New Year's resolution for your puppy or dog? Better behavior for 2015!

Kick off the New Year right with better behavior for you and your dog! Register for one of our upcoming classes! Puppy Class starts Wednesday, January 14th! 8:00-9:00 Urban Agility starts Sunday, January 11th 6:15-7:30 Both classes run for 5 weeks/$300.00 Where: D Pet Hotel in Chelsea (104 W. 27th St). Save a spot today! Contact walkandtrain@gmail.com or 917-843-4796

Next round of Puppy Kindergarten starts - February 20th. Enroll today!

If you have a puppy - then you probably have pee, poop and little tiny teeth to contend with too! Puppy Kindergarten is the perfect way to give your pup the social skills and good manners required for life in this bustling city! Join Puppy Kindergarten to get your puppy on the track to good manners! All puppies with their first two rounds of vaccinations are welcome! When: Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 7-8pm - meets for four weekly sessions! Where: D Pet Hotel - Chelsea 104 W. 27th (6th and 7th) Cost: $225 All class training is gentle & positive reinforcement based. Class covers: *Housetraining *Sit/Down *Nipping and Chewing *Leave it *Crate Training *Coming When Called *Barking *Leash Skills ENROLL YOUR PUPPY TODAY!

EMAIL INFO@WALKANDTRAIN.COM or CALL 917.843.4796

Puppy Kindergarten Starts January 16th!

New Year! New Puppy? It's time for Puppy Kindergarten! Puppy Kindergarten is the perfect way to give your pup the social skills and good manners required for life in this bustling city! All class training is gentle & positive reinforcement based. Class covers: *Housetraining *Sit/Down *Nipping and Chewing *Leave it *Crate Training *Coming When Called *Barking *Leash Skills *****MORE MORE MORE! Puppy Kindergarten will run 4 weeks every WEDNESDAY starting January 16th at 7:00-8pm at D Pet Hotel Chelsea (104 W. 27th St.). The fee is $225.00 Space is limited! Call, email of stop into D Pet Hotel to enroll today! Email: info@walkandtrain.com Call: 917-843-4796

Our promotional montage - check it out!

We text, we send photos - we're great at what we do. Where do we fall short? Shamelessly promoting ourselves, but we're working on that part. Check out the slideshow montage we created. Wagtastic, if for only the music alone! Warm wags!

NY Walk & Train creates - Super Social Small Dogs group

NY Walk & Train created this group for Super Social Small Dogs under 25lbs and their people to come, socialize and have fun and learn a thing or two. Our aim is to save NYC's small dog population from it's "yapper" reputation.

By socializing on a routine basis, these Super Social Small Dogs heriocally fight off small dog syndrome symptoms of barking, yapping and terrorizing Gotham's population. Developing into confident, happy-go-lucky, care-free Social Small Dog Super Heroes!

Come! Join the Super Social Small Dogs group and help save Gotham's small dog population!

Here's the link to join!
http://www.meetup.com/NYC-Super-Social-Small-Dogs/

Woofs!
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Small and Big - should they play together?

Here's my latest article for Modern Dog Magazine
http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/blogs/gooddog


It is well known that all dogs need socialization. Socialization is the term dog trainers use for acclimating dogs to the world. This means safely exposing your dog to sounds, smells, different surfaces, objects (canes, walkers, wheelchairs, full shopping bags, hats), humans (tall, small, old and young, black, white, yellow and brown), and other furry beings (dogs, cats, horses etc.). Exposing your dog to the world where he will live is the foundation of developing a confident and mentally healthy dog. This process is particularly important in the first months of a dog’s life, but continues for a lifetime.

Often it is an owner's gut instinct to protect the life of the young puppy. In some cases, it's lucky for the puppy - who would gladly eat a pound of cable wire, drywall and underwear in one sitting! In other circumstances however, this protection can be detrimental. In an attempt to protect a dog or puppy - owners actually rob them of opportunities to experience and acclimate to their own world and to speak their own langauge with other dogs. I find this to be the case most often with puppy and small dog owners.

I often field the comment, “I don’t want my little dog around big dogs,” or question, “do you allow small dogs to play with big dogs?”

The generic “dogs under 25 pounds” rule
I don’t like generic rules. I fully understand their business purposes in lowering fluke accident liabilities, but I don’t think they work for all dogs. What’s most important in dog play is not WHO they are playing with but HOW they are playing together. As the owner of a boarding facility, if I only allowed all dogs under 25 lbs to play together, there would be some small malteses who felt absolutely tortured by a few of my feisty terrier, French bulldog, Boston guests. Likewise one of my particularly soft Aussie guests would feel utterly shocked and disgusted by a goofy lab. While the packages of these dogs are nearly the same, play style and temperament varies greatly from dog to dog, even amongst a breed and litter. Of course, there is a certain inherent risk when a giant breed Great Dane plays with a teacup Chihuahua – but more than size – it’s the STYLE of play that counts.

Doggy Style
Owners must understand that unlike small children, dogs will never sit down and play house, draw pictures side by side or talk politics. Dogs will run, chase, wrestle, nip, bark and growl. These are all normal play behaviors in dogs.
Small dog parents often wince, squeal and then run in and swoop up their small puppy or dog from another larger playful puppy or adult dog. The ear and cheek mouthing, sing-song growling and wrestling looks intense and owners worry their puppy is being hurt.

It is often the case that they are not protecting their dog, rather they are taking away the dog’s opportunity to “speak” for himself and robbing him of developing the ability to tell other dogs, “I don’t want to play like that,” or even, “yes, game on I love it when we wrestle like that!”

There are certainly moments where you may need to step in - but it's very important to know WHEN you are helping your dog and when you are simply blunting his ability to develop well-rounded social skills.

When a nice group of well-socialized dogs are playing - small and large dogs can mix. In fact, well socialized dogs are keenly aware of how their body works (the level of contact they make, the pressure they use with their mouth etc.) Happy-go-lucky dog play looks rhythmic and flowing – racing, back and forth wrestling, open mouth soft contact, sing-song type growling and small breaks in play are all good signs. Intense play involves often goes vertical (dogs standing on hind legs often), a lot of over the back neck grabbing (and holding), growling that is a very quick deep vocal burst- maybe followed by an air snap, one dog may be trying to get away repetitively.

How do I know if the play is normal when they are growling and biting?
If two dogs or puppies are playing – and you question whether they both are enjoying it – remove the dog or puppy that you think is “the bully.” Simply call the dog out of play or gently hold his collar and escort him 3-5ft away from the other dog. If the other dog happily follows or prances back to “the bully,” clearly the dogs are enjoying one another. Allow the play to continue. If the other dog does not come back to the “bully,” simply try to divert their attention to other activities or playmates.
In dog play - it's style more than the size that matters. Did I really just type that?

Warm wags,

Colleen

Colleen's tips for keeping your howlin hound safe this Halloween on Modern Dog Magazine

Halloween should be about fun and festivities. Take some simple precautions to ensure the safety of your favorite four legged ghoul this halloween season.

Click to see Colleen's article at Modern Dog Magazine:
http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/blogs/colleensafford/2010/10/halloween-safety-your-howlin-hound