Basic obedience and a whole lot more.....

The Happy Retriever

  (774) 233-0640

training@thehappyretriever.com 

  for all training related questions

200 Summer Street Holliston, MA  01746

Retail Store Hours

  • Monday - Friday 8am-7pm

Training Center Hours

Open based on scheduled classes or evaluations.  Please call ahead to make sure we are available.

Thank you for contacting us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you do not hear anything from us in the next few days, please give us a call at 774-233-0640.

Thank You!
The Happy Retriever
Oops. An error occurred.
Click here to try again.

  Hi there and thank you for your interest in our services.  My name is Dorothy Turcotte and I am the owner of The Happy Retriever.  With the help of my husband, Michael, we strive to better the lives of our four-legged friends.  We became interested in dog training, behavior and welfare 18 years ago when we purchased our dog Happy.  Having a high energy lab puppy and both of us working full time jobs, we had to find the perfect mix to keep her stimulated and us happy.  Bird hunting was the answer for her and us.  She did what she was breed instinctually to do and we enjoyed our favorite sport as a family.  Other hunters in the fields and at the local sports clubs could not believe what a field dog we had and asked us to help them train their hunting dogs.  Our part time passion began.  Over time my husband’s business was failing and our passion was growing, so we decided to close the business we had relied on for over 10 years and turn our passion into our career.  We could not be happier!!! 

To make sure that we are always improving ourselves and our training methods we attend every seminar and training course we can.  We also make it a point to take college courses on animal behavior and obedience when they become available to us.  There is no cookie cutter training method that works for every single dog so we must be prepared and knowledgeable about every method available.   

Knowing there are two sides to every story and the dog cannot tell theirs…. We donate our time to dogs in local rescues, shelters and animal control offices.  We look for the hard cases that would otherwise not be place able or are scheduled to be PTS.  After temperament testing, we set up a training plan and help the organization responsible for this being find a proper family.  To date we have helped train, place and save five amazing dogs!


  1. Jasper Jones
  2. Martin
  3. Rondo AKA “MR Bruno”
  4. Handsome Howard

 

Jasper in his new home

Martin in training

Mr Bruno with his new mom
Howard in Training

go back to the top

go back to the top