Chicago Tribune "Editor's Choice",Health
& Family section, November 12, 2000
Surviving the mean streets walking little Spanky down the streets
of suburbia presents few problems. Maybe the occasional confrontation
with a squirrel or and encounter with a mail carrier. But owning
a dog in the big city offers a whole new set of challenges: crowds,
traffic noise, inline skates, sewers and so on.
The goal of Cis Frankel's "Urban Dog: The Ultimate Street
Smarts Training Manual" is to help people teach their dogs
how to deal with city life.
Urban Dog has a lot of the usual training advice- preparing your
home for a new puppy, what to do when you bring your pup home, housebreaking
tips, etc. But Frankel, a longtime trainer and expert on canine
behavior, also covers topics such as how to create a street-smart
dog, and what special healthcare city dogs need.
The 237 page book goes for $19.95, a small price to pay to keep
your dog from nosing around in those mysterious puddles that dot
city sidewalks.
Dog Fancy "Four Bones" Award, February
2001 issue
City life can be hard, even dangerous, for a dog, but Cis Frankel,
dog trainer to the stars, helps you and your dog cope in her book
Urban Dog. 
Frankel teaches how to handle the stress of navigating your dog
through traffic, among other useful skills. Her training method
works for country dogs too. Filled with beguiling photographs of
Frankel's canine clients in action, Urban Dog takes a refreshing
get-it-done approach to training. Frankel's method has worked for
Oprah Winfrey's dogs, and it can work for yours.
AKC Gazette, January 2001 issue
An invaluable training manual. Although many different methods
of puppy rearing and dog training can be successful, owning a dog
in the big city has special challenges. Cis Frankel, author of Urban
Dog, is a dog trainer from the Chicago area who is remarkably adept
at communicating her unique insights and methods in a clear and
straightforward manner in written form. Even when addressing complicated
situations, the solutions are stated in a simple, step-by-step method.
The visual presentation is also geared toward clarity. The use
of subheads and sidebars makes each chapter easy to follow. A multitude
of photographs further illuminate Frankel's training techniques.
Frankel's strength throughout is her understanding of the emotional
and psychological reasons canines behave the way they do. What makes
this book invaluable to urban dog owners, though are her methods
for teaching puppies how to negotiate stairs and busy sidewalks.
One of the best sections deals with the inevitable stress that
a city dog experiences. Frankel shows us how to "read"
dogs and lessen their stress through exercises that are tailor-made
to fit the needs of individual dogs.
Frankel has provided us with an invaluable training manual that
is sure to enhance the relationship between you and your dog. Her
methods will increase your pet's confidence while making it a safer,
happier urban dog.
Chicago's Skyline Newspaper, Front Page feature
story, February 1, 2001
Cis Frankel's life has gone to the dogs. Frankel is a canine behaviorist
and breeder of champion Weimaraners, who specializes in training
dogs for "a high quality and safe life in urban settings."
"Urban Dog" is definitely geared toward dog owners, and
in it, Frankel covers everything one could possibly imagine regarding
rearing a pooch. Issues such as house training, stages of development,
commands, choosing a veterinarian, and park etiquette are among
the many issues discussed.
How does one communicate with a dog? Frankel admits she's always
been somewhat of a Dr. Doolittle…. "When I was a little
girl I wanted to play with puppies rather than anything else in
life," said Frankel, who lives I Lincoln Park with her husband,
Jeff, and their three Weimaraners, Indiana Bones, and daughters
Dolly and Daisy Bones… "I look at dogs as a culture, not
a separate species- there are leaders, there are followers, there
are ones that set alarms off. Eighteen hours a day for the past
12 years, I've studies dogs and people".
In "Urban Dog", Frankel teaches how to deal with the
specific difficulties of training and living with a dog in the city.
Along with basics of puppy training (housebreaking, obedience, basic
commands), she covers collar and leash management, housebreaking
in a high-rise, navigating parks, crowds and roadways to create
street-smart dogs, and a lot more.
And for those a bit skeptical, you're barking up the wrong tree.
"When I got a two-year old dog, she was wonderful but had
some behavior challenges that had me concerned. Cis was kind and
willing to help me work things out, particularly with the relationship
between the dog and my eight-year old son…She seemed to get
into the mind of the dog. I was so impressed with the way she was
able to make the dog seem to realize what the dog needed to do."
In addition to her work directly with dogs and owners, Frankel
founded the Canine Intelligence Agency (CIA)…. "Products,
tips, and tails" is how she has described what can be found
on her website at www.canineitelligenceagency.com.
On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Frankel, who has trained more
than 3000 dogs, teaches puppy classes at Parkview Pet Shop, 2222
N. Clark St. The shop owner, Joe O'Brien, made no bones about discussing
Frankel's unusual abilities.
"She is great… I have a puppy that I got a week ago and
it's extremely impressive the way she interacts with dogs. But more
important is the way she trains us to recognize what the dog's experiencing.
She shows us signs to lead the dog to being comfortable and basically
well-behaved.
And she's very thorough...she explains things very well and lets
the dogs be dogs, which is very important. …her dogs are the
best trained dogs I've ever seen."
Perhaps that's because Frankel practices what she preached with
them. "Live, love and laugh with your dog, is what she suggests
people do with their four-legged friend early-on. After all, anyone
who owns a dog know it's one of the primary relationships in a person's
like. My goal is the enrich and maximize that relationship so it
is rewarding and special".
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