What You Need to Know About Puppy School Perth

What You Need to Know About Puppy School Perth

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Everything you need to know about puppy school

You’ve spent hours doing your research and you know that your new puppy is the perfect fit for you and your family.  The timing couldn’t be better - you have booked a couple of weeks off work to help your fur baby settle into your home.  So what’s the next thing you need to do? 

Book your puppy into the best puppy school you can find so that you can sky-rocket your training journey together!  Don’t know where to start?  Then use this handy checklist to help you understand what you should be looking for! 

Why Join Puppy Classes?

Puppy school is vital to help your puppy develop into a well-behaved canine companion that you can take anywhere with you.  Puppy school also helps you to be prepared for all those puppy issues that if not handled correctly, can cause frustration and lead to behaviour problems further down the track.  Plus, if you select the right puppy school, you’ll have an experienced and supportive trainer who can coach you through any other issues as they come up and you’ll have the opportunity to meet with other puppy owners who are in the same boat as you!   

But My Vet Said Not to Take My Puppy Out Until They Are Fully Vaccinated?

Puppies who are kept at home isolated from the outside world until after they are fully vaccinated are likely to develop behaviour problems through lack of adequate socialisation, even if they come from well socialised parents.  You can take your puppy out after their first vaccination to socialise, but it must be done safely – ensure the puppy class trainer has prepared the floors and surfaces to prevent the spread of disease, particularly parvo virus, and keep your puppy off the ground by carrying them, putting them on a blanket, putting them in a travel crate or pushing them in a trolley.  Your puppy can meet other vaccinated dogs or puppies in a safe environment such as your home or at puppy class, but don’t allow them to meet unvaccinated or unknown dogs until your puppy is fully vaccinated.

How Old Should My Puppy Be?

Most puppy schools accept puppies as young as 8 weeks of age up to around 16 weeks.  It’s important to take advantage of your puppy’s critical socialisation period which closes at around 12 weeks as during this time, their brains are like sponges and your puppy is forming their opinion about what is safe in their world.  So the answer to this question is start as early as possible!

What type of Training Methods should be used?

When researching which type of training methods the puppy school uses to train their dogs, look for words such as force free, rewards based, positive reinforcement and science based – this means that the training methods are humane and promote mutual trust and respect.  Avoid any form of punishment-based training methods to modify behaviour which include verbal or physical corrections, force, fear or intimidation.  Also steer clear of ‘balanced’ trainers who use a combination of rewards and punishment-based techniques – and run if you see any mention of equipment designed to cause pain such as prong collars, choke chains, electric collars, citronella collars or spray bottles.

Are the Trainers Experienced and Qualified?

Look for an experienced trainer with nationally or internationally recognised qualifications.  Find a trainer you can trust.  Call them to ask questions about their puppy school which will help you find out whether you will gel.  Check out their website and Facebook page for reviews from previous customers and watch videos which show them working with dogs to ensure you like their style.  Ask whether you can watch one of their puppy classes – they should be more than happy for you to observe and answer any follow-up questions after the class.

How Big Are the Classes?

Find out where the puppy classes are held and how many puppies are in each class.  As there are lots of distractions in puppy class including adults, children and other puppies, some puppies find it difficult to focus and can become overwhelmed.  Ensure that there is ample space in the class and that the class size is small enough to allow your puppy to focus on you so you can maximise both you and your puppy’s learning opportunities.  It’s not much fun if you are spending the whole class trying to control your highly distracted puppy!

What Will You Learn During the Classes?

Find out what’s covered in the puppy classes.  Your trainer should teach you how to handle the most important and urgent puppy issues, such as toilet training, puppy biting, jumping up and digging.  You should be guided through how to teach fundamental cues and vital life skills such as how to settle, come when called and loose leash walking.  The importance of socialisation, how to socialise safely and how to read and understand your puppy’s dog body language should be explained.  And your puppy should have the opportunity to participate in carefully supervised off-leash play with other puppies to help them grow their confidence.  Find puppy classes that are fun, informative, interactive and include your whole family so that when your puppy graduates, you are armed with as much information as possible to breeze through puppyhood.    

What Should I Search For to Find the Best Puppy Preschool?

When you search for ‘Puppy School Perth’, you will find many name variations for puppy training classes – puppy school, puppy preschool, puppy classes and puppy kindy, to name a few. 

However, to make things easy for you, Waggle Tails offers a fantastic Puppy Pre-School course which ticks all the boxes in our checklist!  A new course starts every two weeks which include four puppy classes with a qualified and experienced trainer, a puppy pack and online resources to support your learning so that you can refer to the information when you need to. 

To find out more about our classes and to book your spot, check out our Puppy Pre-School page or contact us by completing your details here.  We’d love to chat with you about how we can help!

 
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We had been to previous dog training classes elsewhere with our older dog and found that it didn’t quite deliver on what we hoped - especially given our older dog’s needs. When we adopted George we did more research on puppy training and wanted someone who specialised more in this area. We are so glad we picked Kelly and her team! We booked the drop-in puppy sessions - she has a 5 for 4 deal, and found George has benefited so much, we even booked a 6th class, which would then lead us into the silver training, which will also be run by Kelly - this is how pleased we are with Kelly and her team! We wanted to ensure George was well socialised, meaning he learns how to interact appropriately with other dogs and also that he builds a stronger bond with us - thank you Kelly for helping us achieve this! George was reactive (barking) at other dogs when we arrived and immediately Kelly approached and gave us instructions/advice on how to help manage this behaviour. Within a few minutes he was responding really well to the advice Kelly gave us. We noticed each session, an improvement in his reactivity, he now greets dogs very politely and doesn’t react negatively in any way. We highly recommend these classes for socialisation and picking up the basics you need to know - wait/stay, eye contact, on and off lead meet and greet, settling - all of which we think are vital building blocks to our dog being an awesome and very good boy! The bonus about these puppy classes is that it’s not only Kelly but a team of people, where Kelly is able to specifically assist with any of you and your dogs needs, providing her professional advice. Kelly and her team of trainers are approachable and all make the effort to get to know you and your puppy. The thing we loved most is that you learn more about how to understand and read your dog better, picking up on their needs and what’s best for them. If you want to learn how to read dog body language, and have plenty of opportunities ensure you understand/learn how to socialise your dog than we highly recommend Kelly and team!

“We tried a traditional puppy class at first but was disappointed with the lack of socialisation. We switched to Waggle Tails and the difference was COLOSSAL. My puppy experienced quality puppy plays in a safe environment and together with Kelly’s online training modules for the hoomans, has moulded her into a confident and happy puppy who is now smashing it out at our local dog park. We travelled from Safety Bay to Osborne Park (55km) to attend these classes because the benefits of investing in the right training is everything and Kelly’s model was the best I could find. I have no enrolled in the online Ultimate Dog Programme for further training. Honestly people, Kelly’s amazing! Her doggo knowledge is next level.” (Louise Power, Perth, WA)

“The Ultimate Dog programme was very thorough and provided us with a lot of useful and interesting information, training tools and resources that we can keep referring back to. I am now more aware of what Windy’s behaviours mean, how to manage them for his benefit (and mine!), how to enrich his days and how to assist him to be a calmer, more well mannered dog. I’d highly recommend the Ultimate Dog Programme to other dog owners.” (Elissa Mehegan, Perth, WA)

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“Not only did the Ultimate Dog Programme calm my very excitable Staffy Cross, Elissa - it also helped me immensely in understanding her. I cannot recommend Kelly enough.” (Carole Dougans, Perth, WA)

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“I have no hesitation in recommending Kelly as a highly skilled trainer. What Kelly has been able to achieve with Jake (and me!) has been nothing short of miraculous. Jake came to me as a rescue dog - a loving but boisterous chap. Kelly taught me how to handle Jake and has given me a much better understanding of dogs in general. Jake and I have a become a great team, he is wonderful companion and I feel confident with him.” (Ann Morrison, Christchurch, NZ)

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“Having met Kelly was a true blessing for me, my classes, my private training and my work with my own dogs. Kelly’s educated clarity on training topics has brought my understanding of training to a new level which I am incredibly grateful for.” (Lisa Sturm, Sit Happens, Christchurch, NZ)

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“I had the pleasure of working with Kelly when she volunteered at the shelter where I am an Animal Care Specialist and Behavior Tech. She is extremely reliable and helped many of our dogs learn not just manners, but tools of which to rehab dogs with behavior problems. She was a key factor in multiple dogs finding their forever homes through our program. I recommend her services to anyone and everyone! She is not only an amazing trainer, but an amazing person.’’ (Atalie Michelle Walding, Friends for Life Animal Rescue and Adoption Organisation, Texas, USA)

“Kelly is absolutely amazing! After our first Ultimate Dog Programme session we have already started to see huge improvements with our girl. Kelly teaches you to reward with positive reinforcement and be kind and caring at all times when training your dog and proves there is no need to be dominant or forceful towards your dog. She also provides a heap of resources that are super useful, plus her sessions are a great place to meet other dogs/dog owners.” (Lucy Cole, Perth, WA)

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“Kelly is an amazing trainer, with huge amounts of knowledge. She also places an emphasis on a gentle, kind, scientifically based approach to training, which is evidenced by her continuing education. I have watched Kelly in action many times and I have always been impressed by her calm, gentle approach and true affinity with dogs and puppies.” (Julie Best, Best for Pets, Christchurch, NZ)