Puppy Classes at Vet HQ

Whether we like it or not, training starts and habits begin forming the moment your puppy arrives home.  Start on the right track and prevent early mistakes.

Our unique course is designed to start as soon as your puppy arrives home and we focus on the important aspects of behavioural training at the correct developmental stages within your puppy’s critical (permanent learning) phase.

Why do our puppy class?

Early puppy socialisation and environmental conditioning is crucial to the psychological health of adult dogs. Studies have shown that puppies who are not carefully exposed to other dogs and people during early critical phase are at extremely high risk of developing fearful and/or aggressive responses to novel situations, people and/or dogs later in life.

Our puppy training program is designed to start as soon as your puppy arrives home.  We maximise learning during critical phase (8-16 weeks) ensuring crucial elements of environmental exposure and socialisation are carried out carefully, and that each element of behavioural training is introduced at the optimal micro-period within your puppies critical phase of permanent learning.

We run the first class over Zoom as a one-on-one (to help with setup of your home for  toilet training, independence training, nipping and biting, plus early exposure to the big wide world) followed by four outdoor group classes (7 days after their second vaccination).  You also receive a series of  training videos to work through at home (to train foundation behaviours) so when you join the outdoor classes we progress these skills into real life!

Our group classes provide safe, carefully managed opportunities for your puppy to interact with other puppies and people and gain exposure to the wider world in a safe, controlled and fun way, as well as training all the important cues (see below) in a real life situation, with a strong focus on recall and loose leash walking.

We provide you with the skills and information required to raise a happy, anxiety free, behaviourally healthy dog who offers co-operative behaviour and can be trusted off leash.

Our goal is to ensure our dogs and owners have a happy, harmonious life together, ensuring the dog will be an actively included member of the family.

1:1 Zoom when your puppy arrives home (or as early as possible) (60 mins)

Covering optimal setup of your home for successful toilet training, independence training and nipping & biting.  We cover the importance of early environmental exposure to the big wide world and how to do this safely (both pre and post 2nd vaccination).

Plus how to avoid common early mistakes (including poor experiences with children, people and other dogs). This is crucial for fear and aggression prevention.

Training Videos: Prepare for outdoor group classes!  

4 x weekly sets of quick fun and easy videos to practice at home in
preparation for outdoor group classes. We then master these in real life,
outdoors, under distraction.

4 x Outdoor Group Classes: Training & Socialisation in the real world

Good socialisation must be confidence building through controlled and appropriate play with safe, known dogs. We focus on careful socialisation at each puppy’s individual level. We train and progress all the usual cues, incl. sit, stay, leave etc (see below).  We pay special attention to achieving a high standard of recall (in preparation for reliable off-leash control), and loose leash walking, outdoors in the presence of other dogs and real life distractions.

+ Helpful comprehensive notes on all topics covered & more

Including what you need to have ready for your puppies arrival.

What we cover:

  • What you need to have prepared for your puppy’s arrival
  • Early environmental exposure – how to do safely both pre and post vaccination
  • Independence training (separation distress prevention)
  • Socialisation with dogs and humans done properly (fear and aggression prevention)
  • Come When Called in any situation outdoors & under heavy distraction
  • Walk on a loose leash
  • Sit, Stay, Drop (lie down), Leave it, Attention, Retrieve, etc
  • Sit to greet (no jumping), sit for food until released, wait (no lunging)
  • Emotional self regulation (self settling)
  • Impulse control
  • Food and possession aggression prevention
  • Training for grooming and vet handling
  • Problem Behaviour Prevention
  • How to identify and correctly handle fear behaviours in your puppy to help them become happy, confident and well rounded dogs
  • Classes allow us to identify any issues individual puppies may need help with enabling us to work on them during critical phase when puppies brains are most open for rapid, permanent behaviour change.

Zoom: 1:1 as early as possible at a time that suits

Group Classes:
Time – 8:00am and 9am Sunday Mornings

Duration – Four Sunday mornings Plus the 1:1 Zoom to get started

Location – Steyne Park, Double bay
Cost – $320
Payment Options – Bank Transfer, Online Credit Card Payment

Registration – Quickest way to enrol is to Email libby@thesoundhound.com.au  or send an email via website: www.thesoundhound.com.au  Alternatively, call or text Libby on 0415 715 426

 

You can see footage and photos from our classes on the FB and Instagram below.

Link to Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/thesoundhounddogbehaviour/

Link to FB:   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057079615639

Website www.thesoundhound.com.au

About Libby Young: http://www.thesoundhound.com.au/about-libby

 

Ongoing training! (Adolescent & all ages classes)

We provide ongoing casual training classes for all our puppy students and private training clients.  Classes are casual and run on Sunday Mornings at 10am during school term, weather permitting. We do not run during school holidays or on long weekends. Check the Sound Hound Dog Behaviour & Training Facebook Page for weather updates or call or text 0415 715 426.

If your dog has not completed a puppy class, or it is more than 4 weeks since finishing a different puppy school please call Libby to book a private session to cover the foundations required to join these classes.

 

** Please Note: If your dog has reactivity or aggression issues, please call Libby for private training as group classes are not appropriate until these issues are resolved.