Puppy Education

Tuesday evenings: 6.30 - 7.30. £6
Pups from 14 weeks up to 5/6 months old.

Pups are welcome to come along to the Reception class as soon as they have completed their second vaccination. They can either sit on your lap and watch the other dogs or join in meeting and greeting. Lessons begin when the pup is ready to start - this is usually when they are keen on their treats and able to focus on you, the trainer will advise you when they are ready to join the workshop. Older pups, up to 7 months are welcome to begin at any time. If your pup is 7-10 months old it will depend on their skills as to whether they join puppy class or junior lifeskills - please ring for advice: 01386 430189

Lifeskills for puppies include experiences that allow puppies to learn how to behave, meeting a range of different types of dogs, and giving them the very best start in life.

Interaction is always safe and voluntary. We enrol a range of people to teach youngsters the weird and wonderful range of human behaviour. Classes give the pups opportunities to watch and meet other breeds.

You are taught:

• strategies that enable positive learning experiences, and how to avoid possible traumas.
• crate training to teach them how to cope with being alone
• how to see the world through your pup’s eyes, and enjoy every minute of this time.
• basic grooming and handling skills

In the Barn we have a large box of toys for the pups to explore, plus interactive toys and we teach you how to play the BEST games. We have a range of junior agility equipment to teach them motor skills, fuelling that desire to explore and discover new things. We supervise compatible play time, and introduce pups to gentle adults as well as teach them how to avoid grumpy adults.

Junior Lifeskills
also called: How to Survive Canine Puberty

Tuesday 7.30 - 8.30pm  £8
From 5/6 months to 12 months.

“When he is older he will be a lovely dog”.

Remember this. You began with a wonderful, lovable puppy, amiable, responsive, easy to manage, slept a lot and hasn’t chewed anything. Aren’t you lucky?

Come back to this page when:

“I didn’t know they could have so much energy”

“He’s begun to chew the kitchen”

“He didn’t used to pull on a lead”

“She jumps up every time someone comes to the house”

“She has stopped listening to me, and won’t come in from the garden”

“He’s driving me up the wall”

Support is on offer. Canine puberty is not easy. Life will change rapidly for you and the dog. Those hormones manage behaviour now, not you, not the dog, the Hormones. Junior Lifeskills is about getting through without learning to make it worse, prevention of unwanted habits, and support from fellow confused puppy owners. Puberty can begin between 5 and 10 months old, and continue through to 12 to 18 months. Sorry! Nobody tells you that bit eh?

The Lifeskills are taught in class with the least amount of stress - in a true Wag More Bark Less environment! We teach self control, lead walking, management skills, social awareness, play and safe interaction.

When you are ready to harness that energy we recommend “Wag-Agility” on Wednesday evenings. Wag-Agility is a perfect follow-on class combining for confidence building, especially around other dogs, and strengthening “obedience”, or as we call it: listening to each other.