Social Training Goes To The Dogs

By DIANE LOEBEL The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 24, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Aiming to keep pooches with their owners and out of shelters, Melanie Villafana of DogGone Solutions Inc. and Pasco County's parks department are offering socialization and obedience training.

"You can teach an old dog new tricks," Villafana said.

Group training is a new venture for the department and for Villafana, who has taught private lessons.

A Puppy Kindergarten for dogs 6 months and younger, and obedience classes for dogs older than 6 months, start Saturday at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park off Wilderness Park Road. After entering the park, follow the paw prints to Shelter 3.

Hourlong sessions - held rain or shine - will meet Saturdays for six weeks for a fee of $95 per dog. Kindergarten starts at 9 a.m. and obedience training at 11. All dogs must be up-to-date on their vaccinations. Classes are limited to 12 students.

Kindergartners will focus on socialization skills, pup-to-pup and pup-to-person. A social puppy is less likely to have aggression problems later in life. Owners will learn how to desensitize their pets to things they can't avoid, such as grooming, bathing and vacuum cleaner noise.

The obedience course will stress establishing a pack order, effectively commanding the canine and issuing basic commands such as sit, stay and heel.

Villafana got involved with behavioral training after struggling to control her Siberian husky, Isis, during walks. When her pet graduated from an obedience class, Villafana's tutoring started. She apprenticed with a local trainer who specialized in protection dogs, then at 21 went to the Arizona Canine Academy.

The majority of her lessons there involved hands-on experience and included trips to a groomer, a veterinarian, a canine massage therapist, a police K-9 training center and the nonprofit WolfSong Ranch Foundation, dedicated to protecting wolves.

"I'm really looking forward to teaching these classes," Villafana said. "It gives the dogs a chance to stay at home and not be taken to a shelter."

Additional Puppy Kindergarten and obedience classes are scheduled to begin July 21 and Sept. 15.

Register online at www.doggonesolutions.comor call (727) 834-3474. Participants also can sign up by mail, but registrations for May classes should have been sent already. For information, call (813) 760-6684.