About Urban Pooch Training And Fitness Center In Chicago

What makes us special? Our staff!

Our passionate Management Team & Staff is one of our greatest assets enabling Urban Pooch to provide your dog with the utmost love and care around the clock. Their dedication and commitment help to make Urban Pooch one of the most special places on Earth!

Our team is a collection of the most amazing and talented people in Chicago. But what’s more; we have lots of them! This means better care and more attention for your little (or big) four-legged companions.

You’ll never find us trying to “do more with fewer people.” Our approach is unique in the Chicago market. Our goal is to always dazzle pooches and their parents with our incredible service, love, and care!

Be sure to check out all of our excellent training staff, too.

Ed Kaczmarek

Co-Founder

Ed is the co-founder of Urban Pooch Canine Life Center, and also Chief Marketing Officer. He’s a fun, creative kind of pooch. Ed is also Co-Founder of Brand Innovators Labs, a business designed to help major brands institutionalize the core competency of partnering with disruptive startups to build competitive advantages and ignite the spirit of entrepreneurship within the corporate environment. Most recently, Ed was Director of Innovation & Emerging Technology at Mondel?z International (formerly Kraft Foods Inc.) where he led innovation through a multitude of partnerships and exploration with startups in both mobile and digital. He was the architect and creator of the Mobile Futures incubator program. Through this program, he drove new levels of consumer engagement across 13 blue chip brands and ignited cultural transformation in marketing throughout the US and Brazil. Many of the programs that Ed led, contributed to Mondelez International being named 2013 Mobile Marketer of the Year. While at Kraft Foods, he led the development of its award-winning iPhone application, the iFood Assistant—enabling the food marketer to deepen consumer relationships and implement new revenue streams. iFood Assistant won an Edison Award for Innovation in 2010. Ed has more than 26 years of integrated marketing communications experience spanning branding, new product development, advertising, CRM and strategy. He has driven innovation both digitally and in traditional arenas during his tenure at Cadbury/Dr Pepper, VNU, DoubleClick and Draft Worldwide. Ed also published NYC Pet Project while at Good Books Publishing, a company he founded. In 2009, Fast Company magazine named Ed as “1 of the 10 Most Creative People in Food.” He also participated on the Intel Capital Advisory Board for three years. In December 2012, Ed was recognized as one of “25 Trendsetters to Watch” by Chief Marketer magazine.

Daniel Gaughan

Co-Founder

Dan is the co-owner of Urban Pooch Canine Life Center and runs the day to day operations. A native Chicagoan, Dan grew up in the Edgewater Glen neighborhood. He is the son of the late and great Marty and Kitty Gaughan and the youngest of 6 children. Dan had an incredible 21 year career working behind the scenes in local television news here in Chicago as well as in Arizona and California. During his long career in broadcasting, Dan was in management roles overseeing staff and operations at many successful television news organizations. He began his broadcasting career at WLS-TV in 1989 here in Chicago and went on to play a key management role in launching CLTV. He went on to work for WGN-TV and eventually WBBM-TV following his return to Chicago from California in 2002. Dan won an Emmy Award for continuous coverage of The Chicago Bulls 3rd Championship. For many years Dan had a strong desire for a career change and to do something completely different and more fulfilling. Then in July of 2007 he adopted Berwyn, an 8 week old Welsh Terrier puppy, from an Amish Farm in Central Illinois. Dan’s intense love for Berwyn and the experience of raising this pup helped him realize opening a doggie daycare facility was the new direction he wanted to take his career and life and that would most importantly make him incredibly happy. This began the long journey of accomplishing his dream of owning and operating Urban Pooch Canine Life Center on the North Side of Chicago. Dan is very much looking forward to getting to know you and your pooch and seeing all of you every day!

Berywn

CEO

Berwyn loves being a pooch, and is living the dream as the CEO of Urban Pooch Canine Life Center! He totally changed his Daddies’ lives – so much so that they decided to dedicate their lives to establishing a new level of service for dogs and dog parents by bringing state-of-the-art daycare and boarding to Chicago. Berwyn is involved in each decision both big and small. He loves to be the center of attention and sometimes growls when his Daddies pay too much attention to other dogs. But don’t let that growl fool you because he’s a softie at heart!

Pamela Davis, CPDT-KA

Head Trainer

Pamela is a teacher and coach who specializes in helping people understand, communicate with, and train their pet dogs. Her training methodology is compassionate and science-based and focuses on rewarding desired behaviors. Pamela’s approach is also informed by her background in theatre and education. She prioritizes empathy, clear communication, and active participation from both human and canine learners. Always a keen student of motivation and behavior, Pamela studied electoral politics and acting at UC Berkeley before moving to Chicago to attend graduate school at DePaul and embark on a career as a theatre maker and educator. Although she always loved animals and was fascinated by the way they think, learn, and move, it wasn’t until she adopted her current dog, an intense pit mix named Bea Arfur, that she discovered her passion for “serious” dog training. After completing an apprenticeship with Lisa Collins and Karen Okura at Collins Canine, she opened her own dog training and enrichment business before joining the team at Urban Pooch Training and Fitness Center. At Urban Pooch, Pamela teaches Levels Obedience, a flexible, progressive training program that moves at the pace of each individual dog-human team. In addition to Obedience, Pamela also teaches Junior Dog for adolescents (4-8 months) and two behavioral specialty classes – Confidence Club, for fearful dogs who shut down when stressed, and Reactive Dog, for those who get “barky-lungy” on leash. Pamela has her CPDT-KA certification from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers and is an evaluator for the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen, STAR Puppy, and Tricks programs. A strong believer in continuing education, she has studied with Michael Shikashio, Amy Cook, Nancy Tucker, Sarah Stremming, and Denise Fenzi, and strives to stay curious and current on all approaches to human and canine learning.

Grace Huffman

Obedience & Agility Trainer

For as long as she can remember, dogs have been apart of Grace's life; from getting her first dog at 5 years old, to religiously playing Nintendogs on her DS, and eventually to training her own Service Dog in college. At Urban Pooch, Grace teaches all levels of Agility and Disc as well as puppy and LEVELS classes. Grace has 3 personal dogs: Guster (Mini Schnauzer), Rafiki (Standard Poodle) and Kudos (Shetland Sheepdog). She trains and competes in Agility with her dogs and recently competed in Cynosports, making Steeplechase Finals with Guster. Grace loves watching dogs learn and progress, but even more so, loves watching the bond and relationship grow between humans and their four-legged friend through the training and playing they do together. She knows that life with a dog is one of the most rewarding things ever and wants to help all her clients reach their training and relationship goals with their pooch!

Ellie L., CPDT-KA

Obedience Trainer

Ellie has been working at Urban Pooch for 5 years, and has been professionally handling dogs for many more. Their love for training dogs started at Urban Pooch. Ellie now has 2 years of training experience teaching a variety of group classes including all levels of obedience training and puppy classes. Ellie's favorite part of the job is that they get to learn and grow alongside their clients. Getting to see the journey each pet parent and dog go on is so rewarding.

REBEKAH REYNOLDS, M.S., CPDT-KA, PNCC, CSCC

Agility, Disc, Fitness, Treibball & Obedience Trainer

Rebekah has been animal-crazy since the time she could hold a pencil and draw all of the animals that lived in her imaginary farm, but dogs have always had a special place in her heart. She started training her Nintendogs from a young age, but at 15, her family got their very first dog, and Rebekah was finally able to teach fun tricks, build PVC agility equipment, and play frisbee with a real dog. Rebekah now has four kiddos of her own: Remi (Golden Retriever), Newton (Ragdoll Cat), Murphy (Border Collie), and Oliver (Domestic Longhair cat with CH). Rebekah actively trains and competes in agility, but also participates in disc, FastCat, herding, nosework, and treibball. At Urban Pooch, she teaches agility, disc, fitness, treibball, and LEVELS classes. Rebekah loves helping clients achieve all of their training goals and develop their bond and relationship with their dog. She also enjoys being able to love on all of the cute puppers! Rebekah is an evaluator for the AKC's Canine Good Citizen, STAR Puppy, and Tricks programs and has her CPDT-KA certification. She is a dog training nerd and is always working on continuing education. She has a PNCC (Pet Nutrition Coach Certification) and is working towards her Canine Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCC) certification through NC State as well as her Canine Massage Certification through Canis Bodyworks. She is also taking classes for the Canine Fitness and Nutrition Diploma through E-Training for Dogs.

Robin Taylor

Certified Nose Work Trainer, Agility Instructor

Robin got started in dog training 10-years-ago when she adopted Dylan from the Anti-Cruelty Society. Because Dylan’s energy and drive needed an outlet, she got started in agility and nose work. Her second dog didn’t have the same drive for sports but loved people, which took them down the path of therapy dog work at grade school reading programs and in hospitals. Today Robin is continuing her agility and nose work competition with her newest rescue dog, Kaiden, and is just starting to compete in agility with her young dog Raze, a border collie. Robin believes that all dogs are individuals and need to be treated as such. Her objectives as a dog trainer are to teach her human students how to communicate clearly with their dog partners, be consistent in their communication, and enjoy the journey.

BOBBY BROWN, CPDT-KA

Bobby Brown started professionally training dogs in 2015. He earned his certification through CATCH and the Council of Professional Dog Trainers. Bobby has 2 personal dogs, Bella, a Bully Breed Mix, and Sugar, a Border Collie/Lab Mix. Together, they enjoy training and competing in Dock Diving, Flyball, Nose work, and their newest passion, Agility. In addition to dog training, Bobby has trained Cats, Horses, and Birds of Prey! No matter the animal he is working with, he loves to watch them learn through positive reinforcement training methods. At Urban Pooch, Bobby teaches all LEVELS of obedience, puppy classes, as well as works one-on-one with reactive dog and behavioral cases. Bobby is new to Chicago, but already loves his Urban Pooch family and cannot wait to meet you and your dog!

Marisa Maines, CPDT-KA

Marisa recently moved to Chicago from Indianapolis, IN where she has been training dogs since 2018. She started with training service dogs for people with disabilities, and most recently was the lead dog trainer at a daycare/boarding facility where she taught private sessions and obedience classes.

Ashley Olszewski

Agility Trainer, CPDT-KA, CSCC

Ashley’s experience with animals goes back to before she can remember. Her family had three or four dogs (Goldens and Labs) at any given time, as well as horses. She spent her adolescence riding and showing her horses, and worked on general obedience with her dogs. She got her first dog of her own almost 2.5 years ago (Fig, a Silken Windhound). Fig proved to be a very busy pup, so Ashley started training and competing with her in agility as well as other sports like FIT DOG, CPE Speedway, lure coursing, and Treibball. She loves seeing dogs light up with the mental and physical enrichment sports can offer and gain a new kind of confidence and bond with their owners. Ashley actually started both sports and obedience training at Urban Pooch with Fig years ago and has had the pleasure of working with nearly all of UP’s awesome trainers in both of these areas! With a background in healthcare and orthopedics, and having had two family dogs with orthopedic issues, fitness and injury prevention in both humans and dogs is extremely important to her. She’s currently working to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach through NC State’s Veterinary Medicine program and looks forward to helping owners create a deeper bond with their dogs through sports and fitness!

J Murphy

Training Consultant

Despite being a lifelong cat enthusiast, J has been made a dog lover via his time spent working with man’s best friend. He joined the Urban Pooch team in November 2014. In his time working with dogs, J has learned there is simply no substitute for a canine’s admiration.

He has the proud owner of two dogs: Tessa (Louisiana Leopard Catahoula) and Warbler (Australian Cattle Dog).

Coco Johnson, ccs, iaabc-adt, sba

Trainer

Coco grew up with a love and understanding of dogs from a young age. Family pets consisted of Golden Retrievers from her grandparents to German Shepards who were too goofy to become police dogs.Prior to working in a caregiver capacity with animals, Coco worked in the entertainment industry. From working as a Radio Engineer at Clear Channel to Promotional work at Victory Records and finally a Morning News Director at WGN.Animals have always held a special place in her life, but it wasn't until she became a kennel tech and then vet tech at PAWS that she saw the potential to help dogs who needed it most. Coco left Chicago and moved to Seattle to attend the Northwest School of Canine Studies where she became a certified dog trainer. Her passion to always assist those in rescue environments kept her busy! She ran an extensive training program for a Greyhound rehoming organization in the PNW for the last 4 years. In that time she also expanded her knowledge as an accredited member of the IAABC. Coco loves to take on the hard cases and found her speciality among fearful dogs. Her patience and attention to detail have helped numerous shelter dogs grow into loving and understood companions.She spends her time off with her husband Billy, rescue whippet Leon and four rambunctious cats. Her hobbies include camping, biking, sewing, playing ukulele and dominating in board games!

Sue Sentowski

Sue is our Nose Work Instructor and brings her experience and great knowledge of the fun and exciting sport of Nose Work. She has trained her own dogs competing in a variety of dog sports – agility, rally, dock diving, and of course, Nose Work. Sue is a Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI) with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) and competes with her dogs Splash and C.J., both of whom are currently at the NW3 level. Sue believes that a positive training program with your dog is the best way to achieve the goals you wish to accomplish with them all the while building the relationship between human and dog. In addition to teaching, Sue is the owner of Sue & Crew H2O, a dog swimming facility in Wood Dale, IL. Sue also does therapy work with her dog Bobber thru Pet Partners. Sue lives in Chicago with her family and their 4 dogs C.J., Stella, Bobber and Splash.

Sharon Cierniak

Sharon Cierniak has been training dogs for over 30 years. She has shown her dogs in many areas of the dog competition world, earning titles in obedience, agility, rally, tracking and carting. Sharon believes in looking at each dog as an individual to understand their particular training needs. Her belief in positive training methods helped her successfully work with many dogs and people to create a bond of trust and a joy of learning. She is committed to attending seminars and classes in order to continue to add new tools to her toolbox, keeping her classes fun and interesting.

Sharon's certifications include the following:
Certified Trick Dog Instructor, CTDI
Fear-Free Animal Trainer
Certified Professional Dog Trainer, CPDT-KA
Canine Good Citizen Evaluator

What Our Customers Say

A Mitchell

2025-05-08

Love this place.

Silvia Manrique

2025-05-04

Took my new puppy to their puppy agility class and it was so fun! It helped build my puppy’s confidence even with just one session! Highly recommend this class if you’ve got a wild one on your hands.

Ami Kothari

2025-05-01

Our pup Shay just finished the 4-week Puppy Paw Star Academy at Urban Pooch, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. The difference in her is incredible — she’s more confident, listens better, plays nicely with other dogs, and just seems more calm and grounded overall. It honestly feels like we’re living with a whole new dog (in the best way). One of the things we really appreciated was how involved we got to be throughout the process. Every day, the trainers sent photos, videos, and a quick write-up on what Shay worked on and how she did. It gave us a clear picture of her progress and made it so much easier to reinforce the training at home. And any time we had questions or concerns — even small stuff — the team was super responsive, patient, and happy to talk things through. What really sets Urban Pooch apart is the people. Every single staff member we met was kind, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about what they do. They took the time to get to know Shay and made her feel completely comfortable and cared for. She ran through the door every morning, tail wagging, and we never had a moment of hesitation leaving her there. Urban Pooch truly became a second home for her — and honestly, we’re going to miss the daily drop-offs. If you have a new puppy and you’re even thinking about training, don’t wait. This is absolutely the place to go. We’re so glad we did.

Barbara Harris

2025-03-31

I cannot recommend Sharon Cierniak and Urban Pooch dog training facility enough! My dog, Etta, and I recently completed both the Agility and Tricks courses, and the experience has been nothing short of amazing. Sharon is an incredibly talented and patient trainer who has a true gift for working with rescue dogs. From the very first class, I could tell that she deeply understands canine behavior and has a genuine passion for teaching. She was able to tailor the training to Etta’s needs and personality, making sure we both progressed at our own pace. Her positive reinforcement approach created such a supportive and fun environment, which kept Etta motivated and eager to learn. The Agility course was an absolute blast! Sharon broke everything down into easy-to-understand steps, and Etta quickly picked up the skills, even overcoming some initial hesitations. The obstacles were exciting, and it was so rewarding to see Etta grow in confidence as we made our way through the course. Sharon’s encouragement and expert guidance made the experience feel both challenging and enjoyable. The Tricks course was equally fantastic! Sharon has a great way of keeping the classes upbeat and engaging, teaching new tricks with clarity and patience. Etta quickly learned a variety of fun and useful tricks, from simple ones like “sit” and “shake” to more advanced ones like “spin” and “bang!” The best part was seeing how proud Etta became of herself as she mastered each trick. I’ve noticed such a positive change in Etta’s behavior, confidence, and focus. The training we received from Sharon not only strengthened our bond but also gave me the tools to continue teaching and growing with Etta at home. If you’re looking for a knowledgeable, kind, and truly exceptional dog trainer, Sharon Cierniak is the one to go to!

Samantha Bellgraph

2025-03-01

We’ve really enjoyed our first treibball class! Ruby has always loved playing fetch, and treibball feels similar but more with more technique and challenges. With multiple balls, a goal to reach, and a focus on teamwork between us, it really gets her thinking. It’s been fun to tap into Ruby’s herding instincts, though I’m sure any dog would love it. As Ruby gets older, we’re grateful that treibball is active yet low impact. We also appreciate how Ashley makes practicing at home so easy with fun and creative homework ideas. Ruby has gained confidence and learned new commands—this class gets her moving and thinking all while having fun.

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