Trainer extraordinaire Wendy DeCarlo-Young

Here, four top-notch services for your pets. PLUS: Tell us in the comments below, where do you go to get your pet supplies and grooming?

DOG TRAINER WENDY DECARLO-YOUNG, DOG OBEDIENCE GROUP With more than a dozen years of experience in the dog-training biz, Wendy DeCarlo-Young knows canines. “Training is all about keeping it simple and highly rewarding,” she says. In partnership with the esteemed trainer Dennis Damon, DeCarlo-Young teaches group classes for adult dogs (eight weeks, $95–$125) throughout Chicago and the suburbs; solo, she offers private lessons, phone consultations, and agility training. And her puppy classes (six weeks, $90), focusing on early development stages and teaching lifelong skills, are rollicking fun. 773-973-2934, DOGOBEDIENCEGROUP.COM

DIY DOG WASH SOGGY PAWS The easiest way to defunkify your dog and save your back is an $18 DIY dog bath at Soggy Paws, with locations in the South Loop, Logan Square, and Uptown. Soggy Paws provides canine aromatherapy mists and foaming facials, plus a supply of brushes, combs, and towels. Finish off with a blast of breath spray (for the pooch) and leave behind all the fur to clog Soggy Paws’ drains instead of yours. 1912 S. STATE ST., 1148 W. LELAND AVE., AND 2526 W. ARMITAGE AVE.; 312-546-4008, SOGGYPAWS.COM

DOGGY DAYCARE CENTRAL BARK CHICAGO After being assigned by temperament to one of three play groups, dogs at Central Bark Chicago can frolic in numerous indoor and outdoor spaces, then—just like with kids—take a short middle-of-the-day nap to classical music. The staff is attentive (the owner, Bonnie Lemperis, is always on the premises), and a dog taxi picks up pooches and delivers them home. It’s $27 a day for one dog, plus a one-time behavior assessment fee. Bulk discount rates are available, as are grooming and dog birthday parties. 3358 N. PULASKI RD.; 773-736-3641, CENTRALBARKUSA.COM/LOCATIONS/CHICAGOAVONDALE.HTML

STORE FOR PET FOOD CHALET NURSERY Outside it’s an award-winning nursery and landscaping business, but inside an expert staff runs a comprehensive pet food department. Chalet carries a staggering array of organic and special-diet dog and cat foods—more than a dozen of them endorsed by Whole Dog Journal—including nutritional choices for senior pets or pets with food allergies. Top-quality Oxbow products for small mammals and ZuPreem bird food are also available. Who really rules the roost there? Kazoo, a ten-year-old African gray parrot, who may welcome you with a few words. 3132 LAKE AVE., WILMETTE; 847-920-2800, CHALETNURSERY.COM

Photograph: Anna Knott