Starting in February 2011, Village Animal Hospital will be offering puppy manners classes at our office.  Our 7 week long "Puppygarten" class will cover basic obedience as well as common puppy behavior problems.  This class will be open to all puppies under 6 months of age.  Puppies need not be fully vaccinated, but we do require that they be free of intestinal parasites and that they be appropriately vaccinated for their age.

Our trainer, Kara, has been a veterinary technician for 11 years, two and a half of which she has spent at Village Animal Hospital.  She had done a great deal of training with her own dogs and worked as an assistant trainer before relocating to North Carolina 3 years ago.  Kara has always had a special interest in dog behavior and training and had attended dozens of continuing education seminars over the years conducted by some of the best behaviorists in the country.  She is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and is an American Kennel Club Approved Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. 

As a veterinary technician Kara sees daily the frustrations that pet owners have with their dogs.  So many of the behaviors causing these frustrations can be easily avoided when a very basic foundation of training is put in place early in the animal's life.  She has learned that with some very simple elements and positive training that we can live very peacefully with our fuzzy family members.

As an AKC Approved Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, Kara is automatically approved to conduct AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Classes and Testing.  What does that mean?  Well, in addition to her own curriculum, she will be adding additional elements to class to that it meets what is included in the S.T.A.R. Program testing.  The S.T.A.R. of this AKC program stands for Socialization, Training, Activity, and Responsibility.  This is an incentive program for owners designed by the AKC to get puppies and their owners off to a great start, it does not mean that your puppy is an AKC Canine Good Citizen... YET!  Once puppies have passed this class they will receive a beautiful certificate from the AKC, listing on the AKC S.T.A.R. puppy database, an AKC Puppy Handbook,  a discount to enroll in Companion Animal Recovery Corporation, and the ongoing monthly newsletter, Your AKC.

Tanner and Woodrow during a game of dress-up to practice the "stay" command.

Harley and Daffodil practice their recall through the tunnel.

Looking for dog friendly places to socialize your puppy?

Check out my blog for great ideas:  The Amazing Adventures of Mosi!

http://adventuresofmosi.blogspot.com