*Reading Calming Signals is recommended before coming to playgroup.
Puppy Limits
Only healthy puppies free of sickness and parasites are allowed in WP. Puppies should have at least one, preferably 2 sets of puppy shots at time of entry. Puppies over 6 months of age must have a Rabies Vaccine and be spayed/neutered. Puppies with any known history of displaying aggression towards humans or other dogs are not permitted in playgroup. If your puppy has any history of food or toy guarding, you must let us know before playgroup starts.
- Tiny Tykes: Up to 12 lbs, 2-8 mo, 10 pup max
- Little Tykes: 12-25 lbs, 2-8 mo, 8 pup max
- Big Tykes: 25-45 lbs, 2-8 mo, 6 pup max
People Limits
- Two adults and two children max (per pup)
- Inside play area, one adult and one child max at a time (per pup)
You can alternate who observes & who is inside playgroup
Children Limits
- Case by case trials
- Ages 6 + allowed in Tiny Tykes, only
- Ages 10 + allowed in Tiny, Little and Big Tykes
- 2 adults must accompany children (some exceptions)
- Children must display calm behavior and follow trainer instructions
- No running or hugging of pups
Your Arrival
- Upon first entering WP, wipe your pup’s paws and rear end at the wiping station to help protect possible transmission of parasites.
- Please bring your pup wearing a regular quick-release collar (even if you come in on a harness) Plus: poo bags, a treat pouch, clicker, treats, and chew stick or kong.
- Please do not allow pups to greet other pups outside of playgroup.
- Please exercise pups before your arrival, and offer water and potty just prior to entering playgroup.
Nervous Pups & Parents
- Come early for pup to adjust to space, and for slower acclimation to dogs.
- Start behind zen fence.
- Always provide escape and free flow of space (no cornering or holding around other free dogs)
- Avoid coddling, and keep a sing-songy voice & relaxed demeanor.
- For extreme nervousness, we will make other plans.
Start of Playgroup
Enter All On-Leash & Get Connected
To start playgroup in a calm manner, all pups should enter on-leash. Have a seat and practice connecting with your pup (focus, basic skills, and relaxation). If your pup tends to be barky, come prepared with high value treats and a high value, edible chewy (ie flossy, bully stick, etc).
Group Release
To encourage proper dog-dog greeting behavior, pups should be released when calm and facing parents, away from the other pups. Take harnesses and leashes off, but quick-release collars should be left on for gathering during play. Holding onto collar, treat your pup for 5 seconds, then let go of collar and continue to treat for 5 seconds. Allow pups to gradually wander away. (If another pup wanders over to your pup while you are treating, stop treating to avoid competition)
Entering & Exiting During Playgroup
Leash & unleash in the double-gated area.
At the moment a pup re-enters playgroup (after a temporary leave), pups in the playgroup need to be re-directed or unaware of the moment the new pup enters or is put onto floor (so as to not practice bombarding the entering puppy).
Your Involvement
Be pro-active and stay involved! You should be actively supervising your dog around at all times, and be ready to step in and/or give feedback. If you are not managing your puppy and your puppy is overwhelming other pups, trainers and other dog parents have permission to gently step in to manage your pup in order to protect another pup.
Balance
Encourage “give and take” and balance in play. Play should involve taking turns chasing and being chased, and alternating being on top and being on bottom.
Potty Etiquette
As excitement goes up, so does potty frequency. Therefore, take pup potty before entering playgroup and take out for potty breaks on 10-20 minute intervals. (Or, 2-3 x as often in new or exciting situations such as this.)
As excitement goes up, so does potty frequency. Therefore, take pup potty before entering playgroup and take out for potty breaks on 10-20 minute intervals. (Or, 2-3 x as often in new or exciting situations such as this.)
Water Etiquette
Offer your pup water as needed, and just before leaving or returning from potty.
To avoid competition, it is best that only one pup is allowed at the water dish at a time.
Food Etiquette
- At beginning of each playgroup, we will identify what dogs have allergies or sensitive tummies. Please do not feed those pups.
- If a pup sits for you or does something good, you can and should treat that pup. However, if the pup parks at your feet and continues asking for treats, discontinue treating / don’t encourage begging.
- To avoid competition or resource guarding, if you are giving a pup a treat, do not treat if other noses are nearby (you can remedy by simultaneously handing a treat to two dogs at the same time by handing the treats away from each other so that the heads are separate).
Toy Etiquette
Toys will be handed out during play, as a reward for calm play style.
If any puppy becomes over the top, or over intense, the toys will be put away.
Restraining Pups (leashing, holding, etc)
To protect pups from becoming potential targets, the only pups to ever be restrained or on-leash around other pups that are off-leash, are the ones who have over-the-top play style. And, they too, should be protected from becoming potential targets. If you are restraining your pup in any way and another pup becomes pushy, you should free your pup so that the pup does not feel threatened.
Energy Levels: Calm vs Over-Arousal
Puppies need a lot of experience in playing calmly. This will minimize potentially bad experiences during the most important time of development, and also prepare the pups so that they are able to contain themselves in higher energy states. To encourage this, we may restrain pups that become over-excited. We can encourage proper play behavior by keeping them in one place with all four on the floor. For every ones safety, at any time a pup becomes over-aroused (ie stiff, wide-eyed, zooming, humping, hair standing up, overly vocal, etc) the pup should be escorted to the zen area or taken outside for a break. Although arousal is not necessarily aggression, it can quickly turn into aggression. Therefore, pups should stay for 5-10 minutes (or longer) cooling down before re-entering playgroup.
Pushy Puppy Behavior
towards other pups
(overly fixated, not responding to another pup’s stress signals, humping, pinning, or bothering)
Pups that display over-the-top play style should be held at the chest or collar, or wearing a training tail. Keeping a low anchor is suggested so that the feet stay on the floor - controlling outer energy helps control inner energy state. If using a training tail, you want to stand on the training tail as close to the dog as possible, so as to avoid entanglement.
If you have a situation in which you are not sure if your pup is overwhelming another puppy, you can do a “heat check.” Hold the more forward pup by the chest or at the collar and see how the other pup responds. Does the other pup seem to be relieved (leave/discontinue play) or defensive (attacking back)? Or does the other pup seem to simply want to continue the play as normal? If there is no big change, you can release your pup to continue play.
towards people
If a pup jumps on you… turn your back and ignore.
If a pup is begging, or barking for attention or treats… turn your back and ignore.
If over-intense, pup’s person should redirect pup elsewhere or take to zen area to calm down.
When “Oops Happens” / Aggressive Behavior
We will treat on a case-by-case basis. In general there are 2 types:
Level 1 Incident – Pup accidently scares another pup (by being on top too long, biting too hard, resource guarding, etc).
How to respond: Separate pups in a light-hearted manner and give the fearful pup lots of treats to lessen any bad experience.
Level 2 Incident – Pup scares another pup with intent to injure (from over arousal, guarding or defending).
How to respond: We have emergency spray made of harmless citronella that we can use if necessary. Everyone grab their pups, leash, and in a light-hearted manner give lots of treats to lessen any bad experience.
End of Playgroup
Ending Play / All On-Leash
Leash/harness pups at same time.
Pups should be calm and facing parents, away from the other pups.
Have a seat and practice connecting with your pup (focus, basic skills, and relaxation). If your pup tends to be barky, come prepared with high value treats and a high value, edible chewy (ie flossy, bully stick, etc).
*Please Note:
Look and listen for the head trainer’s instructions. Be ready for when parents should recall their pups to practice basic skill training, and when the pups are allowed to resume playing. Pups should be calm and focused on their person before resuming playtime. Please also expect that sometimes trainers will step in to manage your pup. We will show you how to manage certain behaviors through modeling. Then, you will get to mimic what we show you.
To ensure that your puppy has a safe and positive experience...If there is not an appropriate puppy match for your puppy to play with, we may have to ask that you bring your puppy another time. If we see inappropriate or dangerous social behavior, we will have to ask you to leave and we will recommend scheduling a private training session to address the issue. If a puppy appears to be sick or not feeling well, please do not try to attend. We will have to ask you to leave until your puppy is healthy. Thanks!
