Puppy Class Or Beginners

[ShellyBeggs]

Hi guys...

my kelpie pup is going to his first visit to Broadford Obedience on Sunday.

He will be 6 months old on Monday (but very immature and has difficulty focusing).

Should I put him in puppy class for a few lessons and see how he goes?

He may be a giant puppy and scare the little pups though.....

Doesn't Beginners usually start at 6mo?

I am confused on what I should do with him! Its been a long time since I have been to obedience lessons!

Cheers!

[bloss344]

My Obedience club has an "Off the street Level 1" for dogs over 6 months, who haven't had any previous formal training. Younger dogs go into OTS Puppies if they haven't been to Puppy Pre-School. You'll probably find your club has similar classes as they will want to set up all dogs to succeed.

[MrsD]

Our club (& the club I was at before) starts puppies from 4 months old in beginner class. Puppy preschool is completely different & is usually for little puppies & mainly socialisation. Class 1or Beginners class is usually just very basic work on getting the dog to focus on you, walk along nicely next to you, sit & drop taught with some food. That's usually all they tend to do. Other clubs may do it differently of course :p .

Are there actually clubs that wont do anything with the dogs until they are 6 months old? Or have I misunderstood? I dont see the point in leaving a puppy until 6 months to start to train it, think of how big some puppies are by 6 months & how silly, distracted & playful they can be, it makes the work alot harder! (that's not directed at you shelley)

Anyway the club you are going to should be able to help you out & let you know which class he belongs in .

[rooster78]

Our dog training club in Perth has Beginners Class for any dog, regardless of age, who hasn't had training before. We assumed that our pup would be with pups but there are dogs of all ages in the class with him. He also attended puppy pre-school.

[Poodle wrangler]

I'd go for beginners. My standard poodle pup started off there at about 16 weeks of age. Other dogs were up to about 2 years old, though plenty a similar age. Puppy school is more for socialisation, I think.

That said, the youngsters sometimes finish early as 2 half hour sessions is too much for them. We sat and watched the second half, instead. Still learn.

ETA: Can you have a chat to one of the club organisers- they'll be able to tell you what's best.

Edited June 20, 2007 by Poodle wrangler

[FHRP]

If it was my dog and so close to the cut off I would try and opt for the Kindy class, especially as you think he is immature. Kelpie's are not large dogs and hopefully there will be other large puppies in the class. If in doubt talk to someone at the club.

I'm not sure how Broadford operates, however our club offers a Kindy class for pups under 6 months old which is not a puppy preschool like the vets run, however offers more socialising than the Beginners class, while still covering much of the syllabus. Our Beginners class has Beginners A and Beginners B with A class being for pups that have come through the Kindy class and B for the dogs over 6 months just starting at the club. Class structure is slightly different, however the two streams merge when entering Intermediate.

[J...]

Best thing would be to speak to someone at the club... they will recommend the best class for your pup.

One club I went to ran a puppy preschool which is absolute basics and mostly socialisation, that was for 4 weeks then you did puppy class to 6 months or the dog was deemed mature enough to go up into mainstream classes.

The club I currently attend has 1 class for puppies til they are 6 months, or 5 months for an advanced pup, and then they go to class 1 which is beginners.

Have fun on Sunday