~Aimee~ Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi, We just picked up our little cavalier king charles puppy on Monday and today I called a couple of puppy preschools to get some info on when classes started. At our local vet their classes start tomorrow so we have booked Ruby in. I just wanted to know from others what to expect? What kinds of things do they do there? Ruby is only 8 weeks old. I would have ideally waited a couple of weeks for her to settle in at home first before taking her but the next course isn't run for 6 weeks and I don't want to wait that long. I guess the earlier they start the better anyway as they can start learning positive behaviours from day one. Does anyone have any experiences with puppy preschools that they'd like to share? Did you and your puppy enjoy them and what did you get out of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellatrix Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hello Aimee! Congrats on your new pup, we need to see pics!!! Lucy started Puppy school last night (her first session). Out our vet they wanted to start of with dog interaction, taking them off their leads and see how they interact. We then started basic training (eg sit stay come etc..) We went over toilet training, food and collars/leads etc.. This is all I know so far as I have only attended 1 session. It is really interesting and fun to see how your dog interacts with other pups. You will enjoy it. Im sure others will be able to tell you about their experiences, so far mine has been good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeviel Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 We had an average experience at ours. Was really only good to give the pup some interaction with other puppies and spot any problems she has with socialising. We got tips on sitting, lying down, stay and other puppy advice but it really wasn't anything we couldn't have learned from a good book and some home training. Not sure if anyone elses experiences have been similar. I'm sure there are some good preschools out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabrADORE Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 The puppy school we went to was ok....it was mainly the instructor talking about general information on puppies and showing a couple of basic commands such as sit. At the end of the class the puppies got to interact with each other for a while. All in all it was alright, i think puppy school is good if you are a first time dog owner or simply for a little bit of socialisation for your puppy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Aimee just be careful about how the class is run. We've heard a few awful tales of puppy preschools! You have a very young and small pup and being rough housed by bigger pups will not help her socialisation. Some classes are run very well and the pups can get great benefits. A friend of mine holds classes and she is careful to try to take smaller ones together and she never allows it to get rough. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaGirl Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 I've got my 3rd out of 4 PPS classes tonight and the pups still haven't been allowed off leash, which I think is a good thing. They spend most of the classes playing on leash which is good for my girl to learn how to play with smaller dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyspazz Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 The PPS i took my pup too didn't allow interaction between the dogs at all!!! They were always onlead and never allowed to play.....So you can imagine, for my boy who hadn't been around any other dog since he left the litter was when suddenly there were all these other dogs, and he wans't allowed to go near them! He just barked and barked and tried to get closer to them the whole time. I was VERY dissapointed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlies_mum Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 our puppy preschool was the best!!!! we have chihuahuas and our beautiful puppy molly started at 9 weeks when she weighed only 700gms. the school was run from our vets and the teacher was so good. they all get weighed at the start then she noticed molly was hiding behind our legs so she let her off her lead first then once she was happy sniffing all the other dogs she let them off one at a time. they had a play and then week by week she taught us more commands and we would have fun competitions to see who was the best at each command and she would go through some new info any week. any questions we had she answered and we got so many samples and toys and all round it was a great experience. i have heard some disaster stories though of puppy school so choose wisely. i hope you and your pup have fun and learn lots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie-i Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 (edited) Aimee, congratulations on your new pup. Puppy Preschool's run at vet clinics are usually (but not always) run by vet nurses who may or may not have much knowledge about dog behaviour and training etc. Some are very good but I have heard some stories that are enough to make anyone's hair stand on end. Unfortunately on many occassions, we trainers have been faced with "fixing" the problems created by some PPS's. Remember that most 4 or 5 weeks courses are just that....short, crash courses in socialisation and very basic skills. You will still need to continue training and socialising your pup once you finish this type of course in order for the pup to retain/enhance skills. Unfortunately some are under the false impression that this is all the training a dog requires. Things to watch out for in a PPS are : Alpha rolls (this should not be part of puppy training as this is an antiquated method from the stone age). Off lead play (unless the pups are separated into small groups of similar size and temperament), otherwise no! Extremely compulsive techniques (Extreme force should not be used to make puppy do anything) If any of the above occur, grab your pup and run for the door! Good luck and enjoy your pup! Edited August 24, 2008 by Kelpie-i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Aimee~ Posted August 24, 2008 Author Share Posted August 24, 2008 Thanks for your replies. We have been to two classes and so far they have been good. Ruby loves playing with the other dogs there. It is just basic socialisation though with the vet giving advice on toilet training, desexing, basic obedience skills etc. We are looking at taking Ruby to more formal obedience training classes soon. The next term starts in about 7 weeks so she will be about 16 weeks by then. Is this a good age to start more formal training? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 Thanks for your replies. We have been to two classes and so far they have been good. Ruby loves playing with the other dogs there. It is just basic socialisation though with the vet giving advice on toilet training, desexing, basic obedience skills etc. We are looking at taking Ruby to more formal obedience training classes soon. The next term starts in about 7 weeks so she will be about 16 weeks by then. Is this a good age to start more formal training? Aimee - I replied in your other thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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