Dog o' Day
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Duke University holding Puppy Kindergarten this semester

By Wesley Coburn

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Duke University is holding Puppy Kindergarten as a new course this semester.

Duke University is holding a new course this semester: Puppy Kindergarten.

Dog O’Day learned of this project through a story on the American Kennel Club website.

This is done under the Duke Canine Cognition Center, with an initial enrollment of seven students, all yellow Labradors.

Six of these students are three sets of sibling pairs from the Canine Companions for Independence, a service dog training organization, while the seventh puppy comes from an unrelated litter not affiliated with CCI.

(CCI is also training the San Jose Sharks’ team dog Finn.)

The object is to raise better service dogs, and determine whether nature or nurture has a more important role in the training process.

The course involves lots of socialization, aptitude tests and cognitive games, in addition to lots of walks.

“Becoming an assistance dog is like going to college,” Brian Hare, professor in Duke’s Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, told the AKC. “It’s tough to get in, and not everyone graduates.”

(This was the case with Ranger, the original NHL team dog.)

Hare is also the director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, a leading force in canine science.

The Puppy Kindergarten is backed by a grant from the National Institute of Health, and students from all over the campus are encouraged to drop in, as part of the training methods involves an avalanche of unconditional love and affection.

More than a hundred volunteers are assisting with the endeavor

“Duke students tend to be overcommitted and over-scheduled, and we thought having to pick up poop and keep the puppies from eating stuff might negatively impact them,” Vanessa Woods, Puppy Kindergarten director, told the AKC. “But it’s been incredibly mindful and beneficial.”

Ten puppies are enrolled in the Spring 2020 course. for more information about the program, see the Cognition Center’s website.

dark. Next. NHL teams as dog breeds

For more on Duke Blue Devils sports within the FanSided Network, be sure to check out our sister site Ball Durham.

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