Tucker Pup's provides training classes for adult dogs in Chicago. Your dog will learn many important life skills such as listening reliably, leash walking, recall, leaving objects alone, and more. All courses are taught by highly-experienced professional trainers, who will teach you the essential commands, hand signals, rewards, equipment, and more. We only use positive reinforcement, which is the best method for teaching your dog to build trust and respond to you. We create a very fun, safe, supportive environment, our small class sizes ensure personalized attention, and you can access all of the exercises on our online portal. Our Adult Manners classes set up you and your best friend for lifelong success together!
Manners Class Graduation Day
What is Included
The course includes:
- Training skills. The course teaches skills such as
- Walking without pulling
- Focusing on you
- Coming directly to you
- Waiting patiently before a command is given
- Not jumping on people
- Leaving items alone
- Dropping an item
- And more
- Access to TrainTrack™. Our proprietary online tool for supplementing your training instruction, that includes:
- Videos of all the exercises taught in class
- Written descriptions of all the exercises taught in class
- The homework for each session
- Ability to log your exercises and keep track of what you need to work on next
- Bonus materials
- Equipment. To help ensure you are as successful as possible
- Treat pouch
- Optional clicker
You will be amazed at what your dog can accomplish in only six weeks!
Enrollment Details
- You will have access to TrainTrack, so you can watch videos of any exercises covered in class
- You could attend another class for the one you missed, without your dog
- We don't recommend missing the final class, as this is the graduation
- Small class size - lots of personal attention
- Experienced, professional trainers with strong credentials
- Positive reinforcement only - no shock collars, choke chains, coercion, raised voices, or other negative methods
- Classes are fun and highly interactive
- Spacious classrooms. In a store like Petco, classes are in the middle of the store, and the area is very small
- Variety of times and days of the week to choose from
- Warm, professional atmosphere with a total commitment to customer service
- Proven track record of training thousands of dogs just like yours. For most dogs, our method can work over its lifetime, if implemented properly
- TrainTrack™, our proprietary online tool enabling you to watch videos of the exercises you have learned, log your progress, and track what needs the most work.
- Many types of classes, enabling you to continue building important skills
- Our trainers offer private lessons if you need help with behaviors not covered in class
Don't delay - classes fill up quickly! We take enrollment 365 days per year, and answer calls from 7am to 7pm each day. Any request submitted after 7pm will be processed the next morning.
FAQs
Is there off-leash playtime in the Adult Manners class?
Off-leash playtime is not guaranteed for Adult Manners classes. This is because some dogs don't handle it well, and things could get out of control quickly. However, if the trainer believes it is possible because all of the dogs can likely handle it well, and if everyone in the class agrees, the trainer can make the decision to offer it in a particular class. If you still didn't want to participate, it would not be mandatory, but you would need to sit outside of the room during that time.
What if my dog is not learning?
Your dog should start to get the hang of everything pretty quickly. You will be amazed at how fast they can learn, and most people are blown away at their dog's progress by the time graduation comes. But most importantly, we give you home exercises, and that is where the real learning takes place, with lots of repetition.
What if my dog does not have all of the vaccinations completed?
All dogs in Adult Manners class must have their full rounds of the vaccinations we require, which you can see by clicking the link above. This policy is for the health and well-being of all of the dogs who attend our classes.
What if I need to miss a class?
All of the exercises taught in class are available on TrainTrack, our online portal. Just watch the videos of the exercises, practice the exercises during the week, and you should be fine. We don't recommend missing graduation, just because it is so fun! Please not that you cannot bring your dog to a makeup class, because most of our classes are full, and this would cause too many to be in the room at once. In addition, the dogs get used to each other throughout the course, and it can be disruptive if a newcomer enters the class.
Are you going to train my dog in class?
Yes and no. Yes, we will be practicing a lot of important exercises in class, and your dog will be getting trained by virtue of participating in them. However, we are training YOU how to train your dog, because the classes last an hour but much more repetition is needed through the week. That is why we assign you homework exercises and give you the videos to rewatch if necessary.
Is there a guarantee that my dog will learn all of the skills?
No trainer in the world can make such a guarantee. However, we can say with certainty that if you come to every class, follow the trainer's instructions carefully, and practice at home, your puppy should really start to learn the behaviors quite well. Some dogs take longer than others due to factors such as anxiety or genetics, but just be patient and positive - you should be amazed at the results.
Can I get a refund if my dog can't handle it, my schedule changes, etc.?
Classes are non-refundable if they start within 14 days. This is because by giving a space to you, we took it away from someone else. If your dog can't continue in the class, you can still attend without him. In addition, there is still great value in following the home exercises on our TrainTrack online portal.
Can I transfer to another course once I enroll?
As long as it at least 14 days before the course starts, you can transfer to another with no problem. If there is less than 14 days but the course hasn't started yet, call us to discuss. Once the course starts, you are not able to transfer.
Positive Reinforcement Methods
Tucker Pup's only uses positive reinforcement methods. We do not use prong collars, choke chains, shock collars, poking, yelling, leash popping, or other aversive methods. Dominance can easily cause your dog to distrust you, and to only comply in order to avoid a negative outcome. This isn't truly learning, and can cause your dog's behaviors to become much worse.
Positive reinforcement is much more effective for creating long-term learning and a stronger relationship with your dog. Dogs love training when this style is being used, are much more responsive to their owners, and are much happier in general. In short, positive reinforcement gives you the best chance of success, and can be the fastest way to get results. If you are hesitant, please trust us on this one and feel free to ask us questions.
Positive reinforcement combines an encouraging tone of voice, clear instruction, relaxed body language, the use of rewards (e.g., treats, favorite toy), patience, and empathy.
If you are concerned about giving treats, keep in mind that they work very well for most dogs, you can phase them out at your discretion, and it is possible to use something else that your dog values, such as a favorite toy.
Customer Testimonial
Excellent class - Angela is a very talented instructor and loves what she does. It was a pleasure to take part in the class and our dog did very well.
- Joni Payne
TrainTrack™ Online Portal
Re-Watch Training Exercises on Your Device
The trainer will show you the exercises in person, then you can access TrainTrack to see the homework and other helpful information. Many exercises include videos, and all of them include instructions. It also includes handouts and a documentation of what you covered. This is incredibly helpful because there is a lot of information to take in, and it can be hard to remember everything that was demonstrated and discussed.
In addition, you can log your progress on TrainTrack as you are working on your home exercises. This can be invaluable for ensuring that you spend enough time, in various settings, for your dog to learn the methods thoroughly.
For private lessons, you can even upload videos to your trainer, and they can watch them in between sessions to help provide advice.
TrainTrack works on any Internet-connected device, so you can use it on your mobile phone, even when you're on a walk or working outdoors.
TrainTrack is used for all of our training services, including private lessons and classes.
To access TrainTrack, you must log in to our website. On your Customer Center, you will see the link to TrainTrack towards the top of the page.
Customer Reviews
Yelp has listed Tucker Pup's as one of the top 100 local businesses in the country in 2025. We are the only pet business who made the list from Chicago, and the only pet resort / training business who made the list nationally.
See the List
Neighborhoods We Serve
Tucker Pup's is located in the West Loop / Fulton Market District neighborhood. People come to us from all over Chicago, especially from Bucktown, Gold Coast, Lake View, Lincoln Park, Old Town, River North, River West, South Loop, Streeterville, Ukrainian Village, University Village, West Town and Wicker Park.