Puppy schools can be really awesome for your new wee pup. However, you have to be careful about what experiences they have at such a young age, as this can make or break the rest of the years you have together! Eeekkk! The pressure!
As a pup, you generally get them at 8 weeks old. You then have only a few weeks up until 16 weeks old where they have made most, if not all of their assumptions on the world. It's an important time, not to be wasted.
I hear this quite a lot nowadays "I've had dogs before - I don't need puppy school" or "I've done some online videos - I don't need puppy school".
This means you have possibly been to what I would call an 'old-skool' puppy class.
Old-skool puppy classes are often badly managed, crowded and teach irrelevant and out-dated things.
ANY dog and ANY age can learn sits, downs and obedience.
First of all, what is your aim of going to a puppy school?
This is an important question to first ask! What do you want to achieve? Play is an important part of puppy development and it is important to remember puppies/dogs play with their mouths. However, with the right pups! Yes, there is such a thing as bad play and good play. A free-for-all lots of puppies off the leash can be detrimental to your puppies development. The thing is, you won't see that in your pup until it's become an accidentally trained behaviour response.
What are your local options?
You are better travelling to a well-managed class than going to the closest or more convenient. Do your research. Remember, you are really talking about years of happiness with a great set up, when going to a puppy school. Get it right from the start. Driving a little further or going to a place you don't normally go, doesn't matter for a few weeks - think of the bigger picture!
Ask a few questions before joining a puppy school:
Ask who is taking the class?
What qualifications do they have?
How many puppies are in the class?
What do they focus on teaching?
How big is the venue?
What training techniques to they use?
What is the focus of the puppy school?
Puppies need life-skills at this age. It is about training FOR the moment not IN the moment.
Working on things like:
Impulse Control
Calming & settling activities
Love being handled
Confidence
Engagement
Puppy School sounds too much hard work or I cannot commit.
If your choice is an 'old-skool' puppy class or nothing, I would choose not to puppy school. You have to be the voice of your puppy and your happiness! I started taking puppy classes a few years ago, as a certified dog trainer, I saw so many 8 - 18month old puppies that if things were done differently as an 8-16week old pup; they'd not have the issues that they had! It is that important, and all starts from bad experiences as a pup.
The right Puppy School is important. Join one of our classes today!
Flip @ Remarkable Dog Training remarkabledogsnz@gmail.com
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