LIFE SKILLS FOR YOUR PUPPY
Up to the age of 20 weeks.
5 sessions - 30/ 40 minutes each session
inclusive of attendance of one of our information evenings.
Even before acquiring your puppy, you are welcome to visit one of our classes by arrangement (without your dog). Here you can observe our gentle methods in practice, and you may pick up some useful tips that could help with planning and management strategies.
Once you have enrolled, puppies may attend from the age of 8 weeks, with your vet’s agreement, in order to begin to experience life in the outside world as safely as possible.
For good social development, it is important that your puppy has access to a gradually increasing range of experiences. Whether attending our sessions or living everyday life, emphasis should be on making each experience enjoyable yet not too stimulating, ensuring that the puppy feels safe at all times. It is important to maintain a balance between allowing the puppy to be exposed to new sights and stimuli, whilst ensuring health is not compromised between inoculations. Classes will be structured and scheduled to take this into consideration.
Following completion of the vaccination programme, your puppy will be encouraged to explore the inside and outside environment of our class venue on Cannock Chase. Help will be given with issues such as jumping up, nipping, diet and toilet training as they arise. Understanding your puppy’s needs and what he is trying to communicate with body language give a vital insight for life. Practical work such as techniques to encourage your puppy to walk on a loose lead and to be happy to come to you when asked may also be included at this stage. We do not teach these actions as formal “exercises”, but as a natural progression of the developing relationship between you and your puppy. We feel that it is important for your puppy to want to be with you and choose to be well-behaved rather than only performing “on command”.
By giving puppies options and showing them how to make good choices, we are aiming to develop sensible well-mannered mature dogs rather than ones who simply obey when told what to do, but who do not know how to make rational choices without the influence of their owner.