What is puppy kindergarten?
Puppy Kindergarten is a 4 week program that begins after ‘Go Home Day’ for your puppy and will be conducted at the Rose Hill location for Red Door Canines. This kind of immersion in pack culture will allow your dog to gain confidence, learn obedience, and become a more enjoyable companion.
About puppy kindergarden
Our program is completely customized to the needs of each dog that we train.
Your puppy will be placed in situations that challenge them in order to help them grow into the best pet possible.
Training spaces are limited due to the nature of the training and the one-on-one time that each dog will require.
Sydney will take 3 kindergarteners per litter and the spots are first come first serve.
During your puppy’s stay, training will include:
Introduction of Basic Commands (Sit, Here, Down, etc.)
Beginner Socialization (In Home and Public)
Beginner Potty Training
Beginner Crate Conditioning/Training
Pack Structure Training
Feeding Structure(Alone/Group)
Bathing and Grooming Conditioning
Beginner Settling Conditioning/Training
Beginner Car Rider Training/Conditioning
Opportunities to have FUN!
Frequently Asked
Should I put the crate in my room/near me when the puppy comes home from kindergarten?
When your puppy was in kindergarten, they stayed downstairs with all of the other dogs to get them acclimated to being alone and becoming more independent. Their crates remained there both during the day and at night. With almost everything they learned in kindergarten, your puppy may have an adjustment period where they whine, cry, or bark in their crate at home. It is crucial that you don’t give in to these behaviors because they know better and by letting them out of the crate, you are in a sense rewarding those behaviors. Now some puppies may do great with their crates away from you but some may need that extra closeness/reassurance in order to transition to being at their new home. Remember, at my house, they are with a lot of other dogs and at yours none of those dogs are there. If it helps them settle better, bring them in your room by your bedside so you can place your hand on the crate as a comfort. Then slowly transition them farther and farther away from you. The same goes for day time crate time. Place your puppy’s crate where they can see you or have them out of sight. Whatever allows them to settle and then slowly transition to them being able to do both. Remember the goal is to have the crate be a safe space for them. A second home. It is very important you use the crate as a positive tool not a negative one so your puppy wants to go in the crate. Crates are for their safety and allow them a space to rest and recharge.
Can I put toys or bones in their crates during the day?
During the day, you can be much more lenient with what you put in the crate. I would however caution you to put things in there that they could destroy such as toys when you are not around to monitor it. It is completely safe to place a digestible bone in there and you leave but if you left a stuffy toy in there and you leave, you may come home to it shredded and them possible have ingested pieces. From my own experience with dogs digesting things, it’s quite pricey. All this being said, use your judgement because each puppy is different. If they have never shredded a toy, feel free to leave one in there. If they tend to be on the more destructive side, I might not. I also would encourage you to only use toys or bones in the crate if the dog is not tired. If they are tired, let them sleep in the crate. The crate is a tool that teaches the dog to settle and rest so that when they are out of it, they can play and burn off their energy. The crate is the equivalent to our bed as humans.
How many times should the dog be in the crate during the day and for how long?
Puppies can stay in the crate for an hour for every month they are consecutively before they will have to go to the restroom. During kindergarten your puppy will be in their crate three separate times for one hour each during the day and then sleep in their crates at night. Again the crate is not bad and especially when puppies are still little, they sleep a lot. Let them do it in the crate.
What should I put in their crate at night?
During puppy kindergarten I do not put anything in their crates at night. I am training them to not use the restroom and to sleep all night. By placing other objects in their crates, it creates a distraction from those two tasks. I do not want to encourage them to use whatever it is as a place to potty or a time to play. I do not recommend that you put anything in their crate but again that is up to you. Doodles are very hot natured dogs and they prefer the cold tray in the bottom of their crate. I know it may seem not nice or not cozy for them if you don’t have a bed in there but remember dogs don’t have feelings and putting something in there that they could eat or potty on will only create bad habits.
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How often should I let my dog out to potty during the day?
This all depends on how much water you are giving them and how often. Usually my dogs have water with breakfast, and every few hours or so throughout the day, and then again at dinner. With kindergarteners usually I let them out every 45 minutes to an hour in the beginning.Once they are ready to go home after training they are usually up to an hour to an hour and a half. Again this all depends on the amount of water you give them. The time might also be slightly less at your house because it is a completely new area so be lenient and patient. Consistency is KEY!
What do I do if my puppy barks, whines, or cries in the crate?
The best thing to do is ignore them. It is not cruel to do this. If you give them any kind of attention, you are in some way giving them a reward. Whether your attention is positive or negative, they are still getting attention and that is what they want! Now with all this being said, if your puppy is not letting up on barking, crying, etc., it may be because they need to go to the bathroom or something is wrong. You will quickly learn the difference between those two sounds. If you know they are okay and they don’t have to use the bathroom, most of the time the cry it out method is best. Also refer to the first questions response for some helpful ideas with crate training and transition. Lastly, depending on when your puppy was here in kindergarten, each night with newborn litters we play instrumental lullabies. This is a sound that we have found soothes newborns, kindergarteners, and the adult dogs. This tool is something you can try to settle them. You can find all kinds of playlists on youtube, spotify, apple music,etc.