Donovan, the owner of Dogstar Productions in suburban Detroit, is visiting Petland stores across the nation to help pet counselors understand puppy development and puppy training techniques, and to help them lead their own puppy behavior and training department.

“This program ensures that our Petland pet counselors gain a thorough understanding of early puppy development and training principles,” said Francisco Martinez, operator of the Petland store in Laredo, Texas, where all pet counselors already are certified under the program. “We stress the importance of the human-animal bond to our customers, and this comprehensive puppy training program is an excellent resource that can be used to strengthen the connection between people and their pets.”

At the Laredo store, puppy behavior training specialists conduct daily training sessions with puppies.

“Puppy socialization is best addressed between 8 and 16 weeks of age, which is generally the time when puppies are being handled and adopted from our Petland store,” said Martinez. “This socialization ultimately makes our puppies better pets for our Petland customers.”

As part of the certification program, pet counselors learn a number of useful “puppy games,” including a rollover exercise that strengthens the human-animal bond, lure training, and sit, down and come responses. They also learn housebreaking, appropriate chase and retrieval games for dogs, and how to successfully alter destructive canine behaviors with humane responses.

At press time, a handful of Petland stores had begun to offer puppy training classes.

“This training is the best of its kind, and our pet counselors are gaining invaluable knowledge to pass on to our customers,” said Martinez. “At Petland, we want our puppies to make a smooth transition into their new homes.” [August 2006 PET AGE]