Professional Working Dog Services Presents
Puppy Kindergarten
Dogs Aged: 8 weeks to 14 weeks at start of class Prior Training Required: None
At this age, puppies are still developing their canine social skills and learning how to interact appropriately with other dogs. Play helps reinforce and teach socialization and dog to dog language including polite dog-to-dog greeting behavior, being gentle with their teeth during play, and reading social cues to determine whether another puppy or dogs wants to play or be left alone.
This six-week series is designed around structured play times, teaching the handler to both look for and praise appropriate play versus not appropriate play, and spend some time talking about the benefits of certain equipment versus others.
Handlers will learn to use “yes” and “good job” as verbal reinforcements which ‘mark’ for the dog what are the behavior or chain of behaviors we want them to increase. We start with the basics of these commands: sit, down, loose leash walking, come when called, stay, leave it, and [learning their] name game. This class uses age and health appropriate treats, but typically we always want to have a hand signal or verbal cue with us and not always a treat, especially as our dogs grow up and are out and about in public, or enter dog events like formal obedience, Rally, therapy volunteering, agility, search and rescue or nose work.
Held: 6855 Lake Michigan Dr, Allendale, MI 49401
(Next door to Lake Michigan Animal Hospital just west of 68th St. and M-45)
Class Dates: Wednesdays, January 15 – February 19, 2020
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Cost: $95
Contact: Professional Working Dog Services
877-793-3647 (877-PWD-DOGS)
Trainer: Terrilynne Lymburner
Association of Professional Dog Trainers