Every Friday night, behavioral specialist Karen Hashimoto's class is filled with students, ranging from 3 months old up to a year. The prerequisite: each student must have a wagging tail, a wet nose and have completed their second round of puppy shots. Students attend with at least one "parent," who is also part of the learning process.

Her classes have two major purposes: first, to socialize the puppy and, second, to give them the basic foundation and skills for obedience. The ultimate goal is to produce a well-rounded and self-confident adult dog.

Each six-week session has an average of six to eight dogs.

At the start, Hashimoto lets the puppies play to burn off that excitable energy. In the middle of her classroom, a mound of wiggly bodies paw and chase each other. After 10 minutes of freedom, they go back to their owners and practice obedience skills, like walking on a leash.

Hashimoto's background is in training marine mammals. How did she move from dolphins to dogs? Her mother had an aggressive dog. Karen took the dog to obedience class in the '90s and was introduced to dog training. In 2000, she formed her own dog-training company and has helped more than 2,000 students.

"My goal is to help people form a lifelong bond with their dogs. I don't want to see a dog euthanized because of behavioral problems."

What's her method of training? "There's no cookie-cutter way of training. Each individual is different. I train to fit the needs of both the dog and owner using a positive reward system," she said. "Eighty percent of what I do is human training and 20 percent is training the dog. Because everyone's an individual, I figure out a happy medium of what works and adapt it for both the owners and their dogs."

Hashimoto advises that every dog should go to puppy class before they are 5 months old. "Puppies go through critical learning stages very quickly. If you want your dogs to be friendly, without fear, aggression and anxiety, we start working on building blocks. The fun thing about puppies is that they are extremely friendly and don't know anything other than play. We work to propagate this behavior as an adult," she said.

Karen's students and "parents" treat school as fun time.

Lady, a 6-month-old sable border collie, is new to Karen's class, but her owner Jeanne Sumida of Kalihi is a repeat student. Her other dog, also named Lady, attended Hashimoto's puppy class more than three years ago. "We came back to Karen because I know how she teaches. There's no scolding. She's positive and kind. The first Lady died of pancreatic cancer last year. As soon as we got another puppy, I called Karen immediately and told her to sign us up."

Zeke, a golden retriever, a towering puppy among his smaller classmates, enjoys the camaraderie of his new furry friends. His mom and dad accompany him every Friday night to class. "Her class is so much fun, even for us adults," say Roxanne and John Baranski of Kahala.

Hashimoto says, "The best doggie parents are the ones who are enthusiastic about learning. What it comes down to is having a good time with your dog. That's the most important thing about learning in my class. "

When asked what is the best part of her job, she says with a big smile, "Seeing the results and knowing how grateful they are, it gives me great satisfaction to know that I've helped someone."

If you're thinking of taking your dog to class, reach Karen Hashimoto at 382-4789 or karenkhashimoto@hotmail.com.