Puppy Classes

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Casey and Cody start a 6-week series of puppy classes tomorrow nigh. Any suggestions (other than to stand where they can't see each other!) Hubby will work with one and I will work with the other one. Can't wait.

[Veronica Z.]

Hooray! Hope you have lots of fun. I'm sure the trainers have given you lots of suggestions. I would say, in case they haven't yet, to take a variety of treats. I found that I would go through at least 3 or 4 over the course of one class. Also, you may want to get some kind of harness for loose leash walking, I really love the Easy Walk Harness and it was the one that our trainer preferred. If you do go with something like the Easy Walk, you may not need it right away but it's cheaper to buy from Amazon than it is from Petco, etc. and that way you'll have time to wait for the shipment to arrive. Also, don't forget a camera for puppy play time. It can be so adorable! Good luck! :)

[Marcia & MoneyPenny]

We just completed our 6 week puppy class. Take LOTS of treats & different varieties. I'm sure the trainers gave you a list of what you need. We also took bones that I had stuffed with peanut butter & frozen. It will keep them quietly occupied when needed. The Easy Walk harness is great, we are onto the large one already. There were a total of 5 in our class; 2 Goldens, a Labradoodle & some little white thing that never left her rug & Penny. All of them were slugs except Penny who was off the walls so she was used for most of the demonstrations. I guess the trainer figured that if Penny could do it, certainly the others could. All those treats can result in some very loose poops.
She got her certificate, amazingly. We still struggle with meet & greet but we are working on it.
Good luck & have fun.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Great idea. When we picked the boys up from the breeder, she gave us a "treat bag" that clips onto your belt. We will be able to fill that with some treats or kibble - - at least for the first night to see what will work best. I am really looking forward to this. I know they will do well.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Please pardon me if I brag - a lot!  Cody and Casey were the STARS of the class tonight. :)  They learned sit, down, stand and crawl while others in the class couldn't seem to master sit.  The teacher even said at one point, "Now you know why doodles are such popular dogs!"  She kept using them as her examples. The only problem came when she swapped Casey out for Cody and while not watching him, Casey got behind her and got into her treat bag. He was in heaven for about 3 bites before being caught.

This brings me to a question - what does everyone use for training treats?  We just used some chopped up turkey franks tonight, but I want to get a better quality training treat. The time just slipped up on me and I haven't had time to order anything yet - and am not totally sure what is the best thing to use. Any suggestions?

[Jen W]

Congrats!  I wish I could say that my puppy was the star of the class, but pooping in the middle of the room on the first day of class took her out of the running for that honor. 

It probably depends on the dog, but I have found that freeze dried turkey or chicken works best for my pup.  At home where there are no distractions I can just use pieces of kibble, though I will use pieces of cheese for great performance or for obeying "come" which I was taught to always heap rewards on.

And in case you were wondering, if you send a pair of pants through the wash with a pocket full of freeze dried turkey, the turkey will not rehydrate.  Now you know!

[Marcia & MoneyPenny]

The freeze dried treats are the best. Penny adores them. I buy them at Amazon.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Oh my - how funny. So sorry, I know it wasn't funny for you! I will try hard not to leave treats in my pocket - - but who knows.

[Suzanne Newman]

I just KNEW IT!  They ARE so extremely smart!!!  We had a similar experience with our Whidbey!  She LOVED her classes, and we will enroll her in Puppy 201 in the fall.

[Veronica Z.]

I use a variety of the freeze dried meat treats as well as ZiwiPeak treats which my picky pup adores. :)

[Kyoko]

Yay! How exciting!! Great job!!

[Suzanne Newman]

Whidbey just went through the six-week program at Petco.  It was great!!  Make sure you guys have LOTS of treats!  Doodles are sooooo smart!  They will be the superstars of the class!

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

The boys are so much fun! But it is interesting to watch them in "training." When we take them into seperate rooms to work with them, once they realize what is going on, they stay in a "sit" position just about the whole time. We can easily get them into "down" or "stand" for their treat, then they immediately sit again. However, at other times when we tell them to sit, they won't do it. Have to treat them to get the proper response.

We have also been separating them a lot during the day - taking them for rides separately, walking them separately and just in general spending time with each of them without the other one around. We are determined to avoid the "litter-mate syndrome" while giving them a playmate. In doing so, I notice that they are spending a lot more time aggravating the dachshunds and the cat - all who are attempting to teach them manners. I LOVE all of my babies!