Puppy Kindergarten Class
Our group Puppy Kindergarten Class is a 5 week course. In this class, you would work with the trainer and a group of other dog owners each Saturday. Your homework would be practicing your drills at home during the other 6 days of the week.
This class is for puppies 9 weeks to 4 ½ months old when they start attending class.
You can start after your puppy has had his or her second distemper/parvo vaccination.
This class is designed to teach you, the dog owner, how to do everything properly from the very beginning, so that bad habits don’t form.
Training consists of: sit and down (with distractions such as other dogs, or people approaching, petting and talking to him), motivational beginning heeling (to teach your puppy from the beginning no to pull you), recall (so he learns from the beginning that “come!” means he comes to you—not that you come outside and chase him around the yard or neighborhood for 20 minutes!).
We also work on problems such as housebreaking, bolting out doors, jumping up on people, biting, mouthing, chewing, digging, barking, getting in the trash, chasing the cat or the kids, and any other problems that you might be having. This class is also designed to ensure that your puppy gets the essential proper socialization necessary to make him confident in new environments and with strangers and other dogs.
Dogs learn through repetition and conditioning, and positive and negative reinforcement. As with all of our programs, we utilize a fine balance of praise and correction (90% praise/10% correction). We reward good behavior through play, food reward, and verbal and physical praise. We show you when and how to properly praise and reward your puppy for good behavior. Likewise, we also show you when and how to properly correct your puppy for any negative behavior, like jumping and biting. In addition, a major portion of this class is directed at you, the dog handler.
It is our mission to teach you how to be a fair, but strong, leader for your dog—and how to make it fun for both of you along the way. The end result is a well-mannered puppy that is happy and willing to look to you as his leader.
If you have a young puppy, this class is a must. The course fee is $200 and you receive 5 lessons. This is an ongoing class that does not have start and stop dates. Simply download the registration form here then call before attending the first time, to let us know that you will be starting class that week.
Sandusky and Monroeville classes meet every Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.