What Is a Good Puppy School Like?

What Should You Learn in Puppy School?

Puppy schools are more popular than ever. We understand the importance of socialisation and early training better than we did before. Especially the time from 8 weeks to 16 weeks is important for your puppy’s learning and experiences.

Puppy schools are targeted to puppies of this age to socialise them in a positive way. This means exposing them to a variety of people, dogs, sounds and environments.

This the most important step in developing a balanced adult who is confident and friendly to people and other dogs. Proper socialisation also prevents issues like fear and aggressive responses. This makes attending a professional puppy school absolutely crucial.

What is puppy pre-school?

Puppy pre-school is different to obedience classes. Obedience classes are designed for ongoing training of obedience commands in a group setting. Puppy school is about getting the foundations right for your puppy’s future life.

Is my dog too young at 8 weeks old?

Many puppy owners think that you can’t attend puppy school if the puppy’s not fully vaccinated. However, a good puppy school is run in a clean and controlled environment to minimise any risk to your puppy’s health.

Puppy pre-school is for puppies – and their owners!

Puppy school isn’t just about learning to sit and talking about toilet training. It’s also about us learning to “speak dog”.

A good puppy school will be closely supervised by a professional and experienced dog trainer. A good puppy school focuses on encouraging and rewarding the right behaviours with praise, treats or games. Professional dog trainer can identify appropriate play versus bullying or intimidation and will ensure that these early experiences are positive for all of the puppies involved. And most importantly, they can educate you about all this!

Puppy pre-school should also focus on calm handling, greetings and meeting manners. You should gain knowledge how to walk your puppy safely on lead. And you should learn how to prevent and stop issues as biting, destructive behaviours, toilet training trouble etc.

You will learn how to keep your puppy safe, happy and healthy.

Eazy Dog Training Puppy School in Inner West Sydney

My Leichhardt Puppy School is a fun and educational 4 week puppy class. Your puppy is allowed to socialise and learn new skills in a positive way with other puppies in a safe environment.

Suitable for puppies age 8-16 weeks

In this Puppy Class your puppy will learn:

Basic commands and manners

Socialisation with other puppies and different objects like skateboard, vacuum cleaner etc.

Sound training

Leash manners and greeting/meeting skills

Fun tricks and games.

You will learn:

How to better train and control your puppy through understanding how they experience the world around them.

How to read your puppy’s body language and prevent issues.

Calming handling techniques.

A puppy’s view of the big wide world.

Advice on common ‘unwanted’ puppy behaviours such as Toilet training, Biting, Jumping, Hyper-activity, Separation behaviours.

A puppy needs a good learning foundation

A puppy needs a good learning foundation to become a confident adult. That’s why training a puppy is more than just teaching basic commands such as sit and stay. The most important aspect of the learning process is to introduce puppies to the environments and situations they are likely to experience in their lives. Socialisation with different objects, people, dogs, other animals, surroundings, noises etc. is very important for the future of a puppy.

Your Puppy’s brain is like a sponge and every experience is stored away in their memory affecting their personality. A puppy might be born with a certain temperament. But it is the way they are raised and the experiences the have that will truly determine their personality. The more positive and enriching experiences, the more confident your dog will be as an adult.

Puppies learn all the time, not just when they are being trained

Your behaviour and the way the puppy is handled will influence the development. Punitive handling and harsh corrections will damage your puppy’s development. So stay away from punitive trainers and any equipment that can be harmful, including shock, choke or prong collars.

Puppies need gentle guidance into making good decisions. They need to be allowed to investigate their environments and given positive reinforcement for the good behaviour. They also need to be redirected from unwanted behaviour. All puppies need boundaries, but these must be given in a humane way. A puppy that experiences fear or rough handling as growing up is more likely to become reactive and show aggressive behaviour later in life.

The time and effort spent giving your puppy a good learning foundation will pay off throughout their life. Puppies are certainly cute, but raising one can be very challenging. Seeing a pup develop into a confident adult, however, is worth all the hard work.

When it comes to training, the early weeks and months of your puppy’s life are essential.

The most critical time for your puppy’s learning is between 8-12 weeks.

This is the time period they are most open to new things and need to experience many different positive encounters to become a confident adult. Dogs learn vital socialisation and communication skills when they are young. Therefore early life experiences influence how your puppy will play, communicate and learn as they develop into an adult dog.

What is the age range for puppies to join the class?
Your puppy should be between the ages of 8-16 weeks old for the first class and must have had at least one vaccination.