Back to School for Rover, too

By Marilyn Marks
Owner of The Good Dog Spot! offering day care,
night care and training in Bloomfield.

Kindergarten for puppies?  Yes, puppies can benefit greatly from a well-run puppy class. Like kids who benefit from learning the basics of letters, numbers and how to participate nicely in social groups, puppies learn the basics of learning how to learn, how to pay attention to their owners and how to play nicely in social groups.  Kindergarten age for puppies is 12 to 16 weeks (3 to 4 months) old, so it’s easy to miss the opportunity, but at that age pups are owner-focused and easy to mold.  It’s also the most important time in their life to expose them to new things, such as car rides, busy pet stores, different kinds of flooring, people in wheel chairs, etc.  If you have the chance, get your pup off to school!
While under 16 weeks is the best opportunity you have for laying a foundation, the "teenage" stage is the most important time to start training if you haven’t and to maintain it if you did.  From 4 to 6 months puppies become slightly more world-focused then when they were younger, but they are still cute an easy to handle, kind of like a school age child (5-10 years old).  By 8 months old, however, most dogs are beginning to be emotionally and physically challenging to their people.  True, some of it is just puppy rambunctiousness that they will mature out of, but most of it is from the dog starting to test his/her personality and limits.  Like human teens, they need structure to bloom in, but not necessarily strictness to rebel from.  If the structure of communication isn’t already in place, it is a tough time to start, but still important.  If you took a kindergarten class with your pup, keep up the training.  If you didn’t, get enrolled in a class with your ‘puppy" (at 8 months, he/she is much older than you think) as soon as you can.  It will be worth the effort!
Can you teach an old dog new tricks?  Yes you can; there is always room for education!  You can’t turn an 18 or 25 year old person into an Olympic gymnast, but many untrained, reckless dogs are adopted into new homes where they become agility, obedience or pet therapy stars.  It takes work of course (results may not be typical) but it is not uncommon.  Your goals may not be so lofty, just to get Rover to stop barking at things out the window, jumping on guests or running off, but effort will pay off.  If you’ve neglected some area of your dog’s behavior or adopted an adult dog, seek a trainer who can help you address these needs and you may even be able to teach your dog that old desirable trick:  bring me a beer.
No matter the age of the dog, if you put in some effort and attention to training, your rewards will be beyond measure.