FAQ Category: 2-INTERESTED IN CLASSES

Please read our COVID-19 statement here.

While it’s wise to make sure that young puppies are not going to places that are heavily frequented by dogs with uncertain vaccination status, we highly recommend getting started with puppy classes as soon as your puppy has had their first round of shots, plus ten days for the vaccines to take effect. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s position about whether to postpone socialization classes until after the vaccines are complete is that there is a much greater behavioral risk as a result of postponing than there is a medical risk as a result of starting before they are all done with their shots. Here is another link about the importance of early socialization.

To meet this need, our classes begin for puppies as young as 8 weeks. We require proof of an up-to-date DAP/DAPP/DHPP vaccine, and sanitize the room in-between every class.

We would love to hear from you! Please contact us by telephone at 206-364-4072, by email at info@doggiezen.com, or use our handy form.

Yes! Properly socializing a puppy is very important and requires more than exposure to or living with a few other dogs.

Yes! With clicker training, the idea is to use some kind of event marker to tell the dog the instant that they’ve done something you like (like sit, lie down, spin, etc.) With hearing dogs, we use a noisemaking box called a clicker. Some hard-of-hearing dogs can still hear the clicker. For most deaf dogs and puppies, we use a hand signal, a flash light, or something else as the marker. Most of the rest of the training is the same, or can be easily modified to suit a deaf puppy or dog.

Of course! We encourage students to do their homework before picking a class or training center.  You may observe one session of many of our classes. Please leave your dog or puppy at home and arrive on time or early. There is no need to let us know in advance; just tell the instructor you are there to observe.

Classes that can be observed without registering: Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Elementary, Puppy Jr. High, Basic Manners, Intermediate Manners, and Sports & Games.

Most of our classes are located at 925 NW 49th Street, Suite C in Seattle. Click here for directions.

Many of our Private Training sessions are conducted in-home, so make sure that you select the correct option (Ahimsa or in-home) and that you’re within our service area if you sign up for one-on-one training.

Our Growly Dog Clinic classes are located off-site at Discovery Park. When you register, we will send you an email with the exact location.

Yes, we sell Gift Certificates that can be used for dog training or play times! Gift Certificates are transferable if you want to give it to a friend or Rescue organization.  Click here to purchase a gift card for someone.

Ahimsa offers two types of classes – series and ongoing. Series classes have a fixed start and end date, so you are expected to attend all sessions as scheduled. Swapping series class dates is not allowed and there are no make-up classes for missed days.

Ongoing classes can be swapped or unreserved online in our client portal. When you register for a class, you are assigned class reservation dates (a guaranteed spot in that class), which you can swap for different dates to work around your schedule. If you can not make a class, you can unreserve or swap that class up to 24 hours in advance online. By phone or email, we need at least 2 days in advance of your reservation to process your change request. If you can’t attend the class and didn’t unreserve or swap it up to 24 hours in advance, the class is forfeit.

Check the class’ web page to see whether the class you are interested in is swappable (ongoing) or not (series).

What if I need more flexibility – I need different days each week or my schedule changes?

If there is a date/time you want to change, you can unreserve or swap that class up to 24 hours in advance online, for any date/time, pending availability. By phone or email, we need at least 2 days in advance of your reservation to process your request.

How do I log In?

There is View & Swap Sessions link on the upper right-hand corner our website.  You will need your Client ID and Phone Number.  (Your Client ID is found in both of the emails we send when you register).

Questions? Please email info@doggiezen.com or call us in Seattle at 206-364-4072.

The short answer to this question is “because you can!” Leash corrections and other tactics that are part of correction-based or traditional training methods “work” because they are at the very least uncomfortable for your dog. Progressive training and training based in positive reinforcement can get the same results with less stress for your dog, and avoids some of the potential hidden consequences of more old-school techniques. Some of those consequences can include increased or redirected aggression (e.g. a dog may growl or snap at another family member or person passing by), increased generalized anxiety, and behavioral “shut down” where the dog reduces all of its activity in response to stress. These side effects are virtually non-existent with the techniques we teach in classes and private training.

Positive reinforcement training is becoming increasingly popular. As it becomes more accessible, more top show dogs (agility, conformation, obedience, flyball, etc.) and working dogs (bomb sniffing dogs, assistance dogs, etc.) have been trained using positive methods. They really do work!!  Using positive methods is also a lot more fun for both parties, and builds a stronger relationship with your dog.

A clicker is a small box that you can press to make a clicking noise, and it’s a tool you can use to tell your dog “That’s it! Do that again!!” You start off by teaching the dog to associate the click with something good: Click the clicker, and every time you do, you give the dog a treat (in some circumstances, you can use a toy instead of a treat, but it’s very important that the click is always paired with something the dog really likes). Once your dog realizes that the click means that they’re about to get a treat, you can start clicking when they do something you like. For example, the moment your dog’s rump hits the floor, you can click, give them a treat, and they start to learn that sitting is a good thing. As they start to offer the sit more reliably, you can fade out the clicker and the treats and replace them with praise, toys, or scratches in your dog’s favorite spot.

The major benefit of the clicker is that it captures the exact moment that a good behavior is happening, giving you a little extra time to get your dog’s reinforcement to them without losing the incredibly important aspect of timing.

Why not just use praise to tell the dog they’ve done it right?

A lot of clients ask, “Why can’t I just say ‘good dog’ when my dog sits instead of using the clicker?” That is definitely an option, but some of the clarity of communication gets lost when we bring human speech into the equation. Our tone of voice can change, or the length of the syllables, which means that your dog might hear a high pitched “GOOD DOG!” when they start coming towards you when you call, or you may quietly say “Goooooooood doooooooog” when they’re laying down calmly. Not only do these sound different to your dog, but they may also have different meanings to you – one of them means “I’m going to treat the heck out of you!” whereas the other one really means something like, “thank goodness you aren’t bouncing off the walls right now, please don’t move.” The “magic” of the clicker is that it sounds the same every time, and has a very concrete meaning (a treat is coming).

That said, the clicker isn’t for every situation, and some dogs may even be afraid of the sound. In classes and in private sessions, we’ll help you decide when to use the clicker (or whether it’s a good tool for you and your dog at all!) We often use a verbal marker in place of the clicker, usually a single word that we can say in the same tone of voice throughout a training session and that will have the same meaning as the clicker (i.e., That was good, and here’s your treat!).