Skip to main content
Kenia
Smarty
201 smarty grads
smarty chews
bennie and local friend
SmartyPup Angus and Family
SmartyPup Puppy Training
smartypup harleigh
Jester
SmartyPups at Crissy!

What to expect in a Puppy Social

Because dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and have very different play styles, exposure to each other at an early age (before 16 weeks) is crucial.  Small and large breed Puppies must learn how to interact safely and respectfully.

 Puppy Class contains a mix of people and puppies, the experience being representative of what your pup will encounter in day-to-day life.

SmartyPup! Class and Socials!

Watch SmartyPup! Socials

The first day of a puppy class for your pup is like the first day of kindergarten for a child . . . exciting and somewhat intimidating at the same time. Can you think back to that day? Some kids cried and didn't want to be there, while others had a blast right away. Some parents relaxed knowing their kids would be fine, while others stuck nervously close just in case. You are going to see the same thing happen in a Puppy Class.

Your puppy may be a wallflower at first--hiding under a chair, or prefering to stay on your lap, watching. That’s fine -- when he is ready, he will come out to play. Other puppies will go Tarzan -- pouncing around the room with excessive enthusiasm! The Tarzan puppies need to learn to be more smooth, the wallflowers need confidence building and both need to learn to respect eachothers "style" and modify their own interactions.


During play, you'll see growls of joy and warning, barking, whining, snarling, yips of fear and excitiment, snapping, biting, wrestling, running, hiding, and pawing -- just to name a few behaviors. If a pup gets nipped too hard or approached too quickly . . . a loud yelp or a heading for the hills will ensue! It’s ok. They'll be fine and eventually be right back out there.  They’re just surprised and they need to learn how to communicate to their playmate, "Hey, stop that! I don’t like that!” or “I don't want to play with you right now. Go away.” In addition, you may see a puppy naturally roll onto it's back -- an appeasement gesture to ward off further interactions. One puppy will pounce near another pup trying to initiate play … the pounced pup may screech with terror, but when he realizes that, in fact, there was nothing to fear and that all is well in puppydom … he will bounce back and try again. The “pouncer” will learn that he needs to be a bit "smoother" in his effort to get other pups to play with him.

These behaviors all occurred within your puppy's litter and now needs repeating as pups meet their new friends. It is a learning experience for all, full of trial and error. Puppies need to learn to how to be a dog, and they do this by interacting with their peers.


We are here for you, therefore if at ANYTIME you are uncomfortable or hesitant, we encourage you to speak up and let us know. Not only do we respect puppies, we respect people.

SmartyPup! will help you discover, appreciate, understand and support your pups personality.

Humans have created a variety of dog breeds to specialize in certain tasks, so when some hard-wired behaviors come out in play, the behaviors may appear exaggerated. That's why it is sooo important to fully understand your puppy's temperament and personality, his breed and most important introduce him to other puppy cultures. This is where SmartyPups! puppy experts come in!

We welcome all pups and respect their indivisuality. We don't expect all dogs of all sizes to play together all the time, in fact when the size difference is great, we recommend play be carefully monitored. More importantly, we  want puppies to respect each other through appropriate greetings and interactions! Tarzan pups, police officer pups, wallflowers, and simple peanut gallery pups must learn to get along.

This is what puppies and people learn in SmartyPup! Puppy Classes and Socials.

SmartyPup!’s goal  is the social confidence, well-being, and safety for you and your pup for a lifetime!

PUPPY CLASSES PROVIDE NEW PUPPY OWNERS WITH:

  • A safe place to learn necessary manners and social skills;
  • Instruction in the needs and early development of puppies;
  • Friendly and educational interactions with people and energetic pups.
  • Early identification and prevention of behavior problems.
  • The skill set needed to train a puppy in class and more inportantly, on your own.
  • The Puppy Forum: a community of owners that have gone through
    SmartyPup! Puppy training classes and have "been there and done that"!

MOST IMPORTANT: Training early will ensure that your pup develops
good habits. Plus, early training helps prevent bad ones from ever
starting! Classes advocate simple, educational, and effective teaching
methods that will benefit all family members.