# Trainer in Chicago



## tjpearse (Jan 31, 2014)

I am from the South Side of Chicago and am looking for a good trainer. I am hoping to find one that does obedience now with my puppy and hopefully a bit of protection when he gets older. Does anyone know about a trainer that is somewhat close that could help me? Thanks.


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

Just found this, I'm surprised no one's responded! Are you actually in the city of Chicago, or in the burbs? If you're looking at IPO, I've been looking in to (and probably going to train with) Topline German Shepherd Dog Club. (TOPLINE German Shepherd Dog Club of IL) They train in Burr Oak, I just went out to visit them this past Monday. They have puppy classes and adult classes open to all breeds, and they also train in IPO.

There's another great group that I've been looking in to, Narnia (Good dogs start here.℠ Dog training class in Naperville, IL | Narnia Pet Behavior & Training, Inc.). They're a little further west, but they seem AWESOME. No IPO or protection, unfortunately, but they do a ton of other sports, including K9 Nosework. They seem like a really fun place if you're just looking to try a bunch of stuff out to see what you like. Might be more of a hike, though.

Sorry the response is so late! Hopefully it's still at least a little useful!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Jonathan Katz | Chicago Canine Company


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Wolfenstein said:


> Just found this, I'm surprised no one's responded! Are you actually in the city of Chicago, or in the burbs? If you're looking at IPO, I've been looking in to (and probably going to train with) Topline German Shepherd Dog Club. (TOPLINE German Shepherd Dog Club of IL) They train in Burr Oak, I just went out to visit them this past Monday. They have puppy classes and adult classes open to all breeds, and they also train in IPO.
> 
> There's another great group that I've been looking in to, Narnia (Good dogs start here.℠ Dog training class in Naperville, IL | Narnia Pet Behavior & Training, Inc.). They're a little further west, but they seem AWESOME. No IPO or protection, unfortunately, but they do a ton of other sports, including K9 Nosework. They seem like a really fun place if you're just looking to try a bunch of stuff out to see what you like. Might be more of a hike, though.
> 
> Sorry the response is so late! Hopefully it's still at least a little useful!


Where does Topline train? Still at the barn for obedience and out at the field for protection?


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## volcano (Jan 14, 2013)

I went to topline for IPO for a few months last year. My girl did ok and was building bite skills/confidence. We didnt get much in the way of obedience training, everyone would bail after the protection phase and wed be left on our own to do obedience. That would be great to have one on one training but it wasjfust me and Apache alone in a big horse ring with me doing what I learned off the Ellis tapes... The main thing I heard from the trainer when he did wattch us for a minute was "too much obedience". I didnt like the idea of a dog who just loved biting people but wasnt highly obedient first, maybe thats just me. Also at the time we got absolutely zero in the way of tracking advice even when I asked.

I probably wouldve kept going, and hope im welcome to return even after this post... It was taking over an hour and a half to get there in rush-hour traffic. And one time I got there and there was no training that day, I looked at the website 5 minutes b4 leaving my house? I was told to give my email/phone to be advised of cancellation. The last day I went there was no training again, this time it was posted on the site but I hadnt been contacted?


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## Wolfenstein (Feb 26, 2009)

That's too bad it wasn't a good fit for you at the time! Everywhere is different, and everyone needs something different depending what stage you're at, so I can't imagine anyone seeing your post and not welcoming you back. 

The set up was a little different when I went, I think it was partially because of the weather, partially because they had obedience classes going on at the time. Everyone was inside, and they had a class going on either side. They were working on obedience in the middle, and had a list going to work with the helper with obedience like they did with protection. Once that list was done, they started on the protection work.

If you went last year, were you training with Jason or Milo? We went and dropped in to visit last year and Jason was the helper, but at some point between now and then Milo took over. He seemed to get just as into the obedience as the protection, and seemed really clever in the way he was approaching obedience issues people were having.

It's no wonder it wasn't worth the drive for you, btw, that is one heck of a commute! Even with traffic, it's 30-45 minutes for me, so it's pretty darn convenient. Plus it's all forest preserves the whole way, so it's quite scenic, haha! 

Have you been training somewhere else since then? I'm honestly concerned about the tracking thing, too, it seems like they really encourage you tackling it on your own, but I'm definitely going to need some instruction.


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