SYCAMORE – For the past 20 years, Kimberly Bobka was been working to make man’s best friend an even better one.
“There’s nothing better than seeing them from when they start and they’re wild and unruly to when they’re happy and well-trained,” said Bobka, owner of Teacher’s Pet K-9 School in Sycamore.
To mark her 20 years of privately training and taking care of dogs, Bobka is offering five deals for customers throughout 2013. A customer can pick only one package deal, but it can be renewed many times throughout the year, she said.
Bobka offers three levels of training: basic, intermediate and advanced, as well as agility and therapy classes. In basic training, dogs learn basic commands such as “sit,” “down” and “heel.” The intermediate and advanced stages are the same kind of training, but with more potential distractions thrown in.
“In intermediate, you perfect those [commands] and learn to do them off-leash and with heavy distractions -- other dogs, animals,” Bobka said. “Advanced, you keep going and get better and better.”
Bobka also offers a “Doggie Day Care,” in which people can drop off their dogs for the day. She also provides pet sitting, boarding and treadmill rental.
Bobka has been training dogs since she was really young, but it wasn’t until she was 14, when she met a professional trainer in Chicago, that she became serious about the profession. It was only a matter of time before she opened her first training school in Streamwood.
“I got more and more experience and started to do the therapy work and police dog training,” Bobka said. “And kept on going and showing mine in obedience, training and agility [competitions].”
Bobka said she always wanted to relocate to Sycamore.
In 2000, she made the move to 15408 Plank Road. Next to her house is a 3,000-square-foot warehouse where Bobka does her training. The concrete floors are heated, she said, and it has a garage door so the animals can come in and out at will.
Some dogs are easier to train than others, she said. Those breeds include Labrador retrievers, German shepherds and Rottweilers.
“Any dog, if you start with them as a puppy, you can work with them,” she said, adding that she specializes in German shepherds and Rottweilers. She said, however, that every dog is different.
Bobka said there is an unlimited benefit to having a trained dog.
“You can control them in situations where there are distractions,” Bobka said. “Taking them to the vet without worrying about them. Things like that.”
Teacher's Pet K-9 School
Address: 15408 Plank Road, Sycamore
Phone: 815-895-3866
Website: www.teacherspetk9school.com.
