Happy Handling is a consent-based course for dogs of any age (over 20 weeks). It is designed to offer a structured, yet fun and educational course, to improve your dog's confidence and trust in all aspects of handling whilst giving them choice and control. The course lasts 6 weeks and consists of one video lesson (Week 1), followed by 5 in-person lessons (Weeks 2 - 6).
Happy Handling

Revolutionary Handling Techniques = Communication, Choice and Confidence.
- Happy Handling combines various learning techniques - video, exclusive support group and in person class training sessions.
- Specifically designed course to help you learn the subtleties of body language and give your dog choice and control whilst building positive associations.
- Each training exercise gradually progresses and offers a range of choice that your dog may prefer to use.
- Techniques that can be used in everyday situations and make for happier dog-owner relationships.
Teaching dogs to make positive associations with all aspects of handling, especially older dogs who may have had previous experiences, requires a teacher with more skill and ability to make it run smoothly. At Puppy School, our Happy Handling classes are only run by our tutors and associates who have undertaken specific training and assessment, and who have an established experience of running Puppy School classes. This ensures anyone teaching Happy handling classes has the confidence and experience to run them well.
To avoid the risk of dogs that may not learn well in a class environment being booked into the class, tutors would like to speak to each potential client before booking. For this reason, if you would like to attend a Happy Handling class, please start by finding your local tutor to find out if they run these classes or where your nearest one might be.
Get in touch and find out more about our Happy Handling classes
The recommended age for dogs attending Happy Handling classes is twelve months old or older. Please contact your tutor to discuss any previous experience that your dog has with handling.
If there are no tutors local to you running the courses, there is an online course run by Puppy School tutor and originator of our Happy Handling courses, Louise Otter - please see here