Zip
 Breed: Border Collie
Age When Trained: 13 weeks - ongoing
Chief Training Issue: Obedience, Manners, and Management of extreme energy levels
Carmelite met Zip when he was just a young pup, while she was working and studying at the Lee Mannix Center for Canine Behavior (www.lmccb.com) Lee called Carmelite into the room to see the unusual markings on this Border Collie pup (then known as “Max”), and Carmelite caught a glance of Zip’s overwrought owner sitting beside him. “Max” had come in for training because the couple that had recently purchased him were beginning to suspect that they had made the wrong puppy choice (click here for help picking out your new puppy or dog). The couple had never raised a puppy before, and the only dogs they’d owned had been a Rottweiler and an English Mastiff, quite different creatures from a Border Collie. Max’s energy and curiosity, even at the tender age of 3 months, were already beginning to wear them out. Over the course of the next few months, Carmelite got to know Max well as he attended several more private lessons with Lee, and regularly came to do training daycares with Carmelite (Carmelite was training dogs with the LMCCB daycare at the time). Max was a typical working line Border Collie: extremely intelligent, extremely active, very sensitive to sights, sounds and touch, and very sweet. Even with all of the help they were getting, it quickly became clear that Max was simply not the right match for the couple that had bought him. After much deliberation, Carmelite decided to take Max in for awhile until a proper home could be found for him. Max was 6 months old at the time. It wasn’t long before Carmelite decided to keep the new pup. Max was renamed Zip, and has become an integral part of Carmelite’s family (see the Staff Bio page for more on Zip). His boundless energy and intelligence have been carefully focused through his training, and he is now breathtaking to behold when doing what he was born to do: working.
Jeane Phillipe
 Breed: Coton de Tulear
Age When Trained: 10 weeks - ongoing
Chief Training Issue: Under-Socialization, Prevention of Aggression and Fear problems
Jeane Phillipe first started training with Cool Dogs’ trainer, Carmelite, when he was 10 weeks old. Carmelite helped Jeane Phillipe’s owner all throughout the process of getting him: picking the breed, finding a breeder, and picking the puppy from the litter (click here for help picking out your new puppy or dog). After seeing JP’s litter and the environment in which he was raised, Carmelite knew that he was a good match for his family, but she also knew that he might need a little help to get him off on the right foot. The trouble is that most breeders, even really good breeders, make mistakes when raising a litter of puppies (visit our Blog for more info. on puppy development). JP’s breeder was very conscientious and cared a lot about her puppies, but she had made the grave mistake of being very over-protective of the pups. When JP was picked up at 10 weeks old, he had never been outside before in his entire life! Under-exposure to stimulus at this age can cause all sorts of problems ranging from timidity to aggression. Carmelite explained the situation to the owner, and told her that JP could still become a well-adjusted dog, but that he would need a little extra help in the beginning. The owner agreed and so Carmelite took Jeane Phillipe home with her until he was 13 weeks old. The little white fluff-ball who had never been outside before got to roll in mud, swim in the creek, meet chickens, run with the big dogs, go into stores and listen to construction noises (click here for information on our board and train services). The intensive socialization treatment worked. Jeane Phillipe, despite the delicacy his name implies, has become a rough and tumble, sweet and friendly little dog, without a hint of skittishness or aggression. The hardest part now is keeping him out of the pool!
Cocoa
 Breed: Chihuahua
Age When Trained: 9 weeks - ongoing
Chief Training Issue: puppy hooliganism
Cocoa got started off on the best of footing. Cocoa’s Dad (her human Dad, that is) bumped into Carmelite, the trainer here at Cool Dog, a couple of days before he was set to go down and pick out a puppy from a breeder. Carmelite was able to give Dad some valuable tips on picking a good puppy out of the litter and spotting a bad breeder (click here for help picking out your new puppy or dog), and, thus, Cocoa joined her new family. Cocoa was, like most puppies, very cute and sweet and the family immediately fell in love with her. Pretty soon, though, she began displaying all of the normal puppy behaviors: chewing, nipping, whining and barking, and housebreaking issues. Cocoa also had a few common Chihuahua issues starting to form, such as timidity and snappiness. Cocoa’s Dad called Carmelite to schedule Cocoa’s first lesson, and soon the whole family sat down together to learn the basics of raising a puppy. The lessons have gone very well. Cocoa is a quick learner and her family has done their homework to keep her on track.
Cocoa has had several private lessons at Cool Dog, & has boarded with us when the rest of the family was out. She is maturing into a delightful little companion. Keep up the good work, Cocoa and family!
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