Andiamo - 11 weeks old
Wednesday evenings are very special to Andi and me. He just started kindergarten at Dog Days, in Vancouver, WA., with Kim Harney. Dog Days is a wonderful training school for dogs. One special feature they offer is a very safe puppy class. Socializing puppies is especially important during certain windows of time. What may take only minutes to learn during these windows, may take much longer to learn at a later period in their lives. Some of these windows of time are before your puppy has finished his vaccinations. Veterinarians may have advised that you not take your puppy out in public, nor around other dogs until the vaccinations are completed. While this is certainly important information, dog behaviorists have discovered that socializing is also very important and it may be just as important to the puppy's well being as his vaccinations. Most veterinarians agree with this, when it is a well maintained, safe environment. In order to make it safe for the young dogs, Wednesday is cleaning day. A professional cleaning service comes out and thoroughly cleans and disinfects the entire facility. Then the doors are locked and no dogs are allowed in the building until after puppy kindergarten class. Each puppy must present with a certificate from their veterinarian saying they are up to date - for their age - on vaccinations. Most have had their initial vaccination. The youngest dog is 8 weeks old, and the oldest is 16 weeks. You can stay in the on-going kindergarten class until your puppy's 16th week of age.
When we enter the classroom we find all kinds of interesting equipment. There is a wobble board, push toys, (that children may use), that make noises, cloth tunnels, a large stuffed dog, a stroller with a lifelike doll, crutches, a wheelchair, a large ball, a red wagon, an open umbrella, a small staircase, and just too many things to remember. All are things a new puppy might encounter and should learn not to fear. Then of course there are all the other cute puppies. I have taken every puppy of mine to this class. I don't know who loves it more, me or the puppy. At one point we all sit on the floor in a circle and play "pass the puppy". We hold our puppy until the little timer rings. Then we pass the puppy we are holding to the person to our right or left. We hold that puppy, love it, and with permission give it treats and help them to learn to enjoy strangers.
In kindergarten the puppies learn to meet our eyes, to get a treat and to focus on what we are telling them. They learn to sit, to down, and to come when their name is called. They also learn to play appropriately with others. Numerous small pens are set up for 3 - 5 puppies at a time where they get used to playing with others. Different puppies are paired up at different classes. If a puppy is too rough, the helpers make certain he does not frighten a timid puppy. Some puppies just like to sit under a chair and watch others for a while. They are perfectly welcome to do that if it helps them feel safer for a while. They are treated every time they look at the other people and puppies, to encourage socializing. It is such a wonderful way for them to learn.
Well, our second class was two days ago and I had plans to hold this blog post until after that class. I planned to take many more pictures and I wanted to have the new homework paper from that second class. Things do not always work as planned. Although I was careful to charge my camera; to have plenty of good treats of several varieties all packed ahead of time in our school bag. (I also had my purse in that bag) When it came time to leave, I put Andi in the car, apologized to Pirate and Journey for not taking them with us, and off we went, down from our hilltop home, and onto the Interstate highway, for our 45 minutes drive to Andi's kindergarten class. We were probably about 7 miles from home when I realized I had forgotten our school bag. My first thought was the treats.... but oh well, we would stop in Woodland and pick up some cheese sticks or something else in the grocery store. But wait... my purse was also in that bag - so no money, credit cards, or driver's license, or phone/camera. If I tried to go back to get them we would probably miss half our class. Okay, think of something else! Fortunately I often put coins in my car ashtray. Sometimes it builds up to a few dollars. This time it was only about three dollars. I stopped in Woodland and found a sale of two cheese sticks for 88 cents. I carried the little ashtray into the store and with help from the cashier we managed 5 cheese sticks. The instructor usually has some extra treats, so I figured that we would be okay in the treat department. The stop cost us a few minutes extra time, but we made it just a couple minutes late. I felt most sad to be missing all the photo opportunities.
Andi was so excited. He of course remembered last week, so this week he was even more excited. He spotted Rose, his new girlfriend, who was equally excited to see him.
Andiamo & Rose
The photo is from last week, and unfortunately no new pictures this week. I will try to do better at the next class.
Last week our homework was to "mark" our puppy's good behavior with a word ("yes") or a clicker. We follow the mark with a treat. We pet and handled our puppy for at least a minute, several times a day, to get him used to being touched in a gentle and loving way on his head, his feet, his ears, etc.
Use meals to train. Ask for downs or play the "whiplash headturn" by saying your puppy's name and the instant he turns toward you, teach them that it is a great thing to pay attention when you say their name. This is the start of a good recall.
Play hide and seek with your puppy a few times this week, in the house and in the yard. When he starts looking for you, call his name. Have a play party when he finds you. Practice sit and down, at least 3 times every day.
Reach for your puppy's collar with your left hand, and give him a treat with your right hand at the same moment. Then play with the puppy for 30 seconds. Do this five times a day. This is an excellent way to teach the puppy not to dodge from you when you wish to catch hold of his collar.
This week our homework is to continue with sit and down commands; continue with handling your puppy; continue using your puppy's meals to train. Ask for sits or downs or play the whiplash headturn game. Now play the come and go version. Toss a dry treat away. Let your puppy chase it. As soon as he has eaten it, call him and have him run back to you for another cookie! You want your puppy diving back and forth running back to you each time he is called.
Play hide and seek a few times a week, inside and outside. Practice the Pressure on the Collar game. You put pressure on the puppy's collar and he should notice and give into the pressure. As soon as the leash gets slack, mark and treat.
Practice walking on a loose leach. Start in quiet places, not a busy park or squirrel filled yard. As soon as your leash gets tight, pat your leg and call puppy back. Don't pull back! If the leash is tight, don't go on. If you are in a hurry, pick the puppy up. The more he practices what you don't want, the harder it will be for him to learn what you do want!
It is amazing how easy training is when started this young and with such good behavior rewards. Andi already knows sit and down - almost as if he had already been trained to do it, especially the "sit".
As we were going to our car, a woman came over to us in the parking lot. She had spotted Andiamo and she came over to see if I was the person who owned Pirate, and had been in class with her and her Boxer puppy, Benny. That was about eight years ago.
Baby Pirate
Baby best friends, Benny & Pirate
After kindergarten class, we did not see Benny much, if at all. Benny lived in Vancouver I think and we each sort of followed our own interests. Pirate did some conformation showing in UKC. He got his Championship and then his Grand Championship. He placed in the UKC Top Ten in the Nation and he went to Premier, in Michigan. One night we were at a conformation class at Dog Days. We were practicing the "stack" that Pirate needed to do in dog shows.
In the next room, there was an obedience class in session. All of a sudden Pirate started pulling me over to the little gate that led to the other class. He was suddenly far more interested in what they were doing in the next room. He did not give up and he became insistent. There was a dog in the obedience class that was also carrying on and barking. I tried to pull Pirate away so he would stop disrupting the other class. He would not mind me, which was very unusual for Pirate. Suddenly it dawned on me that the other dog was Benny. We had not seen him in over a year. Just brought tears to my eyes to see how much they remembered and still loved each other. I wish this had a happy ending, but Benny's mom said he had died a couple years ago, from a rare form of cancer. I do want to report that she does have another beautiful Boxer pup. This one is a female and just as pretty as Benny. I will never forget Benny and Pirate and how amazing their friendship was. If anyone has any doubts about the friendships dogs form at such early ages, I can assure you they do not forget. I would never miss out on giving these experiences to my puppies.
