Katie Coseo
Published: Sunday, October 5, 2008
Students with wagging tails, hanging tongues and the occasional slobber make one class on the Warrington campus an interesting one.
Puppy Kindergarten and Dog Obedience classes are now being offered at the Warrington campus through the Continuing Education program.
Each of the classes is divided according to the dogs’ age and size. Puppy Kindergarten is offered to small puppies up to six months of age. Obedience 1 is for dogs aged seven months and up. Obedience 2 is offered to dog owners who wish to continue their dogs’ educations and prepare them for shows. All of the classes are 10 weeks long and meet once a week.
“We do about the same – sit, down, calm,” explained Carol Miller, who teaches the classes.
The puppies worked on their “heel,” “sit” and “come” commands, and were released from their leashes to switch owners for a moment.
One puppy, Kiki, repeatedly ignored the “come” command and ran past her owner and back again with her tail wagging excitedly. Other puppies, such as Scarlet, a Boston terrier, set the bar for some of the other dogs.
After Scarlet showed her exemplary skills, her owner, Pamela, said, “She’s still a puppy and she likes to chase the chicken and turkeys.”
At the end of the class, the puppy owners were given homework for next week’s class, and Miller gave one more instruction, “Play with your dogs, folks, it’s important.”
Miller has been training dogs for 12 years. Six years ago, she took over the canine classes on the Warrington campus from the previous instructor she knew from Five Flags Training.