My puppy classes are available to dogs between the ages of 10 weeks and 6 months. The classes are open to all breeds. The emphasis is on building a strong bond between the dog and owner and on helping the owner to acquire knowledge and skills which will prevent future problem behaviours from arising.
There is no fixed duration for puppy class and owners are able to continue attending until their dogs are ready to progress to the intermediate class or they are satisfied with the level of training and socialising they have achieved.
The slightly wider age group than what is usual for puppy classes, provides for some interplay between the older and younger pups, which I feel aids the development of the pups’ canine social skills. However, care is taken to ensure that the “senior” puppies are a good influence and older pups that display dangerous or frightening anti-social behaviour are not admitted to the class. (Help is available to pups with existing anti-social behaviours through remedial socialisation or consultations.) Two well-socialised adult dogs from the senior classes are included in the off-leash socialising so that the pups can have the opportunity to relate to adult dogs as well.
The class runs for 1 hour, with about 40 minutes devoted to training and 20 minutes to socialising with people and other pups. Owners are expected to arrive before the class commences to give their pups an opportunity to greet their friends and settle down a little. All training is carried out with food rewards and no physical or verbal punishment is allowed!
Obedience/basic manners exercises taught in the class are:
1. Watch me! (dog learns to respond to his name and pay attention to the owner)
2. Come with me! (beginnings of walking on a loose leash in the heel position and bonding with the owner)
3. Sit
4. Down
5. Stand
6. Take it!/Leave it!
7. Sit stay
8. Down stay
9. Come when called
10. Roll over
I encourage owners to be open about problems they may be experiencing at home and reserve some time to address common problems during class. I stress that the owners are always welcome to contact me at home to discuss issues they may not wish to raise within the class.
Owners receive a package on arrival which includes a copy of my booklet ”Understanding Your Canine Friend - A guide to being the parent your dog needs”, a “Hills” treat pouch and the first in a set of notes on the exercises learned in class (the remainder are handed out in subsequent lessons). Hills Puppy Packs (1kg Hills Puppy food and vouchers) are also available to owners.
Cost of Puppy Classes:
R200 for the first month
R100 for every month thereafter.
(If two puppies are from the same family or the owner already has an older dog in one of my classes then only half the fee is charged for the second dog).
Puppy Classes kindly sponsored by Hills
