Bark Avenue Playcare Inc — Local services in West Chicago Township

Bark Avenue is excellent! We needed a new training program for our 8 month Doberman after our initial puppy training program was turning out to be less than effective. We signed Violet up for the six week training program after attending the free Saturday workshop, and right from the free session, we learned how to simply go for a calmer walk without our eager puppy pulling us down the sidewalk—something we had not been able to do after months of puppy training with a different provider. We were pleasantly surprised to see a training approach that focuses on our puppy’s natural instincts, rewarding with food but avoiding dependence on treats, and we are heading into our last session tomorrow with a well trained and newly skilled puppy. We know we have to continue training in different environments and under different situations to reinforce everything she has been taught, but we know how to do this through the training process where Daniel walked us through the day’s lessons after each session. An added benefit was that we know Violet enjoyed learning because she is excited to go to her training sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We are so appreciative of this experience as it has helped our whole family (including our 3 children) build a better and more enjoyable relationship with our lovely puppy. We also found a trustworthy place to board Violet when we have to travel (we never boarded our first Dobie because we were always worried about the quality of care), but Bark Avenue’s team is passionate about their canine clients, and we’ve had a great experience with boarding and day care for...

We love Bark Ave and all that Daniel and his staff have done for our favorite furry family member Mickey Blue. He’s a spirited, sometimes stubborn Kerry Blue Terrier and has benefited from numerous training sessions at Bark Ave as well as weekly daycare sessions under the attentive and caring watch of the friendly staff.

The most valuable of all the training sessions Mickey has had throughout his 8 years came after the birth of our first child. We tried following the typical advice you see online to “prepare” a dog for the arrival of a baby. But none of that worked for Mickey. We called Daniel and after one session lasting a hour at our house, we were able to better communicate and set boundaries around the baby with Mickey. Now Mickey helps keep an eye on his “little brother.” A true redemption story.

Bark Ave is full of other stories just like ours. They want to help the dogs and their humans live harmoniously and happily. Sometimes that simply means putting the dog in situations where they can be successful and avoiding situations or places that will lead to bad behavior and negative outcomes.

We started bringing Mickey Blue to Bark Ave when he was 2 years old after trying several other daycares around the city. We can’t thank Daniel enough for providing such a welcoming and reliable place for daycare, training at all levels and boarding overnight over the...

Daniel is awesome!! We were recommended to Bark Ave by our neighbor who had his dog trained with Daniel. Our puppy is only 3 months old and we had to head out of town for 9 days. Daniel happily took her in for a board and train at his home, even though she is still very young and was also just recovering from just being sick. He gave her her meds and brought her with him everywhere, even to Lowes! He sent us very informative videos every day of their lessons and explained his processes in detail. We've had her back home for 5 days now and you can see a drastic difference in her. She is still a pup but she is way less bitey and her recall is incredible. She is so much more obedient, and we feel way more confident in our ability to train her properly with what we learned. We are excited to continue training with...