# puppy kindergarten for small dog?



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i assume this is not like pre-school for kids, where you're expected to just leave them there and not be involved in supervision?

i would look at cooper's personality. bold and outgoing is fine; how resilient do you find him? he sounds well balanced psychologically. i'd go the first day and check out the class and how it's run. if it turns out to be something he really enjoys, i think you would want that for him. on the other hand, it's always possible to walk away entirely if your instinct says to do so. or leave before the run amok portion to keep him away from the bullies if there are any.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I always brought a mat and planted myself on the floor so that my girls had an easy to reach safe harbor when they needed it, but they were in classes for dogs 20 pounds and under.


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## sjenius (Jan 13, 2014)

Is there a way to contact the trainer and see if they're going to separate into proper play groups? I don't like puppy classes where they just run amok in one big group with no intervention. I like the idea of just sitting on the floor and being a safe haven as well.

Maybe try to find a meet up of other small dog puppy owners on craigslist or meetup?


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I think I will attend the first class next week and see how it goes plus be ready to scoop him up if needed. I do have two big dogs in the house, so he does need to know how to interact with them. If I avoid anything really negative in these first few weeks at home it would be ideal.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would take him for the controlled part, and sit out the free-for-all, unless he really, really wants to join in. That way you get the benefits of being around other dogs and people, but more control over the potentially rough play. I prefer play sessions where pups are matched for play style (even a small terrier puppy was too rambunctious for Poppy, while gentler pups were fun regardless of size), or with adults who have learned to self-handicap.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

I took Remy to puppy social hours and a puppy class. The social hours were great when other small dogs attended. They would separate the small and large puppies. In the puppy class, Remy was the smallest puppy there. The last 15 minutes were socialization. There was a golden puppy in the class that Remy just didn't like for some reason. We spent 5-10 minutes of the social time at the end of the class with Remy sitting on a table watching the activity and then we'd leave before everyone else. There were some times when Remy played with some of the larger puppies at a puppy social. He would run to me and get between my legs when he wanted to get out of the action. He also tended to run faster than the other pups.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I would go to the class and as you say be prepared to sit out the free play part or remove him from it if it gets over the top. If the person running the class is really good, they will be reading all of the puppies attitudes well and will call time outs for everybody to regroup. I am glad you have found a puppy class that will take younger puppies. If you are familiar with Ian Dunbar's Sirius Puppy Training, you will agree about the incredible value gained from early socialization. Good luck.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Went to the class this morning. It was good except for the run amok part. There were a couple of large, exhuberant puppies that overwhelmed several of the others. There was fear peeing, yips, etcetera. Cooper wanted to say hello to all the people, but was totally overwhelmed by boisterous puppies. He seems very people oriented compared to the others and much less dog oriented. Luckily, I could pay for one class and not the whole series.

...will not be doing that class again.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

outwest said:


> Went to the class this morning. It was good except for the run amok part. There were a couple of large, exhuberant puppies that overwhelmed several of the others. There was fear peeing, yips, etcetera. Cooper wanted to say hello to all the people, but was totally overwhelmed by boisterous puppies. He seems very people oriented compared to the others and much less dog oriented. Luckily, I could pay for one class and not the whole series.
> 
> ...will not be doing that class again.


With u already having 2 other dogs and knowing how to train a puppy, I would skip the class altogether, because I only took Lou to class because at the time she was an only child and I didn't have many friends I was new in town. 
I think you, your friends, family and 2 other great dogs will be plenty socialization for Cooper, and sometimes people that take their puppy to classes do so because their puppy already have issues that they don't know how to "fix", I took Lou to one class once and there was a white bulky dog that had human-aggression issues and was there to try to overcome that, the other beagle was a screamer etc.... Not a very healthy environment ! The teacher said the aggressive dog was "expelled" but either way, I felt like my puppy was perfect and just needed reinforcement training/socialization and the other dogs had issues the owner hoped to fix with class.... 
Just my personal experience. I'd say for someone with 1 puppy only, a good puppy class may be the only option they have but in your case I think u got all ya need right at home! 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Outwest, I know you are experienced with poodles. I am sorry the free play was too much over the top. It doesn't sound like it was well managed. I hope you will find another puppy K class though. Even though your pup is not an "only child" I am sure you realize that there are things puppies learn best from other puppies more so than from adult dogs (like really solid bite inhibition). Lou, I don't mean to be disagreeing with you, but as I recall Apollo was already older on arrival at your home. That is a different story.


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i really believe in following your instinct on this - especially someone with the experience you have with dogs. it hones your sense of what does and doesn't work for you and the dog.

many years ago i took my dog to obedience training. there was a large golden retriever that kept trying to check him out and my dog didn't like it. i just moved to another part of the group around the trainer and my dog is fine with goldens to this day. several years later i took my three-year-old dog to an off-leash dog park run by the local humane society where a jack russell kept bugging him. he finally shoulder and hip-slammed the jack russell into staying away, but to this day he hates almost all jack russells. at that dog park, i think i was the only owner who would not let my dog roll puppies. i believe most of the other owners thought i just didn't get it. 

yet years later i think my instinct was correct. there's an enormous (120 lbs, according to his owner) yellow lab where i live who hates my dog - actually, kind of fears him. and that's because when i had a female as well, my dog barked at any dog that came near, including the lab. the lab was a puppy then and he learned to fear and dislike my dog. one day the lab (grown into very large adulthood) and a shepherd mix got loose, saw me coming out of my unit with my two dogs, ran over and started circling and growling. i shortened up the leashes and told the dogs to stay. they knew there was an issue, because they both stood still and silent (and usually the male would have been barking at the other dogs). fortunately the lab's owner came running up and grabbed both dogs. she said, "they won't hurt you." sure, like i really believed that. but i brushed it aside, because i do think my own dog traumatized that lab as a puppy (however large it was at the time) just by barking at him. 

so sometimes "harm" happens in unexpected ways. i have always regretted that i had two dogs in hand and was unable to restrain the male from barking at other dogs. he only did it for as long as the female was part of the household, and the odd part was that she had him totally under her paw. she even made him sit and wait while she drank first from her water dish. when she walked away without even a look at him, he would go and get a drink of water from his own water dish. go figure.


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## MonicaLin (Mar 18, 2014)

sjenius said:


> Maybe try to find a meet up of other small dog puppy owners on craigslist or meetup?


This is an interesting idea. Has anyone done this before? I'm waiting for a puppy and am worried about puppy kindergarten classes too.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

MonicaLin said:


> This is an interesting idea. Has anyone done this before? I'm waiting for a puppy and am worried about puppy kindergarten classes too.



What aspect of puppy class worries you? Immunization protection or how the class is run? If you are worried about how the class is run I would suggest observing a session or two with a trainer or at a location you would consider going with your puppy to get a feel for the way it works. If it is about immunizations then you have to trust your gut, although there is evidence that it is safe to take puppies to class before they are fully immunized.

A good puppy class should focus mostly on socialization opportunities with lots of play time off leash. This shouldn't be a free for all, but well supervised by the instructor who will take bullies out of the mix when they do things they shouldn't to give the more reserved puppies a chance to enjoy each other. The bullies should also learn that they got their "time out" for being too rough by watching everybody else play while they have to sit out. Puppy classes should also expose puppies to lots of different kinds of people and objects like people in hats, with crutches, men with beards, walking on different kinds of surfaces, walking on unstable surfaces, etc.


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