Private In-Home Training

This program is convenient and personal. Our trainer will come to your home and conduct one-hour private training sessions with you and your dog. Private lessons are great for the busy owner with a limited schedule as lessons can be conducted in the evenings or on weekends, and allow for tailored scheduling. Also, private lessons allow for full customization of the training program, based on the temperament of the dog and the goals of the owner. Private lessons may also benefit the dog that is easily distracted or that may have difficulty appropriately interacting with other dogs. Please contact us today to schedule your appointment!

Group Classes - Agility

Group Agility classes are held at Pawsitively Heaven Pet Resort in Chicago Ridge, IL. We offer classes ranging in skill level from beginner to competition. Please contact us for more information or to receive an application form click here.

Group Classes - Obedience

Group Classes are held at the Winnetka Community House, Winnetka, IL.  Creative Paws offers Puppy, Basic Obedience 101, Obedience 102, Rally Obedience, Canine Good Citizenship, and Silly Pet Tricks.  Registration for group classes in Winnetka is available at www.winnetkacommunityhouse.org.

Puppy Class

The purpose of Puppy Class is to provide a positive environment for socialization of puppies to a wide variety of people as well as to each other. Early socialization (done before the puppy is 18 weeks old) has been shown to greatly reduce the incidence of both human-directed aggression and dog-dog aggression, as well as anxiety and fear based behavior problems. Additional topics will be discussed such as addressing the common puppy issues of housetraining, mouthing, leadership, and preventing behavior problems. Puppies will also learn sit and begin recall training (coming when called). This class is appropriate for puppies ages 2–4 months old. All dogs must have received at least 2 rounds of vaccinations prior to attending class. If your dog has not yet received the second round of vaccines at the start of the session, please do not bring him/her to class. Instead, plan to attend class without your puppy until the second round of vaccinations has been administered.

Obedience 101

Obedience 101 teaches the basics of obedience: sit, down, stand, Recall (coming when called), stay, and heel – everything your companion dog needs to know! Both verbal commands and hand signals will be used. Dogs of any age may take this class. Positive reinforcement techniques will be used, so please bring food rewards or a small toy with you to class.

Obedience 102

Obedience 102 is focused on honing the skills of Obedience 101. Additional levels of difficulty and distractions will be added. Dogs of any age may enroll provided they have a basic knowledge of basic obedience commands: sit, down, recall (coming when called), stay, and heel.

Rally Obedience

Rally is a fun spin on traditional obedience for both the dog and the handler.  Rally is an "obstacle course" of obedience exercises including positions changes including sit, down and stand and heeling a variety of heeling patterns.  Dogs must have basic obedience skills or have completed Obedience 101 to take this course.

Canine Good Citizen (CGC)

Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class covers the 10 aspects of the AKC CGC test, the only AKC certificate available to all dogs – pure- and mix-breed. The CGC program is designed to encourage dog owners to train their dogs to be Canine Good Citizens and includes the following:

  • Accepting a friendly stranger.

  • Walking on a loose lead.

  • Sitting politely for petting.

  • Allowing basic grooming procedures.

  • Walking through a crowd.

  • Sitting and lying down on command and staying in place.

  • Coming when called.

  • Reacting appropriately to another dog.

  • Reacting appropriately to distractions.

  • Calmly enduring supervised separation from the owner.

The CGC test is administered on the last night of class. Children training dogs must be at least 12 years old. Dogs must wear a flat buckle collar for the test, no training collars, head halters or body harnesses are permitted during the test. 

Silly Pet Tricks/Intro to Clicker Training

This class will introduce handlers to clicker training which can be used for trick training or training any other behavior that the handler would like.  We will cover simple tricks such as Shake, Hi-Five, Wave, Beg, and Rollover.  Additional tricks will be discussed upon request. 

In-Board Training (Offered in Partnership with Thunderhawk Canine)

This program is a convenient service for owners who would like to have a trained dog, but do not have the time to participate in lessons and practice daily with their dog. Your dog will be trained at Thunderhawk Canine, and will have several training sessions each day as well as play sessions. Upon completion of the program, we will demonstrate each of the behaviors your dog has learned, the commands for each behavior and how to ensure that your dog will continue to honor these commands. Additional (2-3) follow-up lessons will be provided free of charge. Some problem behaviors can also be addressed as part of the In-Board Training program, please contact us to discuss your specific needs.