Starting Puppy School

[Mushaka]

My baby starts puppy school next monday.

YAY..

Should i take her in a tired or excited.. I know somewhere in between is prefferable but not always possible with a pup.

She walks well on lead if she isnt in "hyper" mode...if not she is a jumping bean!

Im mainly taking her to training for the social aspect of it all. For her and me I guess.

I need to find more like minded people and well being an Amstaff she needs to meet all kinds of dogs.

What questions should i ask today when i go to the vet to book her in?...

I was thinking do i need to bring treats,wat kind of collar shld i use etc..but is there anything else i need to know b4 i begin?

[Erny]

Don't stress about it all too much, L&L. Have her on a lead and flat collar. Most of puppy school is (or should be) about socialisation - to other pups, people, loud noises, different surfaces, etc. etc. etc. A little bit about how to start some very basic obedience. And some about the usual puppy issues you are likely to experience (if you haven't already) such as destructive chewing; mouthing; toilet training etc. Take some food treats and also your pup's favourite toy. Depending on what you are doing, you may not need them, but at least you have them if you do.

Enjoy the experience and your time at puppy school. It can be a big adventure for both puppy AND handler :cool:.

Your trainer should be able to show you "how" and answer the "why" when he/she sees you and your puppy.

Have fun!!!!

Edited August 11, 2007 by Erny

[sas]

My baby starts puppy school next monday.

YAY..

Should i take her in a tired or excited.. I know somewhere in between is prefferable but not always possible with a pup.

She walks well on lead if she isnt in "hyper" mode...if not she is a jumping bean!

Im mainly taking her to training for the social aspect of it all. For her and me I guess.

I need to find more like minded people and well being an Amstaff she needs to meet all kinds of dogs.

What questions should i ask today when i go to the vet to book her in?...

I was thinking do i need to bring treats,wat kind of collar shld i use etc..but is there anything else i need to know b4 i begin?

Hiya,

I went to puppy pre-school at our vets *shakes head* what a load of nonsense. People seem to get a lot of bad advice from Vet Puppy Preschools.

I see you're in Sydney. The best thing that we've done is take our puppy to Luci Ellem Puppy School in Austral, it takes us an hour to get out there and initially I didn't want to go that far, but honest to God it's the best thing we have ever done for the puppy and for us!

There are a couple of Amstaffs at puppy school at the moment including an absolutely adorable 9 week old puppy. I didn't get Dante into Luci until he was 5 months old, it would have been brilliant if I had known about it when he was 8 weeks old.

http://www.camarna.com/index.htm

Edited August 12, 2007 by sas

[Poodle wrangler]

Ditto the comments about some puppy schools being rubbish with unqualified trainers.

Our local obedience instructor has had a few dogs whose problems stemmed from puppy school- owners had incorrect information and used methods on their dogs which resulted in, or worsened, behavioural problems. Be cautious. What qualifications does the person running it have? Or, are they a vet nurse at the surgery where it's held? Nothing against vet nurses, but many don't have the right experience to run a puppy class.