Happy Hound University

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!

"What's in your pouch?" Wednesday I often have people ask me for different treat recommendations, since I encourage my s...
06/24/2026

"What's in your pouch?" Wednesday

I often have people ask me for different treat recommendations, since I encourage my students to change up their reinforcers for the novelty factor and to keep introducing their dogs to new foods. So I decided one of the better places for me to post about this is on our social media!

Heads up, the link in this post is an affiliate link, meaning that I will receive a small commission from these purchases at no additional cost to you!

Happy Hound University recently created an amazon storefront. This is one central location where I can keep our usual recommendations for all of you! If you shop at amazon, we would be so pleased if you would take a look at our recommendations!

If you do not shop at amazon for whatever reason many of these products are available online at Chewy, Petco, or directly from the company/distributor (that is where I purchase my Happy Howie's from!). Many are also available at our local Pet Supplies Plus stores!

Most book recommendations listed are available on Bookshop .org!

But if you do shop amazon, we would so appreciate it if you gave our Happy Hound University store a look over! All of the products listed there are things we use in our day to day work, and are products we often recommend!

Check out the comments and our link tree for the link!

I was once over at an acquaintance’s house, and their cat approached them, bumped their head on the person’s shoe, and d...
06/23/2026

I was once over at an acquaintance’s house, and their cat approached them, bumped their head on the person’s shoe, and did a big stretch.

The person responded by reaching to pick the cat up. The cat backed away, clearly not wanting to be picked up (but potentially interested in more pets on the floor), but the person pushed and caught him.

As he held the cat, the cat meowed in a displeased manner. His tail started to swish back and forth, back and forth, faster and faster, as the cat’s owner pet him and held onto him.

After about 20 seconds of this, the cat hissed, swatted at the man’s hand, and the man put the cat on the ground and yelled, then proceeded to complain about how the cat was “moody” and “unpredictable”.

I wasn’t there as a behavior professional, so I mostly bit my tongue and watched as the cat went into the other room. But truthfully, that cat wasn’t moody OR unpredictable. The guy just didn’t care to learn how to speak cat and respect boundaries!

All of this to say: if we choose to keep nonhuman animals in our lives (dogs, cats, pocket pets, reptiles, horses, whatever!) we owe it to them to learn about their communication and preferences. It is unfair to bring animals into our homes and then not make an effort to speak their language.

06/22/2026

Calling all puppies!

According to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the foremost experts in pet dog behavior: “… puppies can start puppy socialization classes as early as 7-8 weeks of age. Puppies should receive a minimum of one set of vaccines at least 7 days prior to the first class and a first deworming. They should be kept up-to-date on vaccines throughout the class.”

This cannot be overstated: puppies are only in their critical window of socialization (the period of time when puppies are most sociable and less fearful of novelty) until about 12-16 weeks of age. Once a puppy leaves their critical window of socialization they are more likely to meet novel situations with fear and hesitation, and to be less accepting overall. Early positive exposure (done at the puppy’s pace!) to a wide variety of new people, other dogs/puppies, environments, and situations will teach your puppy how to expect and enjoy novelty as adult dogs!

Our puppy classes are Happy Hound University’s specialty. We offer multiple class each week, and set puppies up to succeed by matching them with similar sized and tempered playmates.

Interested in learning more about our puppy program? Email [email protected]!

A very happy Father’s Day to all of the human and dog dads out there!Thanks for all you do! ...
06/21/2026

A very happy Father’s Day to all of the human and dog dads out there!

Thanks for all you do!

Don’t look at the other dogs in your class.Don’t look at your neighbor’s dog, or the dog you see out on their walk every...
06/20/2026

Don’t look at the other dogs in your class.

Don’t look at your neighbor’s dog, or the dog you see out on their walk everyday.

Don’t look at your old dog who was a literal reincarnation of Lassie.

Look at your dog. Look at where they are now, and how far they have come. Look at the relationship you have developed with the help of your training. THAT is the only comparison game you should be playing.

It can be so tempting to compare our dog’s behavior to another’s; “why does my dog do X, Susan’s dog next door has NEVER done that! Did she do something right that I did wrong?” But the truth is that the answer to these questions is never simple, and comparing your dog to other dogs around you is setting yourself up for failure and frustration.

Instead, look at where you and your dog started, and be proud. Be proud of the hard work you’ve done. Be proud of the trust you have built with your dog. Focus on progress, not perfection, and don’t forget to celebrate even the littlest wins.

A HUGE congratulations to this week’s puppy 1 graduates Jasmine (adopted from adoptablefriendsnfp!) and Olive!And our pu...
06/19/2026

A HUGE congratulations to this week’s puppy 1 graduates Jasmine (adopted from adoptablefriendsnfp!) and Olive!

And our puppy 2 graduate Toro!

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!

06/18/2026

Reminder: dogs play with their mouths. They growl and bite each other, climb all over each other, and sometimes even... 😱hump!😱

If both parties are consenting during play, and the dogs have known appropriate social histories and good mouths (aka they don’t bite and cause damage if they get into a scuffle): LET THEM PLAY. Play is normal behavior and is used as a sign of good behavioral welfare!

There are of course always caveats (and if you’re nervous about your dog’s play it never hurts to hire a pro to help you see what’s going on!) but if your dog enjoys it: let them play!

Behavior pop quiz: are there any behaviors during this clip that tell you that our puppy 3 class students Arlo, Tinsley, Mishka, and Woody are playing, and not fighting?

As a small business, we do not have a big budget for marketing like the big box stores! So, we rely mostly on word of mo...
06/17/2026

As a small business, we do not have a big budget for marketing like the big box stores! So, we rely mostly on word of mouth and reviews to get our name out there!

If you have enjoyed working with us, we would love to hear from you! We collect reviews on:
- Our page

- Google (https://g.page/r/CbuotGMwLQJQEAI/review)

- and Yelp (https://www.yelp.com/biz/happy-hound-university-elk-grove-village-2?osq=happy+hound+university&override_cta=Request+an+appointment)!

If you can find the time to leave a review, thank you so much! And as always, thanks to our wonderful clients, family, and friends for their unwavering support! We could not do this without you.

Last call for our Good Manners 2 Class starting this Thursday at 8 PM!Are you a recent graduate of good manners 1 or pup...
06/16/2026

Last call for our Good Manners 2 Class starting this Thursday at 8 PM!

Are you a recent graduate of good manners 1 or puppy 1/2/3 (special note for puppy class grads: there's no off leash playtime in our manners classes!)? Looking to refresh and build on your dog's training in a positive, upbeat environment that focuses on you and your dog's relationship?

We've got a few openings left in our good manners 2 class starting this Thursday (June 18th) at 8:00 PM and we'd love to see you there!

To sign up go to our website or email [email protected]!

Address

Elk Grove Village, IL

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm

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