[Chrystlite212]

I have a 3 month old min. dashchund. I saw that a local petsmart offers all kind of classes to help train my dog. I was just wondering is he to young to learn from the classes, and if anyone has taken the petsmart classes or know if they are worth the money. I really love the little guy, there are just a few things that I don't know about raising a puppy. And I want him to be raised as happy and healthy as possible. If anyone has any advise for me, I would be grateful!!

[labman]

3 months is a good time for a dog to be learning obedience, but not a good time to be out around strange dogs. Early puppy shots may not take because the immunity passed on by the mothers may interfere. Parvo is a big problem, rapidly killing off puppies that may have had a shot or 2. They need a chance to socialize with other dogs, but work with your family and friends you know take good care of their dogs.

I usually get my puppies at 7 weeks and start obedience then. The younger the puppy, the easier it is, although sessions must be kept short, only a few repetitions each time. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/. Nobody told him he is a small dog. He thinks he is a wolf. Too many people fail to take small dogs seriously. I am glad you plan to obedience train him.

A dog can only learn to stay on task around other dogs, around other dogs. After he is 6 months old, you might look into a class. Petsmart or Petco might not be a bad place to start. Many kennel clubs have good programs, but don't count ont. You could just be wasting more money yet. See if you can observe a class some before sighing up.

As for keeping him healthy, I see more nonsense on the net about diet than anything else. The modern dog chows are carefully formulated to provide a complete and balanced diet. You can hardly go wrong as long as it says AAFCO on the bag and your feed him little else, no vitamins or other supplements and little food from your table. Keep him lean. His back is not built to support excess weight. See http://www.purina.com/dogs/nutrition.asp?article=292. Keep him up to date on shots, and have him on heartworm preventative when the mosquitoes come out.