Please take the time to watch our video about how to train your puppy to be handled by groomers and vets! If you have any questions, you may leave comments here, or on our video! We’ll be happy to answer them for you.
Posted by: animalplazausa | May 24, 2012
How To Train Your Puppy To Be Handled By Groomers and Vets by Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!
Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: cocker spaniel, dog obedience training, dog training, Hermosa Beach, Kindergarten, los angeles, Manhattan Beach, Manhatten Beach, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy training, south bay, southbay, Terrier, torrance, Torrance Beach, toy fox terrier
Posted by: animalplazausa | May 17, 2012
The Difference Between Loving Your Dog & Spoiling Them. A Very Important Blog Post to New Dog Owners!
We understand, your new puppy or dog is just adorable! You want to show them as much love as possible. BUT, when do you cross the line of giving too much love that it turns into spoiling? Showing them love is always important, but you must also have tough love within your relationship. These are the many common mistakes that owners tend to make:
1. Holding them too often.
- Holding them is perfectly fine, but it does not have to be constant. A couple times throughout the day will work perfectly. Also, when taking them outside of the house, it’s best to use a leash instead of picking them up.
2. Not getting mad at them, but allowing the dog to wine or bark at you to get what they want.
-When they bark towards you, they are demanding something. When you listen to them, that means that they are the leader and the roles have completely switched. Just ignore them when they wine or bark at you, or you can say, “no!”
3. Sleeping with the dog in bed.
-When it comes to sleeping in bed with your dog, you must establish the leadership first! We are not saying that you are never allowed to have them in your bed, but you must establish the leader follower relationship with them. When they are puppies, they need at least a year to be crate trained. This means they must sleep in their crates every night! Afterwards, you may proceed to allow them into your bed.
4. Giving them human food. (Not veggies or fruit, but meat!)
-NEVER give them human food! It will also cause their teeth to rot a lot quicker, and their breaths to stink.
By doing all of these, the consequences turn out to be:
1. Fussy eaters- dogs who refuse to eat dog food, and won’t eat unless given human food.
2. Overweight dog-Which are caused by number 1.
3. Nevous dog- They aren’t independent and have no confidence when they are alone. They cannot be with other dogs and or people without being terrified.
4. Homewrecker- When leaving your dog at home alone, they trash everything in the house.
5. Barker- They constantly bark at every noise, person and or dog.
Yuzu the 10 month old Toy Poodle
This our brand new student by the name of Yuzu. She is a 10 month old Toy Poodle who has been quite spoiled by her mom. They dropped by Puppy Kindergarten with the concerns of Yuzu’s nipping and picking up items from the ground. For a 10 month old puppy to still be nipping at that age is pretty dangerous. They have developed their adult teeth already, which means their bite is a lot stronger, and can be more severe with damage. When Yuzu came into our play pen, she was constantly pacing and barking. She knows that barking will get her what she wants. When it came to training, she did very well! She was motivated with her food and was able to do the “down” command on the first attempt! That has been a first at Puppy Kindergarten! We’re excited to see all of her great upcoming improvements!
Posted by: animalplazausa | May 9, 2012
Obedience Lesson Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!
Posted by: animalplazausa | May 8, 2012
Our New Toy Fox Terrier & Cocker Spaniel Puppy Student Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!
Matsukaze the 5 month old Toy Fox Terrier and Cocker Spaniel mix
Everyone welcome Matsukaze! He is a 5 month old Toy Fox Terrier/Cocker Spaniel mix. Interesting mix he is! His owners dropped by Puppy Kindergarten, and they were concerned about his barking and nipping. During the consultation, Matsukaze seemed to bark at every single thing he heard and saw. But, once we put him inside the play pen, it was a different story. He was very quiet and kept to himself. We were able to tell that he had the very scared/shy personality when it came to dogs, but friendly when it comes to people. When Matsukaze is with his parents, he feels strong and territorial, but once he’s by himself, the complete opposite. We knew that we had to help by having him gain his confidence and also be more independent. During his first day, he was hiding under the chairs and was very afraid to be around other dogs. When it came to training, he did very well. He was concentrated and had great motivation. He hasn’t tried to nip us so far, which is good!
When you have a brand new puppy, almost all the time they will try to nip you. You should never allow their teeth to make contact with your skin. Train them early to let them know that nipping is never okay! Also, to avoid your dog from hard nipping, it’s ideal to moisten their food with hot water until they are 4 months of age. That way, their bite won’t develop to be so hard. Afterwards, you can proceed to feed them hard kibble. As far as training with Matsukaze, he’s doing a great job so far. We can’t wait to watch him grow and become the independent and confident dog that he really is!
Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: cocker spaniel, dog obedience training, dog training, Hermosa Beach, Kindergarten, los angeles, Manhattan Beach, Manhatten Beach, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, south bay, southbay, Terrier, torrance, Torrance Beach, toy fox terrier
Posted by: animalplazausa | April 19, 2012
Why It’s Ideal To Start Training Your Dog at An Early Age & Our New Maltese Student at Torrance Puppy Kindergarten!
No matter what the age may be, training your dog is always possible! But, depending on the dog’s age, breed, and size, it has its variety of time that it will take to fully train them. The ideal time to start training is between the early ages of 2-4 months old. During this young age, they are not developed with any bad habits. If they have a bad habit that you are concerned about, it will be easier and quicker to train them. Of course, depending on the personality and breed of your dog. When they are at the early age of 3 months, they already start ranking (they rank who is the leader and who is under them). So you as an owner must be their leader, and mustn’t let them lead you! Now if you were interested in training your dog, but they might be a bit older, say 2-3 years old? It will definitely take some time. They’ve developed their habits for such a long time already, it’s going to take a lot of positive repetition to break it. The way to look at it is enrolling a 30-year-old who has no knowledge of any math into a calculus class. They would be lost, confused, and have absolute no idea what all those numbers and letters are for. It’s best to start when they are as early as 3-4 years old! It’s the exact same mechanism for dogs. Always start early! Of course, we aren’t saying it’s bad to start at a later age. It’s great that people are still interested in training their dogs generally!
Please note that bigger breeds do actually take a bit more time to train! Their learning ability and growing ability is a bit slower than those of the smaller breeds. Smaller breeds are at their full adult stage at a year old, where as bigger breeds need up to 2 years to mature fully to become an adult. Training definitely takes a lot of patience and positivity. But, with both patience and positivity comes a great outcome!
Hermon the 4 year old Maltese
Here is one of our brand new students by the name of Hermon! He is a 4-year-old very shy and sweet Maltese. His owner stopped by for a consultation with the concerns of his potty training. What we also noticed was that he was very quiet, a bit scared, and definitely kept to himself. Hermon has not shown any signs of separation anxiety which is great! He was able to eat treats, but of course he was quite nervous. Though training may take some time, we know we’ll be able to get that strong side of Hermon out of him! We want to be able to bring out his confidence and independence that he seems to be hiding! We’re looking forward to seeing all of his upcoming progress.
Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: dog obedience training, dog training, Dog Training Tips, Hermosa Beach, Kindergarten, los angeles, maltese, Manhattan Beach, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, south bay, southbay, torrance
Posted by: animalplazausa | April 7, 2012
Our Brand New Shih-Tzu Puppy Student Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!
Clara the 3 month old Shih-Tzu
This is Clara! She is a 3 month old Shih-Tzu with a very strong personality! Her owner stopped by Animal Plaza USA with the concerns of Clara’s potty training and pretty much general training. What we noticed during our consultation was that she barks..LOUD! She has quite the voice for a 3 month old little girl! If your dog barks, the best thing to do is just say, “No!” It has to be said in a very strict tone. This must be said any time they bark. If you let them get away with it a couple of times, it confuses them and they will end up continuing their bad habit.
When we got the chance to put her in our play area, she had no problem socializing with any of our students. Clara ran around with such joy, and seemed to be having the time of her life. On her second day of training, her potty training was coming along great! Training as well has been fantastic. She is also motivated with her food, and she has learned the sit-stay-down command fairly quickly. Clara has been the first puppy student to have one of the best eye contacts so far! Since she has been showing us great things from her 2 visits, we know she’ll be a great well behaved girl in the future! We’re excited to share the experience with her.
Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: dog obedience training, dog training, Hermosa Beach, Kindergarten, los angeles, Manhatten Beach, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, shih tzu, south bay, southbay, torrance, Torrance Beach
Posted by: animalplazausa | March 30, 2012
Our Brand New Chihuahua & Poodle Mix Students Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!
Fu the 2 year old Chihuahua
This is Fu aka Fu-chan! He is a 2 year old long haired Chihuahua. He is definitely one of the sweetest and calmest Chihuahuas that we’ve ever encountered. His owner came to Puppy Kindergarten with the concerns of his socialization. So far, from his 2 visits, he’s seem to adapt to the facility very quickly, and also towards our students. Fu-chan is very friendly with everyone! He hasn’t shown any signs of being scared, or unsocialized. As far as his training goes, he doesn’t eat so much which makes it a bit hard to teach him commands. Hopefully he’ll be more motivated with food as the time passes, but from what we’ve seen so far, he’s great!
Sakura the 1 year and 5 month old Poodle mix
This is our other brand new student by the name of Sakura! She is a 1 year and 5 month old Poodle mix. Her owner stopped by with the concerns of her barking towards people and dogs. Sakura’s first visit here, she was barking at every dog she saw, and even barking in our faces! She seemed to be needing a lot of socialization. When it came to her next visit, she seemed much more laid back and relaxed. She was able to play with all of our students! It was already a quick improvement that we saw from her. From time to time, she would bark, but it wasn’t as much as her first day here. We can already tell that she’s a very quick learner. Also, Sakura is surely motivated with treats and food, which like we always mention makes training so much easier! She has already gotten the sit, down, and stay command down! We’re looking forward to seeing her great improvements here at Puppy Kindergarten!
Posted in Puppy Kindergarten | Tags: barking, Chihuahua, dog obedience training, dog school, dog training, Doggie, doggie school, Hermosa Beach, Kindergarten, LA, Long Beach, Long haired chihuahua, los angeles, Manhattan Beach, Poodle, Poodle Mix, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy school, puppy socialization, puppy training, socialization, socializing, south bay, southbay, torrance, torrance dog obedience, toy poodle
Posted by: animalplazausa | March 28, 2012
Choosing the Right Dog Food For Your Puppy
After choosing your perfect puppy/dog, you will welcome them into their new home! Sometimes the breeder will leave you with the food that they suggest you feed your puppy, or maybe your veterinarian suggests certain brands that they think is a good choice. Regardless of what they tell you, YOU must do the research on the food.
In most brands, they will mention that there are ”meat and bone meal” and “by-products” included in the ingredients. For the most part, the lean muscle of the animal is cut up and used for the human consumption. The rest of the animal is then sent to a rendering plant along with other waste to be made into bad dog food. To get technical, some of the ingredients include chicken feet, dead animals, euthanized dogs and cats, lungs, ligaments, beaks, teeth, intestines, and so on and so forth.
The 4 D’s encompass the kind of cattle that are sent to rendering plants which stands for:
-Dead
-Dying
-Diseased
-Disabled
Now exactly who is responsible for such things? Huge corporations use pet food companies as a cheap and profitable way to dispose of waste produced by their human food companies. We won’t write which brands are responsible, but, they are supermarket brands. Thus saying, DO NOT GO FOR SUPER MARKET BRANDS! There are a few chemcials that are included into the ingredients which are known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction (BHA- Butylated Hydroxyanisole & BHT- Butylated Hydroxytolulene), some chemicals that are suspected to cause cancer, and ones that cause the destruction of red blood cells. These are also included into the bad dog food:
-Coloring agents
-Dying agents
-Flavoring agents
-Lubricants
-Texturizers
Doesn’t sound like something you want to be giving your puppy/dog right? If you see corn, wheat, or soy in the ingredients..these are a big no no! They are all hard to digest and are also allergens. Sugar and corn syrup are empty nutrients and beet pulp is also an allergen that can cause ear infections. Canola oil is not good for dogs, nor humans, and it should not be an ingredient in your dog’s food!
Now, as far as getting good dog food, the brands are very specific with their ingredients. If it says rice, they will tell you exactly which kind of rice; white or brown. When it comes to meat, it’s important to look for the meat name itself, or ones that say ex: chicken meal. Chicken meal has 300% more protein than fresh chicken itself! When looking through the ingredients, the first 3 ingredients should be meat. Sometimes it will be vegetables in between, which are okay, but, go for the meat. The benefits of having good dog foods are a softer and shinier coat for your dog, no flakes, hair that turned brown will return to its original color, their poop won’t smell as bad, light colored pee, and a big health improvement.
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Posted by: animalplazausa | March 22, 2012
How To Choose a Puppy & Introducing Our Brand New Vizsla Student!
Choosing a puppy is very important. It really depends on their personality and their actions when you’re deciding to choose one. Of course, many people tend to go for the “cuter” ones, or the more “unique” looking ones, but that isn’t always the number one choice. You want to look for these key things while choosing your puppy.
The most important ones will have stars next to them!
*1. When you first meet them, see if they come towards you, or towards people right away. Ones who shy away will probably have a bit of a socialization concern.
*2. Even when you walk away, they will still follow you.
3. Interested in toys and tried to chase and or catch them.
*4. Stays calm and quiet when held or picked up (without feet being supported). This is VERY important!
*5. While holding them on their back against your legs, they stay till for 10 seconds. This will let you know that training will be a bit easier for them.
*6. Happily goes to fetch and brings it back when something is thrown. To see if they like human and other dog interaction.
*7. Licks the person’s face when held close to the person’s face.
*8. When a loud noise is made when the dog cannot see, they will go check the noise. This will let you know that they won’t be much of a barker.
9. When the person plays tug-of-war, they show interest, but does not overreact.
10. Becomes focused and sits down when something the dog is interested in is put down in front of them. Ex: treats or a toy.
Shiloh the 2.5 month old Vizsla
Now we introduce our new student by the name of Shiloh! He is a 2 and a half month old Vizsla puppy! He is our very first Vizsla breed, and we couldn’t be more excited. As we did the consultation with him and his owner, he is the very first one to show us the perfect personality. While we did the personality test on him, he passed on every single one! Shiloh is at the perfect age to start training, and he is definitely learning things very quickly. As far as socialization, he has absolutely no problem with it. He seemed to get along with the smaller breeds very quick, and got a bit shaken when he ran into our Golden Retriever student named Oscar. As time passed, Oscar was the only one he was playing with! Shiloh seems to love training as well. We’re looking forward to seeing him grow as each visit passes, and we know that he’ll do fantastic!
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Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: Breed, dog obedience training, dog training, Golden Retriever, Hermosa Beach, Kindergarten, Long Beach, los angeles, Manhatten Beach, Palos Verdes, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, PV, south bay, southbay, torrance, Torrance Beach, Vizsla
Posted by: animalplazausa | March 13, 2012
Potty Training, Socialization and Obedience progress for our new Puppy Kindergarten Student
Yoda the 4 month old Shih-Tzu, Yorkie, Maltese mix
This is Yoda! She is a 4 month old Shih-Tzu, Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese mix. Interesting combination isn’t it? Her owner stopped by Puppy Kindergarten with the concerns of her potty training and basic obedience.
On Yoda’s first day here, she was very nervous and shy. She seemed to be very interested in our other smaller students, but didn’t exactly know how to play. Little by little she started gaining more confidence, and attempted to play with a few friends.
When it came to potty training, she would hold it and hold it..and hold it. Somehow, she broke through our crate and released her bathroom on the floor. Although she didn’t go on the pee-pad, Yoda knew that she wasn’t supposed to pee inside her crate, aka her house. By her next visit, she went to the pee-pad all by herself, and peed properly!
Definitely a quick learner she is, especially with obedience. She was able to learn sit and down in a matter of seconds. Stay-and come was not a problem at all for her! Yoda responds very well to commands, and her eye contact is excellent. By her 4th visit, she was playing with our other students, and didn’t shy away. Since Yoda and her owner will be moving, we wish both of them good luck on training and their long future ahead!
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Posted in Puppy Kindergarten | Tags: Basic Obedience, Breed, dog obedience training, dog training, Hermosa Beach, house training, Kindergarten, los angeles, maltese, Manhatten Beach, Mixed breed, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy obedience training, puppy socialization, puppy training, Redondo Beach, shih tzu, south bay, southbay, torrance, Torrance Beach, Yorkie, yorkshire terrier
