Photo by Ian Gleadle
Maggie, a 6-month-old Pomeranian, and Wilson, a 4-month-old Australian Shepherd, were happy to pose for their graduation photo with their owners (l-r) Lauren Hamilton, 9, and Alexis Hamilton, 11.

Photo by Ian Gleadle
At the end of graduation day, the lovable Saint Bernard puppy, Genesis, needed a rest after all the excitement.

Puppies learn to mind their manners

Pierre the poodle heard his name called and trotted mannerly to the center of the room. The little poodle exuded the confidence of a dog that knows how to behave in public. Sticks the German Shepherd was called up next, and he practically glided along the floor he was so smooth in his walk beside his owner. Then it was Genesis’ turn. Genesis? Genesis didn’t hear her name. She was in the middle of a power nap, with her eyes shut and her chin resting gently on the floor.

Genesis? Suddenly, the cute Saint Bernard puppy realized it was her big moment. She jumped up and made quick, polite strides across the floor. It was time to receive her Recognition award. That is, let her owner receive the award. It was puppy graduation day and Genesis was one of twelve puppies to participate in the graduation ceremony held Wednesday, Aug. 11 at Cascade Kennels in Woodinville. Like the other puppies in the room, Genesis had just successfully completed a basic dog obedience class called Puppacino.

Unlike human graduations, the puppy graduation ceremony didn’t require caps and gowns. Nor did it involve long-winded speeches about “leaving the hallowed halls of education ...” After the certificates of achievement were passed out, a few of the happy grads gave their owners sloppy, wet kisses.

Puppacino is a puppy kindergarten class designed for puppies 8-20 weeks old. In the class, puppies learn basic commands like “sit” and “down and wait” as well as how to properly interact with other dogs and people.

“They learn a little puppy etiquette,” said Becky Bishop, dog trainer and class teacher. Bishop and her husband Dave own and operate Puppy Manners, a family dog school in Woodinville. “I’ve been training dogs over 20 years and professionally for 10 years,” said Bishop. “And I’ve been teaching group classes at Cascade Kennels for three years. I coach owners how to handle their puppy if their puppy makes a mistake. The class is basically ‘Don’t Embarrass Me in Public 101.’ People want to go out and have a cup of coffee and relax with their dog and not have their dog jump and act rude in public.”

Group training classes range from a beginning puppy preschool class (Java Jumpstart) to beyond puppyhood (Star-Barks 101) to an advanced therapy dog class (Ruff Read.) “I get to start with them and I get to finish with them,” Bishop said and pointed out that dog trainer Katie Morrel teaches the dog “college”’ courses at Cascade Kennels before they return to her for the Ruff Read Therapy Dog Class. When asked about the coffee-related names that many of the classes have, Bishop said, “I came up with names that were different from all other dog school classes. I think having a puppy is fun, training should be fun and the names of the classes should be fun. It’s about taking your puppy out and about real life training.”

It’s also about the family, she explained. “I encourage the whole family to come to the classes. It’s their family dog and they all have to be on the same page. The classes bring the family closer and my goal is for their dog to become a good family dog.”

Continuing, she added, “The reason I started doing this is because there weren’t any classes for puppies that offered free play and an opportunity for socialization.” During the free play sessions, Bishop often puts music on while the dogs run around to the beat of South American tunes or whatever type of music she’s inspired to play. Although an important benefit, free play is one of many benefits that her group training classes offer. “The most important benefit is the socialization to other dogs, other people, small children and having the opportunity to be in a more controlled environment,” Bishop noted. “You have a small window to socialize a puppy and when that window closes it may be closed for good. What puppies are not exposed to early in life between the ages of 7 to 16 weeks, they will be afraid of. If a puppy is raised in a back yard or even in your lovely home and never goes out, he will become very afraid of what he is not exposed to. I give my clients the rule of 100. I want the puppy to have
100 experiences a week. Seems like a lot, but not when you think about it. Sit on a corner and watch traffic, every person that says ‘hi’ is an experience, every bicycle and so on. They need social encounters but they need to be socially exposed to other dogs in a safe way and not just tossed out there. Many people tend to pick up a scared puppy but that is often a mistake. If your puppy is scared because she heard a loud noise and you pick her up and stroke her and say, ‘it’s okay, it’s all right,’ she will think you are praising her for acting afraid and continue to do so.”

Without training, dog behavior problems like biting, chewing jumping, overzealous playing and lack of housebreaking skills will become the order of the day. The bad behavior often wears new owners down.

According to Kasey Aesery of Homeward Pet Adoption in Woodinville, many dogs end up at their no-kill shelter due to a lack of training. “The first thing we ask when people bring their dog to us is, ‘have you taken your dog to dog obedience training?’ Nine times out of 10, they say, ‘no.’”

Bishop said young dogs must be taught acceptable behavior. “You want your dog to be like your children, well-mannered and behaved,” she said, adding that her Puppy Institution has a 100 percent graduation rate. And, although she hands out Recognition awards on graduation day, the ‘true’ recognition occurs when she runs into her clients and canine students in public. “When I see my client at Starbucks or the bookstore with their dog in tow and they both are happy and confident, that’s when I know they have graduated.”

For further information, contact Becky Bishop at www.puppy manners.com.