Puppy Kindergarten & Dog Training Torrance

Posted by: animalplazausa | March 8, 2012

Our Two New Shih-Tzu Students Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

JuJu the 2.5 year old Shih-Tzu

This is JuJu! She is a 2 and a half year old Shih-Tzu! She is actually Cho Cho’s older “sister” (not biologically), and here is his blog post: http://torrancedogtraining.com/2011/12/16/our-brand-new-student-cho-cho-the-7-month-old-shih-tzu-here-at-puppy-kindergarten-in-torrance/ . Her owner, like Cho Cho, wanted to do basic obedience, and potty training. JuJu is a sweet, adorable, and a very smart student. In a matter of 3 visits, she has learned the sit-stay-down command so quickly! Definitely very motivated with food and treats, and that is the reason why training for her is so easy! She is a great student who loves to socialize with both people and dogs. We’re excited to see what else she will surprise us with!

Oscar the 4 month old Shih-Tzu

This is Oscar the 4 month old Shih-Tzu! His owner’s concerns were just basic training needs. Training your puppy from the ages of 2-5 months is ideal. The younger they are, the easier training will be, as well as their ability to learn. Dog’s older than 2-5 months are definitely trainable, but note that training will take a bit more time than puppies. Oscar’s first day here was great. He was socializing with all of our students, and training seemed to be no problem for him! One thing that he has a hard time with is grooming. He isn’t used to being handled all over his body, so his reaction was to bite. If you have a dog that doesn’t like grooming, one person can hold a treat for him, while the other person grooms! Your dog will be so focused on the treat, that they won’t care about being brushed. Now if you’re by yourself, getting a Kong would be the thing to do! Here is a link as to where you can purchase a Kong: http://www.petco.com/product/2324/KONG-Dog-Toy.aspx?CoreCat=certona-_-ProductListTopRated_Dog_1-_-KONG%20Dog%20Toy-2324 You may fill it with treats inside, or stick a jerky inside to keep your dog occupied as you brush. Already on Oscar’s 3rd visit, he had no problem with grooming! He was sitting there enjoying being brushed. What a huge improvement. He is also a very quick learner, and we can’t wait to see what else he’s capable of doing!

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Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: dog obedience training, dog training, Kindergarten, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, shih tzu, south bay, southbay, torrance

Posted by: animalplazausa | February 23, 2012

Two More Brand New Students Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Lily the 7 month old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix

Lily the 9 month old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix

This is Lily! She is a 9 month old Chihuahua and Dachshund mix. Her owner came here with the concerns of her potty training, separation anxiety, and barking towards people and dogs. When she came in and stayed for the day, she did not bark once! It was most likely because she was very nervous, and definitely shy. One of the main reasons dogs tend to obtain separation anxiety is because they are constantly with their owners. This also will (sometimes) cause them to bark. The reason why? They are protecting their territory, which would be you! You as the leader shall not make them territorial. Dogs, like humans, also need their space and alone time. They need to learn how to stay home alone for periods of time, and also learn that no matter what, you will come back home to them. That way, it will not cause stress, nor destructiveness. By putting Lily in Puppy Kindergarten, this is a great way for her to practice time without her mom and dad, and gain that confidence that she is hiding! Since she was able to eat treats during her visit here, we were able to tell her separation anxiety will be lessened little by little. Lily is definitely a sweet girl who is very motivated with food. We know she’ll do great in kindergarten, and she will show her confidence in no time!

Jordy the 2 year old Silky/Yorkshire Terrier mix

This is Jordy! He is a 2 year old Silky/Yorkshire Terrier mix. His owner came here with the concerns of his hyper-ness and marking. Right when he came inside our pen, sure enough he marked right away. It is necessary to crate train him, and that is the fastest way to solve this issue. Please keep in mind that marking takes quite a bit of time to fix. You must be VERY consistent, but at the same time patient. Now, we are not able to keep him free because that way we are giving him the opportunity to mark the territory. Why is marking so bad? They are not only peeing at every tree outside, but they will also pee inside your house, your friend’s house, and..well..everywhere they are given the chance! It’s just like asking; would you allow your children to pee anywhere they wanted, and multiple times? So in order to fix Jordy’s marking, we must crate him, and during walks, we cannot allow him to pee more than once. He is one of the quickest learners that has visited Puppy Kindergarten so far, we so don’t have any doubts that he cannot be trained!

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Posted in Puppy Kindergarten | Tags: Chihuahua, crate training, dachshund, dog obedience training, dog training, house training, Kindergarten, Marking, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, Silky Terrier, south bay, southbay, Terrier, torrance, yorkshire terrier

Posted by: animalplazausa | February 4, 2012

Our New Cute Little Student by the Name of Mr.Jingles Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Mr.Jingles the 4 month old Poodle mix.

This is Mr.Jingles! He is quite the shy 4 month old Poodle mix. His owner came here with the concerns of his potty training, biting, and for him to be able to listen. During his visit here, we noticed that he also needed some help on his socialization. Mr.Jingles seemed to be very afraid of other dogs, and did not want to play with anybody. He was more of a people lover than dogs. Also, for many shy dogs, they are most likely very submissive. But then again, some are not. Even when we approached him at times, he would quickly show us his tummy, and start scratching his head. Note that this does not mean that they are itchy, but giving us a warning signal instead. After his 3rd visit, he finally started to show some interest towards playing with the other students. Mr.Jingles finally loosened up a bit, and even approached a Pitbull/Labrador mix! That’s a huge improvement for him. He’s doing great, and he’s showing us that he is definitely more than capable of taking on a little challenge! Also, he is potty trained as well! Only within his 3 visits can he pee perfectly on the pad without any help! We know that with more visits, he’ll be fine in no time!

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Posted in Puppy Kindergarten | Tags: dog obedience training, dog training, Kindergarten, Poodle, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, south bay, southbay, torrance, toy poodle

Posted by: animalplazausa | January 31, 2012

Our Two Brand New Students Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

RiRi the 4 month old Maltese

Our first brand new student goes by the name of RiRi, and she is a 4 month old Maltese. She is quite the feisty one and definitely loves to be around people. So far from what we’ve seen, she likes to be around dogs her size, and when she gets the chance, she’ll be non-stop running around and playing with them! RiRi is VERY motivated with treats and that makes it so much easier to train her. Very quick learner and from her 3rd visit, she was already able to do the stay command for 25 seconds! Truly impressive and with fantastic eye contact. We hope she starts to get more comfortable around bigger dogs so she can have more play time with everyone! We know she’ll do great at Puppy Kindergarten.

Kabuki the 3 year old Pekingese

This little fellow goes by the name of Kabuki, and he is a 3 year old Pekingese. Kabuki is very sweet and loves to be praised! His owner stopped by Puppy Kindergarten with the concerns of his slight aggression towards other dogs, and his barking as well. He did seem to bark at every dog he saw when he was behind the fence, but once he walked in, a different story! Usually dogs will be a lot braver when they are behind a door, a fence, and pretty much when they aren’t in the same place as the other dog. Once they are face to face, they won’t bark and they’ll be a little bit scared. Just like when you take your dog(s) for a walk, and they bark at other dogs behind a gate or across the street. This goes towards people as well! If your dog happens to bark at people for no reason, bring them up to the person, OR ask the person to give them a treat. It helps out a lot with socialization. BUT, please make sure you don’t have the type of dog who bites people. If you are aware that they might possible bite someone, then we do not recommend that tip. We can’t stress it enough just how important socialization really is. For Kabuki’s case, he seemed to get used to the smaller breeds on the first day. As of now, he does not like bigger breeds, so slowly but surely we’ll train him to get used to being around any sized dog. He’s been doing fantastic from his 2 visits so far! He’s very responsive to commands and he also loves treats. We know he’ll be surprising us with big progress!

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Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: dog obedience training, dog training, Kindergarten, maltese, Pekingese, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, socialization, south bay, southbay, torrance

Posted by: animalplazausa | January 26, 2012

A Dedication Post for Gracie the Boxer Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Gracie the Boxer Here at 2 Months

This is our little dedication post for Gracie the just recently turned 1 year old Boxer! We’re so glad that she and her family decided to join Puppy Kindergarten, it wouldn’t be the same without her! She definitely is able to put a smile on our faces whenever she comes to visit. Although she won’t be attending any of our Puppy Kindergarten sessions anymore, she and her brother Westyn will still be coming every now and then for some Doggie Daycare! We’ve watched Gracie grow up since she was 2 months old. She has definitely turned into a beautiful young lady!

Gracie the Boxer Here at 5 Months

Gracie the 1 yr Old Boxer

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Posted in Puppy Kindergarten | Tags: Boxer, dog obedience training, dog training, Kindergarten, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy training, south bay, southbay, torrance

Posted by: animalplazausa | January 13, 2012

Our Wonderful Daycare Student Westyn Here at Doggie Daycare in Torrance!

Westyn the 6 year old Terrier Mix

This is Westyn the (just recently turned 6 on Tuesday) Terrier Mix! He’s a very sweet and cuddly kind of guy who is actually Gracie the 1 year old Boxer’s older brother! His parents have been bringing him to Doggie Daycare every now and then for socialization, and wow has he improved! He used to be very kept to himself, but after some daycare sessions, he’s able to walk around the play area with no problem! Westyn goes up to our other students, sniffs them, and actually encourages them to play with him! We know he’ll keep improving after each visit!

Gracie & Westyn

Socialization is VERY important within a dog’s life. Ideally, you would want to start when they’re puppies. Whenever you receive the puppy and or dog, socialize them as soon as possible! They don’t have all of their shots yet? No problem! Socialization does not always mean playing with other dogs. It also means to take them outside, have them meet all different kinds of people, have them hear noises of cars, motorcycles, general loud noises, etc. You can take them for a good 10-15 minute walk by just holding them! But remember to always have their collar and leash hooked on and have the leash around your neck. This is incase they happen to fall out of your hands. Without socialization, it will cause a lot of stress upon your dog when they happen to meet other dogs or people. They will either be very scared (which causes some to pee), aggressive, or over-excited which also causes some to pee. Please do yourself and your dog a huge favor and have them socialized!

*Training & daycare work perfectly for socialization. A couple times a week spent with other dogs and people will tremendously help your dog.

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Posted in Dog Training Tips, Doggie Daycare, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: Boxer, dog daycare, dog obedience training, dog training, Doggie Daycare, Kindergarten, Mix, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, south bay, southbay, torrance, West Highland Terrier

Posted by: animalplazausa | January 5, 2012

Our New Student Leon With a Different Method of Potty Training Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Leon the 7 Month Old Shih-Tzu

This is our new student Leon! He is a 7 month old, and quite the hyper Shih-Tzu. His owner came to Animal Plaza Puppy Kindergarten with the concern of his potty training. Ever since he was brought to the house, which was when he was 4 months of age, he had free roam of everything. This is also a common mistake that many owners tend to make. Giving your puppy free roam of your house creates the situation for them to make errors. With Leon’s 4 visits so far, he has accomplished 90% perfect potty training! He is definitely very social and energetic! He loves to be on the move, even inside of his crate. Although Leon may not always show it, he has a sweet and loving side as well.

In our previous post, we discussed on how to potty train for BUSY owners. In today’s post, we will be explaining how to potty train for owners who do have the time! This type of potty training is most recommended. It’ll make your puppy and or dog learn a lot quicker.

Things you need:

*NOTE* You need the exact same equipment as our previous post (http://torrancedogtraining.com/2011/12/23/our-brand-new-student-shou-his-potty-training-here-at-puppy-kindergarten-in-torrance/), but, we will copy & paste them once again.

1. Crate – A crate is one of the most important things to have while potty training your pup or dog! Potty training isn’t the only thing that it’s useful for. Having it generally makes things a lot easier for you and your dog. A crate is not considered to be a negative image for a dog, but, considered to be their house! You can fill their crates with towels, blankets, toys, anything to make it comfortable for them. A big mistake that many owners tend to do is buying a crate that is TOO big for their dog. Dogs do not need spacious crates as you may think. In the wild, dogs always cuddled with each other and slept in a small closed space, so they want to feel the same way inside their crate. Thus, buying a crate that is PERFECTLY their size is just what they need! One crate that we recommend is the Petmate Kennel Cab. http://www.petmate.com/kennel-cab-traditional They are easy to clean, to take apart, and not too heavy.

2. An Exercise Pen – Having an exercise pen, you can enlarge it, and minimize it by the size of your dog. Initially, you want to make it into a square. A picture will be shown below on how it should be set up. One exercise pen we recommend would be by the product of Precision Pet. http://www.precisionpet.com/detail.aspx?id=23 These are very easy to work with.

3. Pee pads – If you don’t have pee pads, then there is no potty training! Pee pads you can buy from any pet store.

4. A potty schedule – Having a potty schedule will help you out tremendously! This keeps you on track with everything potty. Puppies need 20 hours of sleep A DAY, so they do not have to be roaming around the house for long periods of time. Usually, puppies are able to hold their pee for half of their age. (Ex: 3 month old puppy can hold it for 1.5 hours. Leon’s case, he is 7 months old which means he can hold it for 3.5 hours.) In the potty schedule, include meal times, play time, etc. Remember to always praise and reward after every perfect pee!

These are a couple of pictues of how to properly set up everything.

: Potty set-up

: Potty set-up

When it’s time for your dog to pee, take them out of their crate and into the exercise pen with the pee-pad. As they start to get more familiar with it, you may extend the exercise pen more and more. Eventually you will take the exercise pen away, and use a leash to guide them to the designated area. Then they will be able to go potty by themselves! Also make a pee command for them! (Ex: Pee-pee, go pee, 1-2, etc)

: Crate

Above is a crate filled with towels. For comfort and also for the puppy and or dog to not be able to move around so much inside.

Good luck on potty training!

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Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: crate training, dog obedience training, dog training, house training, Kindergarten, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy training, shih tzu, south bay, southbay, torrance

Posted by: animalplazausa | December 23, 2011

Our Brand New Student Shou & His Potty Training Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Shou the Bichon & Maltese Mix

This is Shao Long Bao (aka: Shou) and he is a 3 month old Bichon/Maltese mix! His owner came to Puppy Kindergarten with the concerns of training him, well..everything! Shou has shown us that he’s very friendly and social towards people and dogs as well! He definitely loves attention, and he loves to show people attention. During his visits here so far, we’ve seen that he’s very smart and responsive. He is a quick learner, and an eager learner at that. One of Shou’s main focuses right now is his potty training. Since his owner is very busy, she doesn’t always have time to keep an eye on him, and keep track with his potty. One of the easiest ways to teach your dog potty training would be to crate train at the same time!

Things you need:

1. Crate – A crate is one of the most important things to have while potty training your pup or dog! Potty training isn’t the only thing that it’s useful for. Having it generally makes things a lot easier for you and your dog. A crate is not considered to be a negative image for a dog, but, considered to be their house! You can fill their crates with towels, blankets, toys, anything to make it comfortable for them. A big mistake that many owners tend to do is buying a crate that is TOO big for their dog. Dogs do not need spacious crates as you may think. In the wild, dogs always cuddled with each other and slept in a small closed space, so they want to feel the same way inside their crate. Thus, buying a crate that is PERFECTLY their size is just what they need! One crate that we recommend is the Petmate Kennel Cab. http://www.petmate.com/kennel-cab-traditional They are easy to clean, to take apart, and not too heavy.

2. An Exercise Pen – Having an exercise pen, you can enlarge it, and minimize it by the size of your dog. Initially, you want to make it into a rectangle. A picture will be shown below on how it should be set up. One exercise pen we recommend would be by the product of Precision Pet. http://www.precisionpet.com/detail.aspx?id=23 These are very easy to work with.

3. Pee pads – If you don’t have pee pads, then there is no potty training! Pee pads you can buy from any pet store. What you would do with the pee pads, is that you would surround it all inside the exercise pen. Why you ask? This leaves no room for error! If your dog comes out and has to pee, the only option will be is to pee on the pad, and that’s exactly what they need to do in order to learn how to potty!

These are a couple of pictures of how to properly set up everything together.

*NOTE* The crate below was bought by Shou’s owner by her preference.

: Crate & potty training

: Crate & potty training

You want to keep the crate door open so your dog can come out and use the restroom at any time. Also, you may leave a water bowl on the side if you are going to be gone for a very long period of time. DO NOT leave their food for whatever reason!

Good luck on potty training!

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Posted in Dog Training Tips, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Training Tips | Tags: Bichon Frise, crate training, dog obedience training, dog training, house training, Kindergarten, maltese, potty training, Puppy, Puppy Kindergarten, puppy socialization, puppy training, south bay, southbay, torrance

Posted by: animalplazausa | December 16, 2011

Our Brand New Student Cho Cho the 7 Month Old Shih-Tzu Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Cho Cho the 7 Month Old Shih-Tzu

This is Cho Cho! He is a very smart 7 month old Shih-Tzu! His owner came to Puppy Kindergarten with the concern of his potty training and to be able to do basic obedience. Within his 4 visits, he’s already learned how to potty on the pad perfectly, and has learned the sit-down-and stay command! He’s fantastic! He’s very playful towards others, and he listens quite well. Since he’s shown us such great ability thus far, we’re excited to see what else he’s capable of doing.

Below is a video of Cho Cho & our other student named Choco (10 month old Cavapoo) socializing. It was their first time meeting, and they became the best of friends! Remember, socializing your dog is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT things to do within their life. When they are puppies, the first 50-90 days are the most important days to have them socialized. Just because they are not fully vaccinated does not mean you aren’t allowed to socialize them! Take them for walks while holding them, let them smell flowers, feel the texture of trees, and see at least 100 different people a day. It’ll help out much more than you can imagine! Also, you must socialize them for their whole life! If you were to socialize them when they are a puppy, and then afterwards you happen to stop, it’ll be like they never socialized at all! Without it, their life can become very stressful. The sight of dogs, humans, and hearing sounds can stress them out easily. Please do your dog a big favor and socialize them! They will thank you. Plus, who doesn’t like seeing their dog having a good time?

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Posted in Puppy Kindergarten

Posted by: animalplazausa | December 9, 2011

Our Brand New Student Tom the Poodle Mix Here at Puppy Kindergarten in Torrance!

Tom the 1 year old Poodle mix

This is Tom! He is almost a year old, and he is a Poodle mix. Tom’s back story was that he was a shelter dog, and the reason why he was sent to the shelter was because he bit his previous owner’s little daughter. Now, Tom’s new owner volunteers at the local shelter nearby, and they had told her that if no one were to adopt Tom, he would be killed the next day. She couldn’t allow that to happen, so she adopted Tom herself. The main reason she brought him to Puppy Kindergarten was because he is a shelter dog, and he has a past of biting people. She was concerned and wanted this to be fixed, and she wanted Tom to be trained. After a couple of days of training, Tom has been doing a fantastic job! He’s very focused and eager to learn more commands during every visit. As far as his socialization, he has 2 brothers at home (which are also previous students at Puppy Kindergarten http://torrancedogtraining.com/2010/09/29/more-new-students-join-puppy-kindergarten-in-torrance/) and he does great with them! Tom is also starting to play with our other kindergarten students as well.

Here is the new happy family!