Chicago Canine Academy

Chicago canine has helped me train my Akita mix since she was 4 months old (now 7m). She went through their boot camp/boarding and has been going back constantly for day care twice a week and group training every Saturday. I’ve never had an accident and my pup is always excited to go in. Jim, Algis, and Diane are no nonsense trainers. Will never sugar coat anything and will be strict on the owner and pup.

Chicago Canine Academy Saved Our Dog! I cannot speak more highly of the work Chicago Canine Academy (CCA) does each day for the dogs they train and the owners they help. I am a lifelong client of CCA. When I was growing up, my parents brought our family dogs to CCA for both training and boarding. I was always impressed with how well CCA dedicated themselves to not only training our dogs, but retraining us as their owners. When my wife and I knew we needed professional training for our 50 lbs Rottweiler-Aussie mix, Shadow, the first (and only) place we looked to was CCA. They wasted no time in having us bring Shadow for an evaluation. After 30 minutes with CCA, my wife and I decided Shadow would benefit from CCA’s two-week training program. During no point did we feel pressured to put Shadow through the program, nor did we feel they were upselling their service to us. This was an easy decision and money well spent! After the first week, we saw a tremendous change in Shadow. After the full two-weeks, it was evident the work they did with Shadow allowed us to confidently bring Shadow home to the newest addition of our family - our newborn son. For those considering CCA, here are some important things to keep in mind to determine if CCA are the right trainers for you. 1 - Be Prepared to Work! CCA trains the owners as hard as they train the dogs. The work they do during the two-week program will impress you, but they will require the owner to put in the work. I did this (and still do) by going to their Saturday training sessions which are open to dogs/owners who have gone through the two-week program. 2 - Be Open to Changing How You Think about Your Dog! Your dog is not a human - they are a canine. They have different needs - both physical and emotional. CCA will push you out of your comfort zone and help you confront the reality of what your dog really needs (training - not tricks; structure - not unearned praise; consistency - not spurious training). If you are willing to change the way you approach your dog’s needs, then you will find your relationship with your dog reaching heights you never thought were possible! 3 - Be Prepared for Honest, Blunt Feedback! CCA will always enable you with the tools to confidently and competently work with your dog within everyday scenarios. They will also not sugar-coat their feedback and they will be blunt with what they believe your dog needs in order to thrive. There have been times when they corrected the way I handle Shadow. They stressed how important it was (first) for the safety of Shadow and (second) my ability as a dog owner. They care for all the dogs they handle and are not afraid to be blunt with owners if they believe what the owner is doing is at the cost of the dog thriving.

Jim and his associates at Chicago Canine Academy are very well trained and disciplined. They simultaneously train not only your dog, but you as well so that you can be a confident owner that can cultivate a safe environment for your pup. Their tactics are not for everyone or the thin skinned, but they’re effective and produce results. HOWEVER. I will never return to Chicago Canine Academy after what I heard. My dog was a former bait dog and was found by my friend on the side of a highway after being shot three times. Needless to say, Sampson (my dog), struggles trusting strangers, used to be fairly reactive, and is extremely stubborn. He’s recently gained weight due to his adversity to exercise of any kind. I take him on two lengthy walks every single day, feed him a raw food diet and only once in the morning, and make sure he’s getting in plenty of basic training when we have the chance. I had to board Sampson at Chicago Canine Academy a few months ago. He came back with kennel cough first of all, but the worst part is what one employee told my good friend who picked Sampson up. He quickly told my friend that Sampson was overweight which we know and have been working with his vet. Then, verbatim, this man says “you must hate your dog” and then continued on his rant about how irresponsible we are. I was FLOORED and actually just found out myself. That is extremely uncalled for, inappropriate, and unprofessional. I care a great deal about my dog and go to the ends of the earth for him. Because he’s struggling with his weight, I’m the bad dog owner? I hate him? Absolutely not. The lack of empathy and respect from MOST but not all of the staff is just not worth the money at all. There’s plenty of better training facilities, ones that won’t personally attack you like the holier than thou man. I wanted to give a better rating but I am beyond pissed. Find somewhere else, I did.