At Play All Day, we believe that training is one of the greatest gifts you can give to your dog.

Not only is training fun and rewarding for a dog, it also strengthens your bond, and most importantly, gives a dog the skills needed to be an active part of a family’s life, both inside and outside of the home.

Training Options That Meet Your Needs

Day Training

Group Classes

With this option, our Trainer will work with your dog, while at daycare, with one-on-one instruction with you so that you can continue to build on what is learned at the daycare.  

With this option, you will train your dog in a group class setting, under the direction of one of our trainers.  

Our Trainer

Jenny Lapke

KPA-CTP

Professional Dog Trainer, Karen Pryor Academy – Certified Training Partner

The Good Dog Training Academy owner and head trainer Jenny Lapke is thrilled to have the opportunity to help Play All Day offer training that will create confident, well-mannered family dogs through the use of positive, scientifically valid dog training methods. 

With over 10 years of experience training service dogs through Paws Giving Independence and graduating from the Karen Pryor Academy,  Jenny has a unique skill set that allows her to help Pet Parents create reliable, well-rounded family dogs. Jenny puts a strong emphasis on setting both dog and owner up for success and ensures dog owners have the proper understanding to maintain their dog’s behavior. 

When Jenny isn’t helping Peoria dogs and their owners, you can find her attending dog training conferences, continuing her education, and hanging out with her own dogs Maddie, Bella, Tilly, and Sadie.

What is positive reinforcement dog training and why does Play All Day believe in it?

Rooted in 60+ years of research and validation, positive reinforcement training relies on giving the learner the necessary information to succeed, while being sure to “reinforce” desirable behaviors. In turn, this teaches your dog to enjoy behaving appropriately, leading to a friction-free lifetime of trust and companionship.

Day Training

Day Training is like a jump start for you and your dog’s training.  By having an experienced trainer teach your dog behaviors, learning occurs more quickly, and the results tend to “stick” better.  Throughout the program,  Jenny will then teach you how to ask for and reward the desired behaviors.  Along with individual training for you and your dog, written resources, video resources, and actual video footage of your dog learning are included.

Your dog will participate in Day Training while attending their normal day of daycare. Day training is only available for current daycare clients.

Here are some of our program offerings (more to come in the future, including custom programs).

Focus & Control

is the cornerstone program of our offerings.  Without the ability to pay attention in distracting situations and the ability to control impulses, more advanced behaviors are impossible.  Exercises geared towards focus on the trainer, targeting, name recognition, and “leave it” are part of the curriculum.  There are two levels of this program; a beginner and advanced level.

Loose Leash Walking

is a program that will teach your dog the basics of walking on a loose leash, inside & outside, with moderate distractions. It should be noted that loose leash walking is an advanced behavior and does require that a dog has a good understanding of many of the skills taught in our Focus & Control program.  For this reason, this offering is only available with approval from our Trainer after an assessment of your dog, or after completion of the Focus & Control program.

Out & About

is another advanced offering that will prepare you and your dog for time together in social settings such as visiting a store, going to the Vet’s office, dining in an outdoor café, and other similar situations.  Focus & Control as well as the Loose Leash Walking program are recommended prior to this offering.  If you feel your dog already has the skills necessary to be successful in the program, our Trainer can evaluate your dog and possibly give approval without those classes.

Customized Programs

and regular ongoing training are also available.  Email or call us to discuss this option further.

Our standard program offering is 5 weeks long.  Your dog will be trained multiple times throughout the day during these 5 weeks.  For some dogs, multiple sessions per day is difficult and over-tiring (especially in addition to daycare).  There will also be an option for fewer training sessions per day, but spread over more weeks.  Jenny will advise you on what she feels is best for your dog.

To enroll your dog, click on the online fillable enrollment form below.  Upon receipt of the enrollment form, we will be in touch with next steps.

For questions regarding this program, please email training@playalldaydoggiedaycare.com

Group Classes

Our current offerings for class include Puppy Socialization, Puppy Training Class, and Levels Training Classes.  All of our classes are open to the public.  You do not have to be a current daycare client at Play All Day to participate. 

All of our classes offer a rolling enrollment, so you can enroll and start class at any time without waiting for the next session to begin.  Read below for more information on what each class offers.

Levels

Have you ever taken a dog training class and either felt bored because you and your dog were ahead of the other class members, OR felt overwhelmed and rushed because your dog needed a little extra time to master a skill?  Our Levels offering allows for each dog and Pet Parent to learn at their own pace. 

Our Levels class is 4 weeks in duration.  Once you complete your 4 weeks, you can jump right back into another 4 weeks of class and build on what you learned in the previous session.  At this point, we have 5 different “levels”.  You may move through a level in less than 4 weeks and will automatically proceed to the next level for the remainder of your 4-week session.   And again, if you need more time to master a skill, you have it. 

Has your dog participated in our Day Training?  If so, Levels is a great way to continue with your dog learned in a more distracting environment.  Because your dog has learned many of the skills already, you will most likely start at a higher level and proceed further. 

Skills learned in our Levels offering includes (but not limited to)

  • Focus on Handler
  • Name recognition in varying levels of distraction
  • Sit & Down with verbal and hand signal commands
  • Touch (placing nose on handler’s hand when requested)
  • Polite greetings of strangers
  • Stay/Wait
  • Come when called
  • Loose leash walking
  • Leave it
  • Settling on a mat
  • Canine Good Citizenship preparation

Please note that all of these skills will not be learned in one session of Levels.  The first levels will focus on control with distractions and basic obedience.  From there, the sky is the limit if you choose to do more Levels. 

Classes are one hour in length and offered on Mondays at 6:30 pm

A 7:30 class may be offered if the 6:30 session is consistently full

Class size is limited to 6 participants

Each session is 4 weeks in duration

We offer a rolling enrollment so you will be able to join shortly after you enroll.

Puppy Socialization

In this class, you will be able to bring your puppy aged 8 – 12 weeks for an informative and fun offering.  This is such a crucial time for your puppy to be exposed to the right things in the right way, and in a safe environment.  Even though your puppy may not be fully vaccinated, they will be safe in our environment because all the dogs in our facility are up to date on vaccinations.  We will want you to talk with your veterinarian about getting your puppy’s Bordetella vaccine prior to participation.  Our open enrollment will allow you to join shortly after you are enrolled so that you don’t miss out on this very important socialization window. 

 

This class will offer puppy playtime (bring those phones for great pics), exposure to new things, puppy handling by other people, and some time for you ask your pressing questions about raising your puppy.  In addition there will be some discussion topics on body language, appropriate play, fear periods, potty training, crate training, nipping, and more.

 

Classes are 45 minutes in length and is offered on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm

Class size is limited to 6 participants

Each session is 4 weeks in duration

Proof of vaccination required for all classes. We require Rabies, Distemper/Parvo, and Bordetella. Please attach vaccination history to enrollment form. If your dog currently attends Play All Day for daycare, we already have your vaccination records and you do not need to attach to your enrollment form.

Class Fees

Payment of fees is required to hold your place in class.  Payment must be made prior to your first class.  Payment cannot be accepted during class.  You may pay Monday – Friday by calling our office (309) – 698-1200 between 6:30 am – 6:00 pm and paying by credit card.  If you have our App, you may pay via the App.  

If you would like to get our App, here are the links

Class fees are as follows:

Day Training      $500.00

Levels Class        $150.00

Puppy Social       $100.00

**Plans are non-refundable unless we receive your cancellation in writing, one week prior to the start of the first class