Puppy School classes
Puppy School is a set of 6 puppy training classes lasting 1 hour. The comprehensive programme has been carefully designed to take you through all the obedience basics giving you a good foundation for life with your new puppy or for any dog training sport you choose to do later.
Puppy School curriculum - What will my puppy learn?
You will learn how to teach your puppy to:
- Come when called
- Sit, lie down, stand on command
- Walk on a loose lead without pulling
- Accept handling (including for vets and groomers)
- Wait
- 'Settle'
- 'Leave when asked
- Accept people near to food bowls, bones and chews
- Stop play biting
- Be sociable with humans and other puppies
- Greet people without jumping up
The puppy training exercises gradually progress from easy to more complex, building up your puppy's understanding and reliability each week.
(All of these puppy training exercises are covered in the Training for Life DVD and the Puppy School book.)
Reward-based puppy training
Only reward-based puppy training methods are used at Puppy School. Treats, toys and praise are used to encourage puppies to be well behaved. No bullying or rough handling is tolerated.
Is it fun?
Puppy School tutors are chosen for their people-skills as well as their puppy training abilities. Encouragement and praise are used to help you acquire the skills you need to train your puppy. No humiliation or shaming of owners will occur and all lessons are fun and sociable with a happy, friendly atmosphere.
Puppy play
Puppies will be allowed to play in carefully controlled small groups to ensure they learn good manners around other puppies, do not get scared, and do not learn to play roughly or aggressively. Puppies will be matched for size, age, and experience, and play will be carefully supervised to ensure that all puppies learn to be confident with others.
Please note that, in some classes, the mix of puppies may make it impossible to conduct puppy play sessions safely. Puppy play session will only be offered if they can be run without causing harm.
Behaviour advice
Throughout the course, your behaviour-trained Puppy School tutor will be on hand to help you with any behaviour problems.
Practice makes perfect
Although all the information you will need to train your puppy will be given to you in class, you will need to set aside time every day to practice the exercises at home to make the most of the ideas you have been given. Training at home will allow you to progress further in class and will result in a better trained puppy at the end of the 6 weeks.
Too old for puppy training at Puppy School classes?
Puppies need to begin classes between 12 - 20 weeks old so that they are all at a similar stage of development. This allows them to play together easily. Since good classes get booked up quickly, it is recommended that you reserve your place in a puppy training class nearest to you as soon as can, even before you get a puppy if possible. It is never too late for puppy training and, if your puppy is older, you can still use the Puppy School books, DVD and CD for puppy training at home. In addition, some of our tutors also offer classes for older puppies and adult dogs so it is worth checking with your nearest tutor.
Regular monitoring for Puppy School classes
Classes are monitored regularly to ensure high standards. All Puppy School Tutors are well trained in the latest training techniques, as well as in human and animal behaviour. Regular refresher courses and an email forum for tutors ensure they stay up-to-date.
For further information, please go to "What to Expect at Puppy School Classes" pages