Puppy Pre-School

By: Richmond Veterinary Clinic

The time you spend with your puppy or dog at training will be repaid a thousand times.

 

At Richmond Veterinary Clinic we no longer use the old fashioned term ‘obedience training’. We‘re going to school. Nor do we use choker chains or electric collars. We want to use ‘positive support’. A pat, a cuddle, or a treat everytime we do the right thing is just what we dogs want.

 

When your dog knows how to behave, you will be much more likely to take her/him out with you. You enjoy their company more, and they get out a whole lot more. Aaaah!, Win – Win.

 

Puppy Pre-School

Providing positive fun for puppies and people of all shapes and sizes, puppy classes are an important start to a happy relationship with a well socialised dog. Hopefully it wears them out a little too!

 

Your puppy is happy to explore the wonderful wide world. You have introduced him/her to a new home ( yours! ) and now you can introduce him to that wider world. Puppy school gives her/him the chance to learn in a non threatening situation and to develop the best way of mixing with new dogs and humans.

 

There is an obvious positive difference between pups who have attended school and those who have not.

 

Depending on numbers, we run classes at the Clinic or refer you to nearby school. It is better to mix with a number of pups who are around the same size and age as yours, and we do not always have a suitable class. Just imagine a Mastiff sitting on a Chihuahua.

 

The evening classes go for four weeks and are conducted all year. Your puppy needs to be between 8 and 12 weeks old, and had its first vaccination.

 

The aim is to see your pup socialised with other dogs and people, with lots of play thrown in, all in a safe environment.

 

Positive reward training methods are used to learn basic obedience.

 

We focus on different subjects such as feeding, training, health care and grooming, discussing issues and questions about your new family member.

 

Now that you have made up your mind to take your pup to Puppy School, we want to recommend that once you both graduate, you both should move onto secondary school by enrolling in a training group or spend time with a personal trainer. Money and time very well spent because you will share your life with a friend rather than a misbehaving dog.

 

Further Training

To give you an idea and some bench marks to aim for, we have a list of the achievements possible with suitable training.

 

We advise you to take advantage of an independent trainer. This can be in self help dog schools, commercial training groups or one on one with a personal trainer. The independent trainer is there to show YOU what to do, and can demonstrate to both you and your dog what to do.

 

We hope you achieve at least level two – go to it Rover!

 

Introduction:

• Rules and responsible ownership and behaviour
• Voice communication and when to reward
• Heel Sit Stand
• On lead walking

 

Level One:

• Heel, Sit, Stand in more distracting situations
• Sit and stay at 1 metre separation
• Stand and stay at 1 metre
• Mingling & Socialisation
• On lead walking close to other dogs

 

Level Two:

• Heel, Sit, Stand straight away.
• Drop from sit
• On lead turns, including an about turn in either direction
• Stand for examination by a stranger.
• Stay for 1 minute at 2 meters separation
• Mingling and Socialisation – with less restriction

 

Level Three:

• Fast and slow on lead walking, including full turns
• Retrieve on lead
• Stay at 2 metres in more distracting situations
• Drop from stand
• Mingling and Socialisation – with no restriction, still on lead.

 

After this training, what is the reward? Well, now you can take your dog to Bridge Road on Sunday morning for a long breakfast and coffee or two, and a good time is had by all.

 

It is also a good time for us to tell you young fellas about chick magnets. Just don’t get jealous when the girls talk to the dog and ignore you. Well after all, the dog is now better behaved than you are and probably better looking!