Doggie Day Care and Puppy Kindergarten
If you work all day away from your home, you may want to consider a doggie day care program for your puppy rather than leaving him home alone. There are good day care centers and there are poorly managed ones. Pick yours wisely, visiting ahead of time and asking the right questions before you register your puppy for the program.
Doggie day care
First, ask to watch the resident dogs. Do they enjoy playing with one another? Are they supervised? Do you notice one dog picking on or frightening the other dogs (bullying, canine style)? All dogs should enjoy attending day care — the last thing you want is for your dog to learn bad habits from other dogs.
Ask the staff the following questions:
How are the dogs/puppies grouped? Small dogs should not be intermingled with large ones. High-energy dogs should not be paired with older, quieter, or physically compromised dogs. Ask what type of dogs the facility would pair your puppy with.
What do they do in case of a dog fight?
Who is the veterinarian on staff? If the vet is off-location, where is she located?
Do they kennel overnight?
What plans are in place if you’re delayed?
Do they offer auxiliary services, such as grooming, training, medical care, or medicating?
Bear in mind that your puppy may be exhausted after his visit to day care. If training, walks, and bonding are high on your priority list, plan these events for another day. Your puppy may be blissfully brain-dead when he gets home.
Puppies pick up both good and bad habits from other animals. If you notice your puppy roughhousing or being uncharacteristically defiant, ask to meet the dogs he plays with. If his playmates are rubbing off bad energy, you may consider asking whether your puppy can be placed in another group. Or, consider taking a break from day care until your puppy is more mature because an older puppy or dog is less likely to acquire bad habits.
Puppy kindergarten
A great kindergarten program is worth its weight in dog biscuits. Social time mixed with structure and training blend for an experience that’s fun for everyone involved. Look for a program that welcomes families (if you have one you want to bring along), that limits enrollment to four to eight puppies, and whose teacher you’re comfortable talking to. If the teacher seems nice with your puppy but is rough or distancing with you, look for someone else.
Puppies are impulsive and excitable. Find a class whose teacher takes excitability in stride and doesn’t single out any one puppy as problematic. Your puppy is who he is, and the goal of puppy school is to discover your puppy’s personality and how to modify your approach of communicating with him.
Free play is the time during a kindergarten class when the puppies get to race about and get to know the other puppies and people in their classroom. Free play is a very big part of puppy kindergarten classes. Even though some get overwhelmed at first, they integrate by the third free play and are consequently more comfortable in different social settings. To ensure that your puppy can get this socialization, ask prospective kindergartens if free play is a part of their curriculum.
Dogs Glossary
A-B-C assessment
Checking a dog’s airway, breathing, and circulation.
Dogs Glossary
animal shelter
1. An animal control agency run by local government to protect people from animals, take in strays, and manage animal issues and problems within the community. 2. A privately run shelter managed by individuals who want to protect, advocate for, and find homes for animals.
Dogs Glossary
BARF diet
A method of feeding dogs as closely as possible what they would eat in the wild: raw flesh and bones, along with vegetable matter from the stomachs of their prey. The acronym stands for either Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
Dogs Glossary
blow out
A twice-yearly shedding of a dog’s undercoat.
Dogs Glossary
blue slip
An application to register a purebred puppy.
Dogs Glossary
breeder
A person who raises, sells, and often shows dogs of a specific breed. Reputable breeders screen parent dogs in an effort to produce healthy dogs that conform to breed standards.
Dogs Glossary
castrate
The removal of a male dog’s testicles to render him infertile.
Dogs Glossary
clicker
A small hand-held device that makes a sharp cracking sound when pressed. Paired with a food reward, an effective dog-training tool.
Dogs Glossary
cohesive bandage
A stretchy wrap that clings to itself used to cover and secure gauze bandages without tape.
Dogs Glossary
come into season
The advent of a female dog’s term of fertility.
Dogs Glossary
dead ring
The stationary ring on a training collar that pulls on the collar, not the dog’s neck.
Dogs Glossary
double coat
Two layers of fur — a top coat of stiff guard hairs and an undercoat that serves as insulation.
Dogs Glossary
dropped ears
The term for hanging or drooping dog ears.
Dogs Glossary
Elizabethan collar
A wide, cone-shaped plastic or cardboard collar that prevents a dog from being able to scratch her head. Used to prevent further injury or hasten healing.
Dogs Glossary
euthanize; put to sleep
To kill an animal to relieve suffering.
Dogs Glossary
fall
Hair that extends over a dog’s eyes.
Dogs Glossary
feathering
Long hair that runs from armpit to paw on the backs of a dog’s legs.
Dogs Glossary
free-feeding
Keeping a constant supply of dog food available so that the dog can decide when and how much to eat. It works best in single-dog households where there’s no competition for food.
Dogs Glossary
heartworms
Parasites that live in dogs’ hearts and cause heart failure. They’re transferred through mosquito bites.
Dogs Glossary
heat
The period when a female dog is fertile.
Dogs Glossary
heel
A command and position in which a dog walks at your left side staying with you as you change direction or pace.
Dogs Glossary
hip dysplasia
A painful malformation of a dog’s hip socket. Some breeds are genetically predisposed to the condition.
Dogs Glossary
hot spot
A localized area of skin infection. It’s usually round, red, and warm to the touch.
Dogs Glossary
live ring
The floating ring of a training collar. Attach a leash to this ring for training purposes.
Dogs Glossary
neuter
A general term to describe either spaying or castrating a dog to render it infertile. Neutering and castrating are often used interchangeably.
Dogs Glossary
pantaloons
The tufts of hair on the backs of a long-haired dogs legs that make him look like he’s wearing bloomers.
Dogs Glossary
pedigree
A diagram of a dog’s ancestors for three or more generations that lists the registered names of the dogs and the titles they earned.
Dogs Glossary
pinch collar
A training collar with interlocking prongs that pinch a dog’s neck when tugged on. Some veterinarians recommend them above all other collars for training purposes.
Dogs Glossary
praise
A verbal reward for a dog , such as an enthusiastic “good dog!”
Dogs Glossary
prong collar
A training collar with interlocking prongs that pinch a dog’s neck when tugged on. Some veterinarians recommend them above all other collars for training purposes.
Dogs Glossary
pulse
Normal dog pulse is between 70 and 120 beats per minute. The pulse of a puppy ranges from 120 to 160 beats per minute.
Dogs Glossary
puppy mill
A place that supplies puppies to pet stores, usually without screening for possible genetic defects or properly socializing the puppies.
Dogs Glossary
registration certificate
The paper certifying a dog’s registration with an accredited organization.
Dogs Glossary
registration slip
An application to register a purebred puppy.
Dogs Glossary
release word
A word that lets a dog know that she is free to move.
Dogs Glossary
rescue group
A network of animal lovers who rescue and find new homes for their favorite breeds or animals.
Dogs Glossary
reward
To give a dog a treat for a correct response while he’s still in the desired position.
Dogs Glossary
ruff
The long, thick fur around a dog’s chest, shoulders, and neck.
Dogs Glossary
separation anxiety
A condition in which your dog becomes anxious and stressed when you leave him.
Dogs Glossary
shed
A twice-yearly process of casting off the undercoat in a double-coated dog.
Dogs Glossary
single coat
A single layer of hairs that comprises a dog’s fur.
Dogs Glossary
spay
To remove of both the uterus and the ovaries of a dog to render her infertile.
Dogs Glossary
stripping
Plucking the dead hairs from a dog’s coat.
Dogs Glossary
titer tests
Tests that check a dog’s immunity levels to determine exactly which vaccinations are needed.
Dogs Glossary
top coat
The top layer of a double-coated dog composed of stiff guard hairs that tend to be naturally water-repellant. The top coat protects the dog’s skin and undercoat.
Dogs Glossary
training collar
A collar that enables you to guide your dog and to check her as necessary — a brief, sharp tug tightens the collar around the dog’s neck.
Dogs Glossary
treat cup
A plastic container filled with small treats or dog food. Shake it and give treats from it as a reward as you train a dog.
Dogs Glossary
undercoat
Fleecy or downy fur shorter than the top layer of a double-coated dog. The undercoat serves as insulation.
