more time, she answered the phone and when I asked her why I hadn’t hear from her, she simply said, «well, you’ve got me now so what’s your question?» No apology for the lack of follow-​through. I think that is super unprofessional and rude. I was under the impression that this is a service business. Silly me.
Stupidly, I came back for more bad business. I decided to give it one more chance. About 6 months after our obedience class, I called to inquire after private lessons which are advertised on the website. I spoke to Joan again and explained that some training issues (i.e. greeting other dogs on a leash in a calm manner) had come up and we would like to set that up. She suddenly got very impatient on the phone and said, «Well, I’m really busy right now.» «Ok», I said. «Can we set sometime up in the coming weeks then?» She said, «Umm.yeah. I’ll call you.»
I have never heard from her since. Basic SERVICE, Honey! Get to know it!

We’ve done training and day care at K9 with our 2yr old rescue, Hugo. We think he had never been kept inside a house before, as he had no house manners and wasn’t really house-​broken.
We started with a group class, which was held at PAWS. It was ok, but not great. Part of the problem is Hugo is very interested in other dogs and would get too excited about being in the same room and not pay attention to the lessons. We then did some private lessons with Sharon and he did much better. His behavior has improved dramatically (we still have a ways to go, but that’s on us for not being more consistent with his training).
Because of Hugo’s age and breed mix (we think bulldog-​boxer), he has tons and tons of energy, so we wanted to try daycare for him to give him a chance to play it out. We first tried DoGone Fun as it was by our house, but he «failed» their assessment. I watched them introduce him to the hoard of dogs out in the play yard and was not impressed with their methods. So, we came back to K9, and he LOVES it. When Manny comes to get him in the morning, he’s off without a backward glance. And, when we get home in the evening, there is one tired pup waiting for us. On days that aren’t daycare days, if he hears a noise at the door that sounds like he might be going to daycare, he sits at the door wagging his tail, full of excitement.
Love the convenience of the pick-​up/​drop-​off service, and love how happy our pup is!

These people will literally run you off the road in 8am traffic and then yell at you with children in the car. Both the woman and male in the vehicle were yelling obscenities. When I stated I’d be filing a complaint he said he was the business owner. This is the business ower. running cars with children off the road then proceeding to yell at them. 5 star asshole status.

All 3 of our dogs go to daycare at K9 and love it. We have also done agility and training at the facility. Great staff!

I have to show some love for everyone at K9 who does such a great job with my brilliantly clever, rabblerousing dog Zoola. She can be a jumpy, excited handful, but any time we bring her for daycare or pick her up, it doesn’t matter if it’s Ruby or Tasha or Santiago or Sharon or anyone else greeting us – they’re happy to see us and my dog is happy to see them.
When we adopted Zoola, I was a rather clueless first-​time dog owner who needed just as much basic training as Zoola (I’m still learning, honestly). She came with a shady past and unsavory habits that could be heartbreaking at times. And I have to say that I feel lucky that we have K9 because they’ve made the transition so much easier for us and for Zoola. (I have to give a shout-​out here to my partner Jim, too, who is also a great, experienced dog teacher. Hi Jim.)
We send Zoola to daycare at K9 a few days a week and board her there whenever we go out of town, without ever a problem. And I’m one of those people who calls them from 2,000 miles away to make sure there isn’t anything Zoola needs. There never is: she’s a dog, come on, me. But it’s nice to be reassured anyway.
Zoola took obedience training here, and I was like a mom watching my kid make me proud. Every time she learned something new it was like, wow, look what my dog can do. Maybe I’m still starry-​eyed because it’s my first dog, but the class really helped ground her more and helped us make more structure for her. That’s just something that’s really valuable to me. And after a year of daycare here I know she’s socialized plenty with other dogs and I don’t have to worry about her at the dog park. Win.
I don’t know if I tell them thanks enough, but thank you, K9, you guys do nice work.

This is the owner from across the street I had a friend notify me of a response to one of your reviews I must admit I was quite stunned.
I would like the opportunity to respond
First I would like for whoever Dakota is to respond and clarify that I have no idea who this person is.
2^nd I have nothing but positive things to say about you and your business I in fact used your services for nearly 2 years before opening Very Important Pet Hotels across the street
I had sent my rescue dog Macha you can look her up in your data base she is a three legged dog from Thailand she is hard to forget
” your pick up and drop off day care services were at the time phenomenal «
I wish you nothing but the best and continued success in the future
Owner Vip pet hotels

I have known about K9 for years but have only recently had the chance to start using them. I used to have an older dog, who was too old to go to K9, but we would see Manny, one of their staff members coming to pick up other dogs in my building and he’d always say hello and greet any and all dogs in my building. The neighbors in my building who were using K9, always had good things to say so when i got a new puppy I knew I would give them a try.
I’ve been using K9 now for about 5 months with my new puppy. They’ve been great. The staff are professional, polite, and just seem to really like what they’re doing. Whenever they come to grab my dog in the morning he’s always so excited to go which is a sure sign that I know he’s having a great time. I’ve also used K9 for boarding and they’re reasonably priced, accommodating and accessible. I tend to be a little on the neurotic side so I’ll call a few times to just to check in on my dog and they’re always nice and will give me an update on how my dog is and what he’s been doing. (He also loves Manny and tends to spend some of his days following Manny around)!
I highly recommend K9 for boarding and daycare.

DAY CARE:
Our 5^th-​home-​in-​4-​months, has a couple of issues dog thrived in her first group day care setting.
Because our girl plays rough, we’ve been concerned about managing that behavior to ensure it doesn’t escalate. Joan has worked with our girl at our home and in a group class at PAWS Chicago, so we are lucky to have had some time with this expert.
We felt entirely confident bringing her to day care, of course only at K9, and the results with Joan have been tremendous!
We now have a TRUE PARTNER in working with our sweet rescue girl and can rely on that deep knowledge to help get past the temporary imperfect behaviors of her adolescent time.
THANKS K9U for greatly improving our situation and making everyone more happy, confident and excited about our pup’s next stages of growth.

We’ve been very happy with K9 University. We’ve only used them for daycare and boarding and highly recommend them. The location is a bit further out than most, but as a result, there is a lot of space for the dogs and the prices are competitive. I especially like the round trip transportation service for an additional $ 5. That makes it very convenient.
Our boxer LOVES going there… she gets so excited when she arrives there. The staff is very attentive too… on a couple occasions, the staff immediately noticed when she got injured, promptly called me, and moved her to a rest area up front where they could monitor her condition. They also followed up the next day to make sure she was ok. The injuries were minor and from her rough play with other dogs… which is bound to happen at some point. I was impressed with how they handled the situation.

My dog always seems to like going to k9 university for daycare and boarding. They have a convenient pickup and dropoff service. He comes back tired and drool covered and he flips out whenever he sees the van. So I’m gonna guess it’s a positive review from him. haha.
I just give him a bath at home myself, but they can do that too.

We signed up for the beginners agility class using a special coupon sent out by K9U. I was looking forward to being able to have fun on the course with my dog as I’ve heard that agility is a great way to bond with your dog as well as build up their confidence.
First day of class the instructor didn’t introduce herself; 6 weeks later I have no idea what her name is. Also this was my first agility class so I was never informed prior on what to bring to class (ie. treats). OK whatever, these two are fairly minor and I made sure to bring treats with me to the rest of the sessions.
My main issue was that the class had too many dogs. There were 9 to 10 dogs in our class. With a class that size, each dog had a total of about 6 to 7 minutes on the course per each 1 hour class; everyone runs through the course one at a time then there is set up time between each run.
I realize that there was a discount for the class so maybe that is why there were a lot of dogs in the class. If so then it shouldn’t be badged as a regular class. This class was more like «A Taste of Agility» because that’s about all my dog got; just a little taste. If 9 to 10 dogs is the norm, then the regular class fee is certainly not worth the cost.
In addition there were a couple of dogs that obviously had done agility before and certainly did not belong in the beginners class. Although it was impressive to see them run though the course almost perfectly without a lead; it just took time away from the rest of the dogs that needed more practice on the course.
In the future I don’t think we will be signing up for classes here. We had a much better experience at a course we took from Tucker Pups down the street.

We had an unfortunately bad experience with puppy training class here. They didn’t want to let my dachshund puppy into class because she had just turned 6 months, (they said she was too old and was supposed at max 5 months) but after pleading because she had been sick when we adopted her from Paws, they said yes and took my credit card info. When we got to the class, we didn’t have anything we were supposed to. No one had sent us an information packet via email like the instructor said we were supposed to have, nor told us it was a clicker training class and we were supposed to purchase a clicker. The classes are on swing basis, meaning you can start at anytime. So there were 4 large dogs in our class that were all at the end of their 5 weeks, and they just trampled my puppy. My normally social puppy spend the entire «socialization time» in the corner. The only thing they covered in the class was sit, eye contact, and name recognition. Plus, the class started 15 minutes late and ended 2 minutes early.
K9 University did the right thing though and when I called and finally got through to complain, the owner (who was also the instructor) refunded our money I guess if you have a large, rambunctious dog, this could be the class for you. But I would advise small dog owners to try somewhere else.

I took my dog to the Basic Obedience Class because the Focus and Recall class was not available (my dog was adopted at 4.5 years old from Chicago Canine Rescue and knows sit, stay, down, shake, and crate… he’s just not so good with «come».) I don’t know if the class was worth $ 200, but the trainer was very nice, understanding, and helpful. (Sorry for skipping your last class, Mike! We were so tired!) When I can afford it I would LOVE to do the Focus and Recall class.
I have also boarded my dog here once, and while it’s expensive (but perfectly reasonable), I would bring him back. The staff was very nice and understood that Bowie doesn’t always get along with other dogs.
Be aware that if you do boarding, they only board at the Lake Street location, not the Broadway location.

I have been taking my dog, Ellie, to K9U since she was a puppy (she’s almost 4 now). I interviewed several daycares before deciding on K9U. They ended up being my choice because of their spacious facilities, boarding, shuttle service and training. They offer the whole package at a competitive rate. And… this was VERY important to me… they have been very flexible with my quirky scheduling. This would be a good place to point out that someone is on the property at all times. I can’t imagine boarding my dog at a center that does not have someone on-​site around the clock.
We have taken puppy classes, obedience and agility classes at K9U. Joan & Sharon are both very knowledgeable and experienced in their respective fields. Joan has a true gift when it comes to obedience training and behavioral issues. Sharon has turned agility into weekly fun for both myself & Ellie.
I recommend K9U 110%! They have been terrific in so many ways. I can’t imagine getting through those early puppy days without their support. And to this day, they still offer support. We can be in agility class and Sharon is more than happy to address an obedience/​behavior issue. Ellie LOVES both Joan & Sharon. Her little tail wags like crazy when they walk into a room… dogs know good people :)
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This is an update to my previous review: we just started using the shuttle service at the beginning of the year. It is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! They come on time, exactly as scheduled. Ellie is brought back in the afternoon & she is happy & tired… that’s a good thing! I have had a few last minute requests/​changes to the pickup schedule & K9U has worked with me every time. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that they are so flexible & Ellie LOVES, LOVES, LOVES them! Her little tail wags like crazy when Marcos picks her up in the mornings :)

We have been coming here for years, for training with new dogs and advanced training in agility with old dogs. We love it, our dogs seem to love it, and the staff is top notch.
Call me if you have questions. I am around.

I dropped Egon off here today for a two week «Board & Train». Managed to tear myself away from the premises, while my dog wistfully stared at me sitting in an (uncharacteristic) crate. A tear escaped my eye as I contemplated my temporarily lonely and dog-​free apartment.
This is seriously the only place I trust to take good care of my dog, to train him, and to work on his behavior issues. I have every confidence that Joan will whip him into shape while he’s there, and I’ll bring home an even more awesome and MFB* dog.
Now to get to the two weeks without my dog. That’s the hard part!
* MotherF***ing Beautiful”