Happy K9 Academy

Happy K9 Academy is an amazing training facility with wonderful, caring staff. Their group classes are excellent and my 2 golden retrievers and I have learned so much from multiple sets of classes that we have taken. It was through Happy K9 Academy that I learned the power of positive reward training having previously been the product of choke collar training. One of my goldens started as a puppy and continued with multiple sets of group classes and he ultimately passed his ACK Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) test and Love on a Leash evaluation and has been a successful and well liked pet assisted therapy dog for the past 4 years. He also has his advanced tricks certification thanks to the excellent and fun tricks classes that we took at HK9A. Our 2nd golden that we adopted just finished her CGC class and has now passed her AKC CGC test and Love on a Leash evaluation. Happy K9 Academy places the well being of your dog as its number one priority. Melissa Ellis, owner of HK9A, is an awesome trainer and her compassion and love for her job is apparent in all that she does. She is incredibly knowledgeable about dog behavior and in addition to helping you train your dog, she teaches you to read and interpret subtle canine behavior traits that clue you into the emotional status of your dog which is so important for effective training. Her classes are FUN - casual and always welcoming of questions and discussion about any difficulties one is experiencing with training. I whole heartedly recommend Happy K9 Academy. You will not find a training facility that cares more about your dog and it's well being and you will be amazed by what you and your canine partner are capable of through participation in their classes. An additional plus: Melissa Ellis and her husband recently renovated the entire facility. The training room is beautiful, clean and cheerful and very conducive to safe and effective training.

We boarded our french bulldog in August for a week during a family vacation. We do not live in SC however I was so pleased that they allowed us to board from out of state without having to drive down prior to have an in person meet up, this allowed my pup to be right down the road from us during our stay. Arika was extremely helpful and quick to reply to all of our email communications. We did meet in person at drop off and she was so accommodating, I was a nervous wreck lol. We did stop by half way through the week to drop off more food and took my pup for a quick trip to the beach. When we came back my boy ran back inside the facility with no hesitation. Every staff member I came in contact with was kind and had a great loving attitude! They have a number you can text for updates and pictures which I thought was great. If we happen to return to the area for vacation again, we will definitely utilize their services!