Canine Perspective: Structured Daycare, Boarding & Training

My 2.5 year old Labrador Murphy has always been sweet and loves people and other dogs, however he struggled with constant overstimulation. He wasn’t able to “turn off” and relax and often didn’t know his own strength when we would go for walks in the neighborhood. I took him to two positive reinforcement courses for puppy obedience and basic obedience which were minimally effective. I love my dog, but the frustration I felt about his behavior made me feel like a bad pet parent. Summer of 2023, I discovered Canine Perspectives, and after the first of several training sessions with Jesse, there was an immediate difference in Murphy’s behavior! My relationship with my dog has changed for the better, and I can’t thank Jesse enough for that. Once Murphy completed his training, we did the 3-day evaluation for daycare/boarding, and he’s been attending daycare two days per week and boarding whenever I need to go out of town. CP is a quiet, structured daycare/boarding environment, and Murphy always comes home happy and exhausted. I trust Jesse and the staff at Canine Perspectives and highly recommend their training and daycare/boarding services. They even do an annual Halloween photoshoot! I’ve included Murphy’s photo from 2023 in this review. I’ve also utilized Elizabeth’s nutrition counseling services which have made a huge difference in Murphy’s health. As a typical Labrador, he was having frequent GI issues. Elizabeth educated me on pet nutrition and gave me some recommendations for food swaps, and the problem has completely resolved. My only regret is that I didn’t find Canine Perspectives sooner!

The team at Canine Perspective has completely changed our lives! Not only has Jesse given our power-breed pup confidence to be around strangers and other dogs but he has given us, as dog parents, a better understanding of how she operates building our confidence, as well. After every training session we leave feeling relieved because he is the first trainer she has had that understands her and does not fault her for her more challenging traits. His focused, individualized training has allowed us to open up our home to more friends and family while still allowing our hyper-vigilant pup to feel safe in her space. We truly cannot thank this team enough and recommend them to everyone!

I’ve been working with Jesse and Canine Perspectives for over a year now. I adopted Winston, a now 5 year old pittie mix, 2.5 years ago. He had a rough go like many shelter dogs and was reactive to dogs and over medicated for it. Positive only reinforcement didn’t work for Winston. I had to hide behind cars with him if he even saw a dog a block away and even then he would lose control. Initially I worked with another faculty that used e-collar but was not seeing enough progress. I found Jesse and the rest is history. Jesse is compassionate, patient, knowledgeable and a fantastic trainer. He was thorough upon meeting me and Winston for the first time and gave his honest opinion. He also took the time to educate me on the why and the psychology of dog. Fast forward to today, I’m now equipped to introduce Winston to dogs he will see regularly - after Paws said he would never be a social dog, Winston walks past other dogs without issue and he is fully weened off the three drugs Paws had him on for reactivity and anxiety. He’s a different dog - in every good way possible. Jesse and Canine Perspectives are the only place I trust with Winston. Finding a quiet kennel with structure is a rare gem. I know Winston is always safe and getting exactly what he needs while I’m not with him. We wouldn’t be where we are today, and Winston wouldn’t be living the best life he is without jesse and team. If you’re hesitant about e-collar, you need to talk to Jesse! Best trainer in Chicago!

We trained our dog Lucy at canine perspectives with incredible results. Lucy is a very reactive 65 lb dog. She loves people, but when she’s around dogs there’s really nothing we could do. Until we got Lucy trained at canine perspective for reactivity and off leash. We love to travel and hike with Lucy everywhere, and the training she got has afforded her so much freedom. Lucy wasn’t always reactive, she used to go to normal day care and has been plenty socialized. But right around when she matured and turned 3 she wanted nothing to do with dogs. In fact we couldn’t take her to normal day cares anymore. Say what you want about their methods, but it gave our dog her freedom back and she actually has a day care to go to once in a while. And she gets super excited to go. Really the only reason we even take her is for social interaction. It’s amazing to see her actually play with dogs and be reactive towards them. By the way, we tried the collar on our arm first and it’s about as strong as those TENS machines. Not a big deal, just a good tool to communicate with your dog. Quite frankly, Lucy is less anxious in public when she has her collar on cause it provides her with reassurance that we are on the same page. It’s an absolute joy to be able to hike with Lucy off leash without fear of her running after another dog. I’d absolutely recommend them if you want to be able to be off leash or have a reactive dog.