K9 University Chicago

I honestly can’t stop telling people how much I love this place and recommending it to everyone I know. It truly changed my life after I found it. Before this, I tried two different daycares without success, and I was honestly starting to feel discouraged about leaving Sophie anywhere. Then we found this place, and I’m so grateful we did. Sophie absolutely loves it. From the moment we arrived, I could tell how warm and caring everyone was. The entire staff is incredibly kind, and it’s clear they genuinely love the dogs, especially Sophie. She gets excited every time she goes, which says everything. They also send photos, and in every single one, she’s literally smiling. You can genuinely see how happy she is there. She goes to daycare regularly, has done boarding, and was also trained there, and I have nothing but amazing things to say about every single experience. One thing I’d also love to share for other dog parents: if you plan to use boarding, it really helps to first let your dog get familiar with the place. I’ve seen people leave their dog just for overnight stays and then worry when their dog seems sad or anxious. In our case, Sophie goes to daycare and boards regularly, so she knows the environment, the staff, and feels completely comfortable there. She truly loves being there, and that makes all the difference. I’m beyond grateful i found this place.

I use K9 university for daycare, boarding, and group training classes with Pablo. I recommend Pablo to anyone looking for any type of training. I have been working with him for about a year and have seen great improvements with my dog in obedience, loose leash walking, and the agility classes. The staff is kind and knowledgeable. Overall, a great place to bring your dog.

I have a 120-pound Bloodhound. We've already tested some facilities, so I can say without a doubt that the K9 is the best boarding/daycare place in Chicago! Fantastic team, perfect structure, I totally recommend K9.

My dog absolutely adores this place. I’ve been taking her there since she was a little puppy, and I make sure to take her there once a week. It’s a great way for her to socialize, meet other dogs, and have a blast. Every time I pick her up in the afternoon, she falls asleep and sleeps until the next day, completely exhausted. They offer a wide range of programs, including training classes, boarding, and even sending you pictures of your dog throughout the day. The staff there is incredibly awesome, very friendly, and attentive. It takes me almost an hour to get there, but I find it to be definitely worth it.

I only trust K9 University Chicago with my French Bulldog, and that says everything. My "kids" absolutely love going there, and I can tell they are genuinely well cared for every single time. One of my favorite parts is the daily report cards with pictures—it gives me peace of mind seeing them happy and active. If anything ever comes up, the team is quick to call, which shows how attentive and responsible they are. The staff are all incredibly friendly and clearly love what they do. The facility itself is great, with plenty of space for both indoor and outdoor play, so the dogs stay active and engaged. As part of boarding, they even include a bath, which is a huge bonus—my pups always come home clean and exhausted (in the best way) after a couple of days of nonstop fun. Most importantly, I don’t stress when they’re there. My dogs mean everything to me, and knowing they’re safe, happy, and cared for puts me completely at ease. The only minor downside is that pickup and drop-off times are limited—you have to work within their hours, which can sometimes mean paying for an extra day depending on flight schedules. But honestly, it’s a small trade-off for the level of care they provide. Highly recommend—this place is a gem.

They have a few kennels with rubber floors that are perfect for old dogs, which is awesome. They are a bit far away from me in Chicago, but they do pickups and drop offs for only $20 each way, which is totally worth it. Lastly, and probably most importantly, they have an emergency pickup service. If you do any house sitting or just worry you may be caught away from home longer than expected then this is an amazing service to sign up for. They people were super pleasant and they send great pictures of your dog.

We adopted our dog Indy (a now 2-year-old rescue) a year ago, and over the first few months discovered how reactive she was with other dogs, making walks difficult and even just making it hard to let her run around in our backyard, with so many dogs in our neighborhood. We tried some basic obedience training, and another training service who came out to our house for a handful of sessions, but we still didn't see much progress in controlling her aggressive reactions. We found K9 University as a potential board-and-train option that had experience with aggressive/reactive dogs, and signed our pup up for 3 weeks with them to work on obedience and getting her to more easily disengage when she sees another dog. K9 was excellent about taking care of her during that time and proved they know how to handle dogs with reactivity alongside all the other dogs they're boarding. Our trainer Jon was fantastic in explaining what he would work on with her and in giving us summaries and videos/photos during the 3 weeks. We were shocked to not only see her progress in those updates, but then also so impressed to see the changes that were evident in the walks we took her on afterward -- much less leash-pulling, and with the help of some commands and high-value treats Jon taught us how to manage with her, we can now usually pass by a dog on the other side of the street without her lunging/barking/growling (she would never be able to do that previously). Jon also came to do an in-home visit post-training to make sure everything was going well after the fact, which was awesome! She's still working on it and has her moments when startled by other dogs suddenly rounding a corner in close quarters, and because we don't know her past prior to being rescued, we're unsure if she'll ever be able to be buddy-buddy with most dogs she encounters. But the change in demeanor, obedience, and tolerance of other dogs has improved DRASTICALLY since that training, and we now bring her only to K9 for our boarding needs, especially because we can periodically add-on some brush-up training for her while she's there. We've also noticed that Indy is more obedient at home now, even when other dogs are not present, which has been so welcomed. We recently had a baby, and she is becoming the best big sister and is very gentle and respectful with him. Thank you Jon and K9 U for everything you've done to help get our dog to where she is today! She loves you guys and we do too!