Downtown Dogs Chicago

Top Notch Training! We could not be more happy with the progression that our German Shepherd has made while training with Aliya and Ari. We started with the 2 week board and train almost 2 years ago and have since continued to train our dog at the Downtown Dogs Chicago Facility. The staff is beyond helpful with meeting your expectations for dog training, not only do they assist in training your dog they also train the owners on how to properly communicate with the dog which helps them to become better handlers. The facility is top notch as well, we board our dog here multiple times through out the year, Ari and Aliya are the ONLY people that we TRUST to properly take care of our pup, We can not say enough about Downtown Dogs Chicago, they go above and beyond to ensure that you and your dog get the most out of every training session. Thank you Downtown Dogs Chicago!!!

Could not be more pleased with our decision to bring our 18 mo. old Australian Labradoodle, Zuzu, to Downtown Dogs for a refresher on her manners and recall. She learned more in those 3 weeks than in the 17 months at home! Thank you to Ari and Aliya for their patience with my husband and me. Zuzu picked up commands quickly. Us, not so much ;-) We'll continue to use Downtown Dogs for boarding - to keep her training consistent- can't have too much of a good thing!

Let me start with what Ari and downtown dogs were getting with our dog....Adopted a rescue Malinois/German Shepard mix, little did I know how reactive she was to EVERYTHING and I mean full reactive lunge teeth out ready to fight! People, dogs, any other animal. Could not take her for a simple walk. Would also bite her leash any chance she got. Thought she was almost untrainable but then we brought her to Ari! The dog we got back after the board and train was was beyond night and day. Reactivity Close to none! Full understanding of heel and climb and other commands! Now you have to keep up with the training after but that’s a given everyone should already know that no dog will continue to listen if you don’t work with them regularly. This is where you want to get your training done!

I can't really speak to their training because we never got to experience it. I can only speak to the way they treated me on the phone/via email. After playing phone/email tag I finally spoke to Ari on the phone. He immediately suggested that I schedule a free consultation. I explained that I did not want to do that before asking a few questions about their methods, in particular their negative reinforcement because I have an especially anxious dog with submissive urination. At this point the conversation went south quickly. He asked me if I thought they abused dogs and then was super patronizing and told me that I probably did not even know what negative reinforcement was. He then proceeded to challenge me to tell him the definition. I could go on and on about how uncomfortable and unprofessional this conversation was, despite several efforts on my part to de-escalate. At one point he asked me point blank: what do you want? I responded that I wanted to know what accommodations they made in their training for anxious dogs. He mocked my question and told me that they made no accommodations for any dog. So if you want cookie cutter dog training with no individual considerations and rude customer service (why ask for consultations?!), this is your place. By the way, after hanging up on him, I emailed his colleague Aliya requesting that SHE call me back because I assume his attitude was at least partly informed by the fact that I am a woman. She didn't respond.

On behalf of my girlfriend, Meghan and I, I’d like to say that we deeply appreciate all of your time and love you’ve dedicated to Alfie. We could not be more satisfied with the progress he’s made. Before committing to Downtown Dogs Chicago, we were very apprehensive as we didn’t want to fork over a significant amount of money only to come away unimpressed. I feel very comfortable saying that we are extremely satisfied with the job you’ve done. We always knew Alfie was very smart but we quickly realized that we were overmatched and undereducated on what to do. Fast forward three weeks, now I have a pup who wants to listen, wants to be engaged, and wants to do well. This is just the beginning for us as we will rely on your team to continue to help us work with Alfie and help him reach new heights. We see him being a frequent visitor (for class and treats) and we look forward to continuing to become better handlers and puppy parents. We’re happy to say that we started out as customers and came away as friends. The next time we go out of town or need help, we know Alfie has a second home in the Second City!