Suburban K-9 offers a wide variety of training classes, private training, and our premier dog boot camp taught by our talented team of trainers led by Matt Covey. Our mission is to modify negative behavior which may lessen the enjoyment you get from your dog and impact your quality of life together. Matt and the other instructors at Suburban K-9 instruct owners on ways to communicate with their pets in the dog’s natural language. This helps ensure that pets and owners can live a happy and safe life together. Obedience training is also an important part of all of our training opportunities.
While we train a variety of dogs, we specialize in rehabilitating aggressive and fearful dogs and helping them regain a balanced and calm state of mind. The improved state of mind helps the dogs become more social with people and other dogs. We feel very fortunate that our training is so well regarded in the dog community that we are able to help other dog trainers, boarding facilities, and even animal communicators with dogs that they are having issues with. We have even been called in from time to time to help out champion show dogs that are starting to develop behavioral issues both in and out of the ring. It also makes us feel great that many local veterinarians refer us to their customers when their dogs need a little extra help.
Our dedication to ensuring every dog gets a chance at their best life has led to our special relationship with the West Suburban Humane Society. We provide specialized training for dogs in their care to assist with preparing these dogs to be successfully placed in “forever homes.”Additionally, we donate time to train the staff and volunteers at West Suburban Humane Society to help ensure the dogs in their care are handled properly every day. Some of the other animal rescue groups that we have had the privilege of working with include:
• Almost Home Foundation
• Animal Rescue Foundation (A.R.F.)
• Animals Deserving Of Proper Treatment (A.D.O.P.T.)
• Shih Tzu Rescue, Adoption, and Education Safehouse (S.T.R.A.E.S.)
• New Beginnings Shih Tzu Rescue
• H.E.L.P
Meet our Staff
Matt Covey
Having grown up in a family that spent their time breeding and showing dogs, it was only natural that Matt’s long time passion for dogs turned into his profession. Matt’s training skills have given him the opportunity to train for celebrities such as Antonio Davis of the Chicago Bulls and Bobby Simmons of the Milwaukee Bucks. Matt’s reputation recently allowed him the incredible opportunity to train a dog for an upcoming television series to be aired on a major national network. The pilot episode went well so hopefully you will be seeing him on television soon. When Matt isn’t busy training dogs or spending time with his family he manages to squeeze in the time to earn a law degree from Northwestern University. All of Suburban K-9′s trainers have some form of secondary education and Matt likes to lead by example.
Many of Matt’s customers have tried various methods of training and were not satisfied with the results, that is, until they met Matt.
Matt Wlos
Matthew Wlos has been a loving and devoted dog owner his entire life. Currently Matt is the proud owner a Great Dane named Luna and a mixed breed named Zilla. As a committed dog owner Matt has been exposed to various training styles over the years and was amazed by the Suburban K-9 training philosophy from the moment he first experienced it. Matt has known Matt Covey for over ten years and has been working with him for almost five years. He is grateful to be able to work in a field that he is passionate about and consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that you can live as happily as possible with your four legged friend. Matt has a business degree from Bradley University and like all of Suburban K-9′s trainers he is always furthering his education.
Mike Simmons
Mike has been working with Suburban K-9 for almost 6 years now. During this time he completed a 2 year apprenticeship to learn to handle all types of dogs. Along with the rest of the trainers, Mike specializes in working with and rehabilitating aggressive, fearful, and anxious dogs. Mike also works with a variety of humane societies helping to place homeless animals with loving and caring families. Outside of his work of a dog trainer, Mike competes on a martial arts team and has been practicing martial arts for 12 years. This has helped Mike develop the patience to work with even the most difficult of dogs. To further his knowledge Mike also attends classes at Robert Morris University majoring in business administration.
Lenny Szatkowski
Lenny has always been a dog lover and knew early on that he wanted a career with dogs. He has worked on and off with Suburban K-9 since 2009 and is a valuable part of the team. His best buddy is named Scrunts, a mix breed that he rescued from Tails Humane Society. He is currently finishing up his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (he wants to fit in with every other Suburban K-9 trainer who also have business degrees).
