Please read the instructions below carefully. If someone else will be picking up or dropping off your puppy, please share the instructions with them as well.
AGE LIMIT: Your puppy must be between 12 weeks and 22 weeks old during Small Breed Puppy Day Training.
RESCHEDULING OR REFUNDS: Puppy Day Training is a series class so we cannot offer make up days and we need at least 7 days notice for rescheduling or refunds. Here is our cancellation policy.
LOCATION AND PARKING
Small Breed Day Training is at Main Campus – Same building as the Puppy Kindergarten Classes but our entrance is different. Look for the glass door on 6th – right next to Sean’s Clay Corner North.
THINGS TO DO AHEAD OF TIME
Intake form. Please fill out Puppy Day Training Intake Form online. We need your form by the Friday before your session.
Vaccination records. Please email us your puppy’s latest vaccination records to admin@doggiezen.com.
Puppies cannot attend puppy day training unless their intake forms and their vaccination records are submitted.
LINK TO PUPPY DAY TRAINING GUIDE
You will receive videos of your puppy’s training from Monday and Wednesday and notes with the number of the exercises every day. These numbers correspond to the exercises in the Ahimsa Puppy Day Training Guide.
WHAT TO BRING ON MONDAY MORNING
1. Lunch Please bring your puppy’s kibble in 3 plastic containers or baggies labelled with your puppy’s name and day of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). Each container should contain the amount of kibble that you normally give your puppy for lunch. If you feed your puppy a home-cooked or raw diet, please let us know at drop off so we put it in the fridge immediately. If your puppy does not eat lunch please bring a small portion of their dinner. During day training puppies are more active and get much more exercise than normally at home so they might appreciate having a midday snack, and they will not feel left out during lunch time.
2. Harness If your puppy has a harness, please have him/her wear it to day training. If your puppy does not already have a harness, we might ask you to put one of our harnesses on your puppy when you drop him/her off.
3. Blanket Blanket that smells like puppy’s home will provide your puppy with sense of safety and security, and will help him/her cope with the new environment while being away from you. Please be sure to bring a blanket instead of a bed because blankets are easier to use for day training.
DROP OFF AND PICK UP – Please allow 15 minutes for pick up and drop off
Drop Off: 7:30am to 8:00am
Pick Up: 11:30am to 12:00pm
Instructions for Drop Off and Pick up
Text. When you arrive at Ahimsa please send us a text on (206) 794-8232 (this is not the Ahimsa main number, please add it to your phone. This is also the number we will be sending you videos and updates from.). Text your puppy’s name and state that you have arrived. All drop offs and pick ups will be done on a first come/text, first serve basis. Please wait in your car for a reply. We will text that we are on our way and meet you by the glass door on 6th – right next to Sean’s Clay Corner North.
CHECK INS AND CHECK OUTS
Please let us know if any information relevant to caring for your puppy. How they slept, when they last peed and pooped, any behavior or health concerns, any recent events that may have thrown them off.
If you have any questions about the training videos please reply to the texts with your questions and a trainer will reach out to you.
BREAKFAST AND TREATS
Feed breakfast. Make sure to feed your puppy at least half of the breakfast before day training. Research indicates that similar to humans, dogs perform better and have better self-control after eating breakfast.
Food in day training. In order to keep puppies’ tummies happy throughout day training we feed them their own kibble, freshly cooked chicken and chicken broth only. We provide freshly cooked chicken and homemade chicken broth. If your puppy cannot have chicken, please bring another cooked meat such as turkey breasts, a lean cut of beef or pork, or salmon cut into small pieces. Consider bringing the protein that your puppy is currently eating in his/her puppy food. Please bring about 1/2 cup for big puppies and 1/4 cup for small puppies per day. If you bring ground meat make sure it is at least 90% lean. The reason we don’t use packaged treats is that often they are too rich and can make puppies sick when given the amount needed over several days of puppy day training. If you have any other questions about what food to bring please contact wynona@doggiezen.com for further directions.
SICK PUPPIES
If your puppy is sick (coughing, vomiting, really tired, red or runny eyes, diarrhea, etc.) please do not bring him/her to puppy day training and inform us immediately.
DOG PARKS AND DAYCARE
Do not take your puppy to a dog park or daycare if you are registered for and/or attending puppy day training. Many puppies attending our classes or day training only have one or two sets of shots and are more susceptible to germs other puppies bring in, so please do not put them at risk.
PUPPY KINDERGARTEN CLASSES
Unreserve and move your class the week of your puppy’s puppy day training. If your puppy is attending day training and is enrolled in the puppy kindergarten class on the same day please unreserved and move your class at least 24 hours in advance. Most puppies are very tired after the puppy day training and attending the day training and the class on the same day will be too much for them.
RECOMMENDED READING
Puppy Socialization Handout
Ahimsa Dog Training Manual
Ahimsa Puppy Day Training Guide
Social, Civil and Savvy: Training & Socializing Puppies to Become the Best Possible Dogs by Laura VanArendonk.
The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnel and Brenda Scidmore.
Way to Go by Patricia McConnell and Karen B. London.
I Will Be Home Soon by Patricia McConnell.
What to expect: Introducing your puppy to your adult dogs online article by Laurie Luck.
Decoding Your Dog by American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Position Statements on: Puppy socialization, Punishment and Dominance.
