By My Side K9s

08/25/2024

Today I had the honor of administering the Canine Good Citizen Test to Shay Jacobson and her wonderful lab, Boo Boo. They passed the test with flying colors! Boo Boo already has many accomplishments under her belt, and her solid performance today speaks volumes about her personality and temperament. Her life work is volunteering as a Therapy and Crisis Response Dog through Pet Partners.

Congratulations and thank you for giving back to the community!

08/13/2024

August and September Classes!

August 17 - 12:30
Reliable Recall
3 week class to help you condition a prompt recall for your dog.
(No class August 31)
$90.00

August 17 - 1:30
Loose Leash Walking
3 week class to teach your dog how to walk without pulling. Make your walks more enjoyable!
(No class August 31)
$90.00

August 24 - 2:30
Family Dog One
6 week class that covers basic obedience skills and addresses issues such as jumping, unwanted barking, excessive excitement, etc. Includes teaching “place” and “leave it”. Teach your dog to be a great family member!
(No class August 31)
$175.00

August 24 - 3:30
Canine Good Citizen Test
Does your dog have good manners in public? Come and take the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test and prove to the world that your dog is a model citizen. Dogs must test in a collar or plain harness with a 6’ leash. No prongs, head halters allowed by AKC rules.
$25.00 per dog

September 14 - 12:30
Polite Greetings
3 Week class to teach dogs to greet people calmly, instead of pulling, jumping or barking at them.
$90.00

September 14 - 1:30
Adolescent Puppy Manners
6 week class is geared for the young adolescent dog in your home. Covers basic obedience, and walking skills. Learn how to replace unwanted behaviors (barking, jumping, etc) with more acceptable behaviors. Also covered: “place” and “leave it.
$175.00

September 21 - 3:30 till 5:00
Introduction to Nosework Workshop
An hour and a half introduction to search games with odor for the beginner dog. Your dog will learn to search in simple box drills, making it easy for him to understand the concept of finding an odor. Bring food rewards, a collar or harness and a 6’-10’ leash plus your dog. This activity is great for enrichment, confidence building and is a wonderful sport to compete in, if you wish.
$40.00 per dog (Limit 5 dogs)

Please PM or contact me at: [email protected] to register.

07/16/2024

Congratulation to the Duhig family and their really bright boy, Koopa, who completed Family Dog One. Koopa is a very quick learner, mastering “Leave It” in one class!

Check out our Adolescent Puppy Class and Loose Leash Walking classes, both starting this Saturday!

07/02/2024

Hello everyone!

Below is the schedule for July. Because it is summer, I am offering 3-week mini courses for those with busy summer schedules. I also have a one time workshop for puppies (approximately 1 1/2 hours) to help you get started with a new pup.

July 13, 12:30
PUPPY START RIGHT WORKSHOP
One 90 minute session - $40.00
Bring your young pup (up to 18 weeks) for some socialization to new places and things, learn how to teach foundation behaviors, and get your most pressing puppy-problem questions answered.

July 13, 2:00
ADVANCED TRICKS WORKSHOP
One 90 minute session -$40.00
We will cover three advanced concept tricks, suitable for advanced trick titles or freestyle dance.
Tricks to be taught are:
1. Circle backwards around handler
2. Mirrored cross paws
3. Runway walk (paused steps)
Handouts will be sent at the conclusion of workshop so you can continue to practice at home.

July 13, 3:30
CANINE GOOD CITIZEN REFRESHER CLASS
One hour, meets for 3 weeks - $90.00
This course is designed to sharpen up skills needed for the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen Test and can also help dogs who are planning to take any therapy dog test in the future. It’s never too late to practice good manners! The actual CGC test will be offered separately in August.

July 20, 1:30
ADOLESCENT PUPPY MANNERS-Part I
One hour, meets for 3 weeks - $90.00
Suitable for any puppy (18 weeks through 18 months)
This class covers basic obedience skills and also offers training solutions to jumping, pulling, demand barking and more.

July 20, 2:30
LOOSE LEASH WALKING
One hour, meets for 3 weeks - $90.00
Does your dog drag you around on walks? Learn the tricks to teaching them to stay near you and keep that leash loose.

Please contact me to register for any class. Classes are held at ADOPT Training Center, 425 Industrial Ave , Naperville, IL.

As always, we thank you for your support.

06/30/2024

What better way to spend a hot humid Saturday than inside with some challenging nosework searches? We had an all Golden Retriever Search Party today, but of course all breeds are welcome! We offer Nosework Meet Ups approximately once a month, generally outside in various parks but difficult weather can find us indoors. PM us to be added to our email list!

06/20/2024

Congratulations go to Lauren, Dennis and their lovely dobe, Desi on the completion of Family Dog One class. We saw more confidence as the session progressed. See how proud Desi looks?!

06/06/2024

I often hear, when I demonstrate with a student’s puppy how I must have some kind of magic. Below is a great explanation of what they are seeing happen. Check out our schedule of classes so you can learn how to create the “magic” with your own dogs!

**********************************
From The Perfect Puppy Company:

I'd take a bet that there's not a dog trainer alive who's not heard this...

But if a dog behaves 'better' during a training session it's not because they're trying to impress the 'teacher'. Or because the trainer exudes any mystical power. There's no 'dog trainer magic' at work. If a dog behaves 'better' it's almost certainly because -

• the trainer rewards more generously
• the trainer has better timing
• the trainer rewards anything that's better, no matter how small the improvement, instead of waiting for perfection
• the trainer doesn't put the dog in situations they can't cope with

And the good news is these are all skills that you can learn!

If you are struggling to see progress or have stalled in your training journey it's worth asking yourself whether you could improve on any of these. And if you can...do!

*******************************

CLASSES STARTING JUNE 8th

1:30 Family Dog One-6 weeks
2:30 Reliable Recall-3 weeks
3:30 Polite Greetings-3 weeks
4:30 Tricks-3 weeks

Message me for more information!

04/20/2024

Congratulations to Julie and Torsten for completing Polite Greeting class! Torsten did a wonderful job of learning to offer a polite sit when meeting other people. And look at his good manners as his owner has a chat with a stranger (our volunteer helper, Marian Gabriel). Well done, young man!

04/16/2024

Everyone is running to check out the class schedule for the April/May classes at By My Side Dog Training in Naperville (address below). If you are not in need of a class for your dog at this time, I would appreciate your sharing this information with family and friends:

6 week class:

Family Dog One - $175.00
Open to all dogs of all ages
Course covers all the basic behaviors plus polite walking and leave it… and problem solving
Starts: Saturday April 20th at 1:30
(No class April 27)


3 week classes:

Wait A Minute! - $90.00
Impulse Control and Leave It for the Impatient Dog. Teach your dog to control its excitability and learn to wait for permission.
Starts: Saturday May 18th at 4:30

Tricks - $90.00
Learn how to teach your dog fun tricks - From Novice to Advanced.
Starts: Saturday May 4th at 12:30

Loose Leash Walking - $90.00
Teach your dog how to walk politely. No pulling, zigzagging or barking.
Starts Saturday, May 18th at 2:30

Obedience Skills & Drills - $90.00
Great refresher course for general good behavior or a tune up if you are practicing for CGC or Therapy Dog test. All basic behaviors will be practiced.
Start: Saturday, May 18th at 3:30

Nosework Fun Run - 1 Week
Join us for four searches (1 each element) to test your dog’s nosework skills at ADOPT Training Center. Dogs must be on odor. $25.00/each dog
This class may run longer than 1 hour to accommodate all participants.
Date: Saturday, April 20th at 2:30

SPRING RALLY PARTY
Does your dog love running rally courses? This is a fun drop in rally “party” open to all skill levels. 3 runs per dog/$20.00 each. We will have treats for dogs and their people.
Spring Party will feature AKC courses and Fall Party will feature World CynoSport courses.
One day only, Saturday May 11th at 2:30.

All classes held at:
ADOPT TRAINING CENTER
425 Industrial Avenue
Naperville, IL

If you would like to register or have any questions, please feel free to private message me. Our website is still being constructed and is not up and running yet.

Thank you!
Linda Chiaramonte CPDT-KA
By My Side Dog Training

04/16/2024

Congratulations to Patricia and Pepper on completion of Family Dog Two!! Pepper has learned a lot of wonderful skills - politely walking next to Patricia, a stellar Leave It, solid stays, a rocket recall, and more. What a great job you have done with your boy!!

02/21/2024

Below is a list of upcoming classes on Saturdays in Naperville. Please email me at:

[email protected]

if you are interested, or share this post with someone you know. I am so grateful for those friends you have sent my way already!!

Location: 425 Industrial Avenue, Suite 133A
Naperville, IL

Start Date: February 24
2:30 Family Dog Two - good class to expand and strengthen trained behaviors or as a refresher course (before a therapy test?). No class 3/2
6 weeks - $175.00

3:30 Reliable Recall - Learn why your recall doesn’t work and how to build a better one. No class 3/2
3 weeks - $90.00

Start Date: March 9
12:30 Tricks Learn new tricks and show off those your dog knows to earn Trick Titles, or just to have a set of great tricks to entertain with. Any level, beginner to advanced welcome.
3 weeks $90.00

1:30 Adolescent Puppy Manners
Suitable for young dogs, 5 months through one year (or so). Learn basic behaviors AND positive methods to decrease unwanted behaviors (barking, jumping, etc.) by substituting good behaviors in their place.
6 weeks - $175.00

Start date: March 23
3:30 Polite Greetings - Learn how to teach your excited and happy dog to greet people calmly with good manners.
3 weeks $90.00

Start date: March 30
12:30 Loose Leash Walking
Turn your walks into enjoyable outings. Find out how to teach your dog to move along with a loose leash and become a more neutral observer of other people, dogs and nature.
3 weeks $90.00

As always, I only use positive reinforcement to create happy, working dogs (and happy owners!).

If you, or someone you know, is interested in a class, please contact me via email.

Thanks so much!
Linda Chiaramonte CPDT-KA
By My Side Dog Training

02/02/2024

Great article explaining the use of different kinds of noise to mask scary sounds that noise sensitive dogs react to and why some noise works and others don’t.

This article from Eileen Anderson may be helpful:

Dogs who are scared of thunder and noise can benefit from masking, "canceling," with fans, noise machines, or certain types of music.

01/30/2024

Timing is everything!

This is true of many things in life… but also in dog training!

Using a rewards system of training for your dog will be more efficient if you work hard at the timing of your reinforcement. What does that mean, exactly? You ask for, or your dog offers, a behavior, and if you give the dog his cookie at the correct time, your dog will link his behavior with the arrival of the cookie, and learn that the behavior caused the cookie to appear.

However, sloppy cookie delivery can cause delays in what the dog understands. Let’s say you ask for a sit and your dog plops his butt down. You were not ready for his quick response, so now you have to dig in your pocket to grab a treat, then move your treat bearing hand to his mouth. But… the reward took two seconds to get to him and he has now gotten up and taken a step to the side where your treat filled pocket is located. He gets his reward at the pocket while standing. Did he truly get rewarded for the sit? Actually, no. You try to ask for a sit again and now the dog is focused on your pocket and hand. Isn’t that what he got rewarded for just a moment before? Yes — Standing with his nose at your pocket.

This is one example of the need to “mark” the correct behavior with a word or sound, before reaching for a treat. When they hear you mark the behavior, (saying “yes” or the sound of a clicker) they start to understand that the behavior caused the mark (sound) which predicts the arrival of the treat. It is best to keep your hands still (neutral) when using your mark, again, to be clear that the sound of the mark is the prediction of treats, not the movement of your hand or location of your pocket.

We cover this concept in all our training classes — when the owner understands how to communicate clearly, the dog learns much more quickly!

01/19/2024

Congratulations go out to Thimble, Pepper and Buddy on a job well-done in our Polite Walking Class. The next POLITE WALKING CLASS starts January 26th. Won’t you join us?

Email: [email protected]
For registration information

01/18/2024

Busy?
3 Week All Positive Mini Classes
On Saturdays

Reliable Recall
Learn strategies to fix that recall!!
January 26 - 12:30

Polite Walking
Teach your dog to walk without pulling, leaping and barking
January 26 - 1:30

Polite Greetings
Learn how to build polite greetings with your dog
February 3 - 3:30

Cost: $90.00 for 3 week session

Contact Linda via email or DM
[email protected]

ADOPT Training Center
425 Industrial Avenue
Naperville, IL

01/10/2024

Tuesday Training Tip

Dogs are not stubborn.

If your dog is not doing what you ask of him — ask yourself why.

Is he distracted?
Is he anxious or worried about something in the environment?
Did you ask him to do something in the past that turned out badly for him?
Do you sound angry because you are frustrated when cueing him for the behavior? You may have “poisoned” that cue.
Does he really understand what you are trying to ask of him? If he is just learning, you may have to back up and make it easier for him to be successful.

Success builds confidence. Confident dogs stay focused and are willing to do your bidding.

01/08/2024

What exactly IS Family Dog One Class?

All obedience classes are NOT the same. Family Dog One is different. Not only does it teach basic behaviors like attention, sit, down, stand, stay, come and walking, but the focus is on life skills so your dog learns how to live peacefully with your family. We address problem behaviors such as barking, jumping, counter surfing, over excitement, pulling. And it’s all done with Positive Reinforcement!! You will receive instruction on how to change their unruly behavior into polite behaviors — walking with you like a gentleman or lady, being calm when greeting people, keeping 4 paws on the floor, and more. Learn how to read your dog’s body language to understand what he is telling you, so you can communicate with him successfully and build a strong bond.

Family Dog One starts this Saturday, January 13th at 2:30 in our Naperville location. Come join us for a great learning experience!

For more information email us at:
[email protected]

01/07/2024

What a wonderful way to spend a snowy, messy, and cold winter afternoon! Our nosework friends met for an interior nosework practice session. Congratulations to all the searchers and their hard working noses who successfully located every hide!