By Karen A. Soukiasian
The sacrifice of time, energy and expense spent on training and socializing a puppy, through the experience of puppy Kindergarten, BEFORE he or she develops inappropriate behaviors, is zilch, compared to the time, energy and expense of modifying inappropriate behavior, and retraining him or her.
Labradors are a good example of dependent dogs — dogs that like to be with their people all the time.
That’s not to mention the pleasure you will receive, sharing such a wonderful experience with your puppy. The joy of watching a gloppy, uncoordinated, excited, puppy, with the attention span of a gnat, transform into a focused, well-behaved puppy is incredible.
There is also an enormous added bonus in enrolling your pup in a positive reinforcement, punishment-free Puppy Kindergarten as soon as possible. It is the remarkable bonding that occurs when owner and pup share quality time together. That alone is priceless.
Puppy kindergarten first step in a lifetime of training
Experienced dog owners know, training your dog never ends. Your dog is always “a work in progress.” Thia nk of training, as building a house. You cannot put the roof on your new house, until you have a solid foundation. That starts at the bottom! The same holds true with dog training. Puppies, like children, are anxious to learn. The world is full of new and exciting learning experiences. When you show them you are pleased with their behavior and progress, they want only to learn more, so they can please you…the boss.
A little secret, not often mentioned is; dog trainers in truth do not train your dog. They train YOU, on LEADERSHIP SKILLS and training methods, so you will be familiar with how to effectively train your dog. A first-rate trainer spends as much, if not more time, working with the owner as they do the dog. They coach you on training techniques, voice control, and body language so that you can relay what you expect, appropriately and successfully to you puppy or dog.
If you have to give a second thought about the payback of Puppy Kindergarten, DO NOT DO IT! Your puppy will sense your negativity. You have already set them up to fail. Never, set your pet up to fail…they will not disappoint you. They will feel that is what you want, and that is what you will get. Bear in mind, your dog wants only to please you.
However, if you feel positive about the benefits of Puppy Kindergarten; as soon as your puppy is at least 8 weeks old, find a trainer who applies positive reinforcement, punishment-free methods of training. Sign that puppy up! You will be glad you did. Your puppy will be well on his or her way to being the dog you will be proud of. Even more importantly, you will share their excitement of looking forward to learning and new experiences with you.
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Dear Ms. Saukiasian, I really hope you will reconsider your stance regarding puppy kindergarten. For more than 10- years, I have been trying to explain to listeners & viewing audiences during my guest appearances on NPR & television the dangers and uselessness regarding such classes. They have no basis in scientific fact, in fact, the mother dog goes to extremes to prevent her puppies from interacting with other puppies & dogs. Dogs are scavengers (not wolves) and we as dog owners are subjecting them to many unnatural social conditions that can lead to unruly or aggressive behavior later in life. Oh course I approve and encourage puppy socialization BUT as the owner of a pup, it is my responsibility to teach my dog when, where and how that socialization takes place.
We are doing things to dogs today (training methods/socialization) that would have been rightfully scoffed at even 30 -years ago. I will have to assume you are not a canine behaviorists; otherwise you would never have posted such an article; which will be, sadly, to the detriment of those that follow your advice.
Sincerely,
Roger Alan Bernard
Mr. Bernard, my (rescue) dog had no training until the age of 3, and had serious behavioral issues that I myself had no training in how to deal with, UNTIL we went to Puppy Kindergarten. The socialization my dog received there, and the skills I learned for working with my dog, quite possibly saved his life. This was a dog with previous history of abuse, and serious Fear Aggression. Ms. Karen worked with us outside the group (she doesn’t just throw the animals into a group together, as you seem to suggest) and taught me how to work with and understand my dog. He now has the joy of being able to leave our yard with me, he is friendly and happy to meet every person we encounter, and he is able to play at the dog park, WITH other dogs when he shows that he is comfortable with them (and they with him – we always test first, rather than randomly allowing strange dogs to be loose together), and he is happier now than I would have believed possible. You are wrong to condemn someone else’s training method simply because it isn’t the same as yours.You yourself say “it is my responsibility to teach my dog…”. What you fail to address is that not all people have the training to do so, until they take their dog to a class such as Karen’s, or have a trainer like you come to them. Which method a person chooses is in fact their choice, and neither is wrong and neither is the only option.