Puppy & Dog Training

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Join our Puppy Classes in Yarraville

Banjo – January 2008

January 2008

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To ensure your pup gets the best start in life, book your place at the Yarraville Village Animal Hospital

110 Stephen Street, Yarraville

9689 8100

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Puppy Graduate – Gobbla (Pug) 14 May 2007

PUPPY CLASS – PLAYSCHOOL

This course is designed for puppies at 8 – 16 weeks of age.

The following skills are taught to owners and puppies

* Sit

* Focus

* Recall – “Come”

* On your mat

* Supervised play sessions

* Polite Greetings (of other puppies and people)

* Stand

* Drop

* Stay

* Walk on a loose leash

* Give

Ruby (Whippet) Graduated 14th May 2007

Behavioural Info

* Mouthing & Biting
* Worms, Fleas, Vaccinations, Registration & Microchipping
* Feeding
* Toilet Training
* Handling
* Environmental Enrichment Info
* Body Language

* Maintanance (nails, administering tablets)

Each course runs for 5 weeks and the final evening will include Graduation with photo and group photo (to be emailed to owners), games and lots of fun.

What you will recieve
* Sound advice from a qualified ‘positive’ instructor
* Support through out your puppies journey
* Notes with lots of helpful info
* On completion of your course you will receive a graduation certificate & a group photo
* Responsible pet ownership information as well as discount voucher supplied by Doggy Dooz.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

- PUPPY SCHOOL -

Why does my pup need to go to puppy school?

The first 16 weeks of your pups life are the most important in regards to introducing them to new sounds (loud bangs, chairs moving, loud music, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer), smells and people (men, women, girls, children, the elderly, tall men, men with beards, people wearing hats and large jackets). The sooner they can learn to accept that the world is not a scarey place the sonner they will accept and tolerate new things and change – this means you have a well socialised dog. An accepting dog is generally calmer, stress free and relaxed, especially when with their owners.

Captain – June 07

But I have another dog at home, isn’t this socialisation enough?

No, its not. At puppy school, your pup will be introduced to dogs with out tails (Australian Shepherds, Stumpy Tailed Cattle Dog) as well as dogs with different tails, curly tails (Chow, Pug) and very fluffy tails like the Samoyed or the Malamute. Understanding different body language and meeting dogs that don’t look like his mate in the back yard is very important, especially when you’re down the street or at the park. Your pup probably jumps all over the other dog in the yard or in the house, it’s important that he learns to be polite when he is on lead which can be very difficult with two dogs. In puppy school the pups learn to meet nice and politely.

What do I need to bring to class?

Your pup should be wearing a soft/flat collar atleast a few days before you come to class to ensure he doesn’t get too distracted by it. You should also put a light lead on him a few days before, get him to follow a piece of liver or a treat to make the experience positve.

What do you mean by soft/flat collar?

I mean a buckle or clip collar that does not act as a correction. No correction collars are accepted in class, we use positive reinforcement ONLY.

But I use positive reinforcement and choker chains with my adult dog at a dog club.

Choker chains are negative reinforcement, not positive reinforcement. Although food is used by your club this does not make them positive, it simply means they correct the dog then reward him.

What does positive reinforcement mean then?

It means to ignore the unwanted (negative) behaviour and reward the positive (the wanted) behaviour.

But I want to use a correction chain, can you make an exception?

No. Put simply, they are not allowed in class. It is illegal to put a choker chain on a pup less than 12 weeks of age. In our puppy classes, we have pups sitting, dropping, staying, standing, watching, recalling and walking on a loose leash with encouragement, rewards and a positive attitude. I would prefer to encourage your pup to do what you ask of it rather than correct it with physical force.

Jaz (Shetland Sheepdog) 14th May 2007

Do I have to use food?

You don’t have to, no. However pups learn quickest when motivated by something they love. You can use toys, cuddles or anything the dog loves, we use food because we get the quickest results with food.

But then my dog will have to be rewarded for the rest of its life!

Your dog has to be rewarded for the rest of it’s life whether you use food, cuddles, toys or your voice, however we do teach you to remove the food as a lure after the first class. When you constantly have the food in your hands, you begin to rely on it, we teach you to remove the food and reward intermittently. Remember your dog still needs to be praised when he does the correct thing, whether he is in training or not, you can’t expect him to know he is a good boy every time he sits simply because you told him last year.

Onsite Pet Care Services now offers in-house personalised dog training for those owners who;

* Would like to train in the comfort of their own home

* Have timetables that are not suited to training classes

* Believe they have training issues with their dog

* Want advice about issues that may be occurring within the home

* Have tried other trainers and have been unsuccessful

* Have had a complaint from the local Council

What we offer;

* Advice from a qualified dog trainer

* A personalised program which includes notes, handouts & written training schedules

* A friendly and professional service

* Basic health care & responsible pet ownership advice

* Follow up visits, emails and phone calls

* We offer realistic advice and outcomes and we are prepared to refer you to a reputable behaviourist

* Package deals

* Advice on the best home alone toys on the market

Although most issues can be dealt with within the home, many problems can also be helped whilst off the dogs own property, for those situations Onsite Pet Care Services can recommend a positive dog trainer near you.

Got a Puppy & can’t make it to classes?

Although we strongly recommend puppy classes to ensure pups learn how to play politely and socialise with a mixture of different breeds of dogs to ensure that they are well adjusted, we understand that some times our busy schedules get in the way. Onsite offers an in house training session for pups and their families to ensure you’re on the right track and to help with those ‘puppy issues’ that we all have.

This session includes

Behavioural Info
* Mouthing & Biting

* Worms, Fleas, Vaccinations, Registration & Microchipping
* Feeding
* Toilet Training and Handling
* Environmental Enrichment Info
* Body Language