Happy Hound University

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Happy Hound University Dog training and behavior modification using positive, science-based, pain free methods to help you

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Happy Hound University offers certified, professional positive training for you and your dog in your home. I use force-free methods to manage and modify your dog's inappropriate behaviors, and replace them with new, desirable ones. Serving the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL. Email today to schedule your initial consult!

We here at Happy Hound University would like to wish a very happy thanksgiving to you and yours! There are many things I...
27/11/2025

We here at Happy Hound University would like to wish a very happy thanksgiving to you and yours! There are many things I am thankful for, but a major one is that I get to wake up every day and do what I love: working with people who love their dogs and want to better their lives! Have a safe and happy holiday!

"We brought our 50lb, "rambunctious adolescent" rescue to Happy Hound to work on his focus and behavior. We couldn't be ...
26/11/2025

"We brought our 50lb, "rambunctious adolescent" rescue to Happy Hound to work on his focus and behavior. We couldn't be more pleased with the results! Mary clearly has a passion for positive training and everything she taught us has made a huge difference in our dog. With small classes and plenty of individual attention, she showed us how to re-direct our dog when he gets distracted by the activity (and other dogs) around him. Happy Hound is the best!"

We've got openings in our upcoming good manners 1 classes!

One class starts NEXT THURSDAY at 4 pm, the other January 6th at 8:30 pm!

This class is the perfect opportunity to lay your training "foundation" with your pup! Learn how your dog learns and how to communicate with them effectively while they learn foundational behaviors like sit, down, leave it, stay, walking politely on leash, no jumping up to greet, recall, and more!

For dogs 6 months and older who are friendly with other dogs and people!

If you'd like to get signed up, you can email [email protected] for class dates and times or see the link in our bio!

25/11/2025

Found ‼️

One of our longtime foster dogs has gotten loose from his foster home. If you are in the area where he was lost or have any sightings, please reach out to the number on the flyer. Please SHARE with your network to help us get our boy back safe and sound.

He's wearing an orange collar and will be hard to catch. The most important thing is to NOT chase him and call with any sightings to help us locate his area.

Important Announcement!Hi everyone! Mary here.I wanted to take a minute to discuss a development that will be happening ...
25/11/2025

Important Announcement!

Hi everyone! Mary here.

I wanted to take a minute to discuss a development that will be happening regarding Happy Hound University.

We were notified recently that the church where we hold our group classes will be dissolving their parish and selling the building sometime in the future.

We are incredibly saddened by this news; the folks at St. Martin’s have always been incredibly kind, welcoming, and gracious and we have been very lucky renters for the 7 years we’ve been here. Happy Hound University would not have come nearly this far without their help and encouragement, and we will forever be grateful to them for everything they gave us.

As of right now, nothing is changing with our classes. We will continue to rent space and hold classes as long as the church allows us to, until they find a buyer for the building.

In the meantime, we are looking hard at our business plan and budget. and trying to figure out what is financially possible and responsible going forward.

If any of you reading this have experience with commercial real estate and would be willing to lend me an ear, please reach out to us!

In the meantime, we’ll keep on keeping on and doing what we do best: helping dogs and their people!

Again, nothing is changing currently with classes but I wanted to make folks aware since news is coming out!


24/11/2025

One thing that I desperately wish all new puppy owners knew: if your 8-16 week old puppy is in good health and has been evaluated by your vet, there is NO LEGITIMATE REASON to wait to socialize your puppy. (Especially not waiting until 16 weeks when they’ve “had all their shots”!)

4 out of the 6 puppies in this puppy 2 for big dogs class started their puppy 1 classes 6-12 weeks ago relatively nervous of and skeptical of new dogs. They had only ever experienced interactions with their housemates and littermates before being brought home, so they were nervous for the first few weeks of class.

Fast forward to present day and all of these puppies are feeling confident, happy, and excited to be social even with brand new buddies.

Your puppy is only in their critical window of socialization until about 16-18 weeks, and not taking advantage of that time by signing up for a well run puppy class can really set you back!

Interested in learning more about our training options? Email [email protected] or see our website!

We've got openings in our upcoming good manners 1 classes!This class is the perfect opportunity to lay your training "fo...
23/11/2025

We've got openings in our upcoming good manners 1 classes!

This class is the perfect opportunity to lay your training "foundation" with your pup! Learn how your dog learns and how to communicate with them effectively while they learn foundational behaviors like sit, down, leave it, stay, walking politely on leash, no jumping up to greet, recall, and more!

Don't just take it from us! We love to hear from our amazing group class students: "We brought our 50lb, "rambunctious adolescent" rescue to Happy Hound to work on his focus and behavior. We couldn't be more pleased with the results! Mary clearly has a passion for positive training and everything she taught us has made a huge difference in our dog. With small classes and plenty of individual attention, she showed us how to re-direct our dog when he gets distracted by the activity (and other dogs) around him. Happy Hound is the best!"

For dogs 6 months and older who are friendly with other dogs and people!

If you'd like to get signed up, you can email [email protected] for class dates and times or see the link in our bio!

Puppy 3 for big dogs this week ROCKED their “stay, hang out, and ignore your buddies” practice this week!All five of the...
22/11/2025

Puppy 3 for big dogs this week ROCKED their “stay, hang out, and ignore your buddies” practice this week!

All five of these pups are highly social adolescents who love to romp and play as much as possible! But because of their awesome and dedicated humans, they’ve also learned how to just “chill” and practice focusing on their people!

Great job, everyone!

A HUGE congratulations to our puppy 1 graduates from this week, Ziggy and Jojo!Our puppy 2 for little dogs graduate Rufu...
21/11/2025

A HUGE congratulations to our puppy 1 graduates from this week, Ziggy and Jojo!

Our puppy 2 for little dogs graduate Rufus!

Our puppy 2 for big dogs graduates Ellie Mae and Cora (who couldn’t make it to graduation night but was missed)

And our puppy 3 for big dogs graduate Momo!

These are some very good pups who made great progress in their classes and will continue to learn and grow with their awesome parents! I can’t wait to see you all continue your progress!

7 years.7 years of monthly or bimonthly nail trims, and for the first time ever I cut Phoebe’s quick this weekend during...
19/11/2025

7 years.

7 years of monthly or bimonthly nail trims, and for the first time ever I cut Phoebe’s quick this weekend during a nail trim 😭😭😭.

I felt SO awful and was kicking myself because I knew I was trimming at a stupid angle but we were almost done and I just wanted to be finished.

But, even after I quicked her and held pressure on the nail, she still let me finish the rest of the nail trim and has had no issues since then.

And the reason for this is because I have worked SO diligently on pairing paw handling (all paw handling, from wiping mud off, to bath time, to nail trims) with high value treats for literally Phoebe’s entire life.

Phoebe never had any “issues” with having her feet handled, but I knew that I wanted to safeguard against any future suspicion should something like this ever happen. And I am so glad I did.

So when I sound like a broken record to my students: “make sure you’re pairing your body handling with high value food, even if your dog or puppy seems okay with it right now!” Please know that I am a broken record for a reason! Because works!

Training Tip Tuesday: if your dog is getting “grabby” with their treats, take notice!I run into this most when working w...
18/11/2025

Training Tip Tuesday: if your dog is getting “grabby” with their treats, take notice!

I run into this most when working with reactive dogs, but this advice can be for any dog dealing with “big feelings”, even if it’s just over excitement.

If normally, in a relaxed setting, your dog takes treats easily and gently with their mouth, but in other specific situations (like around other dogs or strangers, or in new environments) all of a sudden your dog bites your fingers and gets “sharky” when they take their treats, this likely means they are really struggling to “keep it together” emotionally (whether that emotion is excitement, fear, reactivity, etc).

When I work with reactive dogs I often ask my clients “how is he taking his treats?”, because that information can tell me how the dog is feeling. If the dog has begun “sharking” for the treats it means we need to make the training set up less intense for the dog or give the dog a break. 

This is one of the more subtle things you can pay attention to that will help you understand how your dog is feeling. In fact, this is the best way I can track my dog Regis’ emotional state in the group class that we take! If he’s getting grabby I know that means he needs a bit more distance from the other dogs, or to take a break from the activity we’re working on.

Bringing home a new puppy this holiday season?The best time to start training is NOW! Don’t wait for your puppy to start...
17/11/2025

Bringing home a new puppy this holiday season?

The best time to start training is NOW! Don’t wait for your puppy to start establishing bad habits, and DEFINITELY don’t wait for them to age out of their critical window of socialization!

Happy Hound University offers private in home training in the northwest suburbs and group classes at 1095 E Thacker St, Des Plaines. Our puppy classes specialize in proper socialization, and we also offer group classes for older dogs who need some help with manners and obedience!

We use positive reinforcement to train, so training is great fun for you and your puppy! A wonderful way to build your relationship!

Interested in learning more about our training options? Email [email protected] or see our website!

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Monday 09:00 - 20:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 20:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 20:00
Thursday 09:00 - 20:00
Friday 09:00 - 20:00

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