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Puppy Socialisation Classes
My puppy classes are available to dogs between the ages of 9 weeks and 5 months (pups must be under 5 months of age at their first lesson). The emphasis is on building confidence and a strong bond between puppy and owner and on helping puppy parents to acquire knowledge and skills which will prevent future problem behaviours.
Classes are run on a monthly basis (one lesson per week) and pups are able to attend for 2-3 months at which point they may progress to the intermediate class. As we have large grounds and are able to divide puppies into smaller age-appropriate groups for off lead play, we do accommodate puppies over 4 months of age, which most puppy schools are not able to do. Care is taken to ensure that the “senior” puppies are a good influence and play is carefully monitored to ensure that no bullying occurs.
The class runs for 1 hour, with about 40 minutes devoted to training and developing problem solving skills 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 clickers, food lures and rewards and no physical or verbal punishment is allowed! Puppies are required to wear a comfortable body harness in class.
In class puppies learn the following:
1. Watch me! (focus)
2. Come with me (loose lead walking)
3. Recall
4. Sit, down, stand
5. Sit stay and down stay
6. Leave it
7. Give paw and roll over
8. Play with toy/fetch
9. Paws up and off
10. Body awareness and confidence
We encourage owners to be open about problems they may be experiencing at home and reserve some time to answer questions during class. Owners are always welcome to contact me outside of class times (office hours only please!) 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 clicker 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:
R750 for the first month (includes clicker, puppy-raising manual and a set of training notes)
R650 for every month thereafter.
Please enquire about our discount rates for signing up mid-month for the remainder of that month and the whole of the following month.
Puppy Classes sponsored by Hills Pet Nutrition
Please note that we will take puppies into class 2 weeks after their 1st vaccination if they are 9-10 weeks old at that stage. PLEASE don't wait until your puppy has had all their vaccinations to start class or it will be TOO LATE from a socialisation point of view!
