Educating Charlie

Charlie has recently graduated from Puppy Kindergarten.  He's actually the proud recipient of two diplomas because we enrolled him in two different classes---What do you expect? Noby is Asian, she can't help herself.

Although the course is designed to teach basic obedience skills, the main objective is to help socialize the puppies by allowing them to meet other dogs/people and encounter new experiences, with the hope that the 'graduates' will grow into adulthood with a healthy, positive attitude toward other dogs and people. Most dogs that have behavioral issues and/or don't get along with strange dogs probably did not have positive social experiences during their puppy years.  These are the dogs that end up on shows like "Dog Whisperer" whose owners desperately seek professional help to address their dog's frustrating tendency to bite (and sometimes kill) the neighbor's beloved Chiwawa. This is why socialization during the critical period between 2-6 months is extremely important.  In addition to attending classes, it's recommended that owners give their puppies as much exposure to the outside world as possible by taking it to places like shopping malls where it can meet children, people of different sizes and races, hear different sounds, etc.  One of the courses gave Charlie a "Social Butterfly" checklist for him to complete by the end of the course to ensure he got as many varied and positive experiences as possible.  The list ranged from meeting the mailman to observing a horse.


Many owners feel somewhat conflicted between the benefits of socialization versus the chance of their puppy contracting Parvo because puppies are not completely vaccinated against the virus until they're around 4 months old.  Parvo is a potentially deadly virus that's contracted from other dogs who haven't been immunized.  One idea is to place the puppy in a carrying bag while he goes on his field trips.  That's what we did with Charlie before he completed of all his vaccinations.

Charlie really enjoyed kindergarten. He was a little scared during the first few classes and sat nervously between our legs while all of the other dogs played.  However, he soon grew more confident and began to play eagerly with the rest of his classmates. He became the hit of the class. All of the other dogs loved playing with him. Many of the other parents would say "everybody loves Charlie!" every time he trotted into class and the other dogs ran towards him.  The teacher even commented that he had a 'solid personality' and responded well to all dogs, despite their disposition.  In one of the classes, Charlie befriended "Duncan", a St. Bernard who was disinterested in all of the other dogs except for Charlie.   









Charlie's next class will be the "Beginners" course, which will focus on more intermediate obedience skills.  After that, he will go onto Intermediate and Advanced classes, until he finally gets his PhD... like his "Tiger Mom".