Your Puppy Preschool Experiences

[Guest Willow]

I teach puppy pre school classes for a chain of vet clinics, and while I think they are pretty good (yeah yeah...bighead!!!) I am constantly trying to find new ways to improve the classes.....

For thse who have attended PPS (anywhere....at vets or otherwise), what did you love & what did you hate about the class you attended?

(oh, and for the record....I don't have "puppy free for alls", and I don't harp on about which brand of food & flea stuff to buy.....because I know that irks most puppy owners!!!!)

Please do not "name & shame" publicly.......I really would just like to know what you liked & didn't like & why that was, rather that where you went.

what would put you off going to a class, and what would make you recommend it to your friends???

Thanks in advance for the feedback!!!

[~Aimee~]

We went to puppy preschool when Ruby was 8 weeks. It was held at our local vet. It was ok, it wasn't anything to rave about. It was mostly just sitting around and talking while our puppies played. Good information for first time puppy owners but I was hoping to learn some more obedience type skills. We only learnt to sit and lay down, and we only ever practiced once. In our class we had big dogs and small dogs. We had seperate play times for big and small so the big dogs didn't trample the little ones. They were off leash during this time and I thought it was really good as they got to really play with each other. Ruby loved playing with all the dogs.

We got a really cool puppy file with a space for puppy's photo in the front and info on general puppy stuff e.g. desexing, vaccinations etc. There was a section to record all your puppy's info in the front which I found really handy and we keep all of Ruby's things in it together e.g. vaccination card, puppy school graduation certificate. We take the whole file along with us to the vets. We also got a bag on our last day with samples and a free toy.

I would have enjoyed it more if it was more interactive and less just sitting around and watching the puppies play. We start a puppy progress class at my local obedience club in a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to it so we can learn to teach Ruby some skills.

I hope that helps. Feel free to ask more questions if you like.

[Teebs]

I ended up taking over my last PPS class

[RoxyNHemi]

I thought of attending a puppy pre school in WA, but most seemed booked out, and I was scared about the free for all situation.

My puppy has been out to work wiht me and my OH and socialised at his breeders house, and my In laws house with their dogs..

[Guest Willow]

I ended up taking over my last PPS class

sounds like a story there TB....please do share!!!

[indigirl]

I attended PPS with my goldie bitch Karma a few years back. Local RSPCA ran it. The actual puppy stuff was ok but the other ppl in the class drove me nuts. One woman was neurotic, very pregnant, and kept trying to tell me her life story. Another had a Ridgey pup and had called her puppy some rediculous 5 syllable rhodesian name and kept raving on about how it was rhodesian and kept calling her pup constantly (all 5 syllables no nicknames here). Another woman seemed afraid to let her little snowflake's feet touched the ground, and when she did and karma rumbled it the woman had a fit. The sanest woman in the class had a little BC x puppy and the damm thing got run over and killed 2 weeks into PPS.

Needless to say i have not attended PPS with my current goldie pup.

[Raven]

We have just finished PPS at our Vets and loved every minute of it.

The puppies had off lead time at the beginning, 1/2 way through and at the end.

Pups were taught sit, drop, heel and stay over the 4 weeks, we were given an

information pack and last night we had our Graduation Class ).

What I like most of all is we can phone the vets and talk to K and she will help us

out.

I plan to continue my boys training as he is a Giant Breed.

Sharon

[Dame Aussie]

We went to a puppy pre school at a vets, one of the vet nurses ran it. Basically there was about 8-10 puppies off lead running round like maniacs, there were a couple of aggressive little buggers but the girl running it insisted on introducing them to other puppies!! OH just sat there saying that they weren't coming anywhere near Lili It got to the point where a fight broke out, and only then did she take the offending pup away!!

We were disappointed the first time but thought we'd give it another go, after the 2nd class was exactly the same we switched to another clinic, this one was also run by a nurse but she actually gave advice on everything from behaviour, training, diet, flea/worm treatments, desexing etc and she never plugged a certain type of food/medication, which the other one had!!

We got little booklets at the start with information on our breed and the babies got a pigs ear on their first night too, it was really good, little bursts of play time followed by training and advice, a beautiful certificate on graduation night, a group photo, and they even have a Christmas party for all the past pre school classes. i thought it was personalised and nice.

[cowanbree]

I have attended many puppy classes. I used to think it was great socialisation but now realise it is only as good as the instructor and a lot of behavioural issues start at these classes.

I hate off lead time because even if the class is sensibly divided into size there are still different personalities within those sizes. The timid puppies are constantly frightened and the bullies allowed to bully all the while the proud owners beaming about how their puppies love to play. I think it would be far more beneficial if class sizes were smaller and all socialisation was on lead and closely supervised so all bullying is stopped the minute it starts.

My last experience was going to watch a puppy buyer at her second class. The big breeds were allowed to chase the small breeds all in the guise of they were just playing and being friendly. I was furious that not only did the instructor not intervene but the owners didn't seem to notice that the sheltie was terrified and running for her life

Edited October 8, 2008 by cowanbree

[Guest Pandii]

I have just finsihed puppy school at the vets, I enjoyed it, we only had a small class, we had free play but had rules, you had to watch your puppy, make sure it didnt bully other pups, and other things like that

She did rave a bit about diet, saying dry food is really the only way to go, as raw is alot of work to get right unless you have reserched and made sure your pup is getting the right things.

She did go on about flea and worm control but we had 2 people who had never owned dogs before.

She did ask who was showing and if they wanted to teach sit or stand.

One thing I did like was we were encouraged to take pup out every 20mins for a toilet break, I have been to puppy schools were they expect ehm to hang on for an hour.

She explained collars and haltis and harnesses which was good.

We did a weigh in each week

We also explored the vets and got the pups used to been lifted on the vet table

She showed us how to check teeth and calm massage our pups, check feet and all of their bodies.

We worked on sit drop and play

we had homework each week and had a folder full of great info

at the end we all got a bag with vouchers, info, a lovely photo frame with our puppy in it

a puppy school graduate tag for their collars

measuring cup food samples, and a personalised certificate

I had a great time so did Seb

[Guest june.andnovas]

I'm wondering why they don't have puppy classes for small and giant breeds seperate as their would be quite some size difference going on. If I were to own a small breed (never would though!) I don't think I would be keen on taking it to classes with much larger pups around.

I'm yet to ever go to one, our previous puppies never went. I want to make sure I'm choosing the right clinic etc so would it be possible to check out classes beforehand or go and meet who the instructors are? There is one in Morley which is taught by a Delta instructor, so that is first on my list. They have a fantastic website too. If anyone in Perth is looking for a clinic ... Morley Vet Centre.

To the OP .. I would write down things that you think most new puppy owners are lacking and teach them that. You could get a few ideas from what people have been posting around here. Especially seperation anxiety, I think that is a HUGE problem with many pup owners. It also causes many neighbourhood issues too. Do you think it would be a good idea to share the dangers of many commerical dry foods which contain too much wheat/grains or should that be a personal choice? I guess some people just can't afford to feed raw and 'better' dry foods and commerical foods are the only option.

Do you work at a vet clinic? Is this how you are becoming a puppy teacher person?

Edit - thought of something else you could maybe add to your classes. Teaching owners with large/giant breed puppies that they should grow their pup slowly. Not feeding high amounts of calcuim and protein. This is one thing that concerns me greatly .. just see the link in health/nutrition. And keeping exercise very low key. A friend had a Bernese Mountain Dog and she had a lot of trouble, she wasn't a well dog most of her life and lived to around 9 years old ... only just. She lived off daily expensive medication.

Could you please consider this Aimee?

Edited October 8, 2008 by june.andnovas

[Cosmolo]

Okay- here are a few things we cover in our puppy classes. We have a combination of large and small breeds, puppies are split into groups depending on their personality and have heavily supervised play- NO puppy is allowed to chase/ corner/ frighten another. Our aim by the end of the course is to have taught the more boisterous pups to play gently with the shy puppies, and the shy puppies to have increased their confidence to play with larger or more boisterous pups. We cover-

- How dogs learn

- Extinction training

- Using rewards and corrections

- Dog body language

- Owner responsibilities and applicable laws

- Critical period socilisation vs vaccination protocol

- Puppy problems including mouthing, jumping up, toilet training etc

- Obedience exercises including sit, drop, getting used to a lead, using a release word

- Health and nutrition

- Independence training and environmental enrichment

- Training equipment

- Grooming/ Manual handling

With time for off lead play as well

[baker_girl]

Hi,

I did puppy pre school through my local vet.

The good-

- 6 week course

- $150

- Plenty of topics covered in class and opportunity to discuss any personal issues you were experiencing

- Course included a training hand book

- Course included an individual 30 minute session with the trainer to discuss any other concerns, issues, etc

- Week 4 of the course was a dog free class the covered dog first aid and emergency situations

- Treats were included

- Plenty of off lead time to socialise with other pups

The bad-

- There were about 12 pups in a very small room. It was chaotic at times.

I found the classes really helpful.

[Guest Willow]

Cosmolo....I luv ya buddy, but you don't count ....I need a clients perspective rather than a trainers perspective.....I have feedback sheets, but my boss nicks off with them & won't tell me what's on them unless it's extreme (extremely good or extremely bad.....never had a bad one) but that's no good to me, I want to know what my clients think of my classes, because although *i'm* happy with the content.......there may be things that puppy owners wnat from theri class that I'm not giving them because I'm not aware of it....I beleive feedback is so important to enable you to grow, learn & improve.

[ell&diesel]

At the puppy preschool we took Diesel to, we'd spend the first half inside discussing things such as diet, worming, vaccinations, socialisation, puppy problems, different training methods (the puppy preschool used positive only; the higher classes used a mix of positive and...negative I suppose, as they used check chains), advantages & disadvantages of harnesses, different collars, halti's, etc, and the advantages of desexing.

Then we'd go outside and do some fun training together (sit, down, stand, stay, heel) and then on-lead interaction, with no puppy allowed to bully any others.

We got information sheets each week about the topics & training we'd covered, and every puppy got a graduation certificate at the end. We were also encouraged to sign up for the beginner's obedience classes.

Altogether I suppose it was a pretty standard class, nothing out of the ordinary, but I found it very enjoyable (as did Diesel). My one massive gripe was the lady who brought her (absolutely STUNNING) Dobe pup, who she was going to show. This lady wouldn't put her pup on the ground near Diesel or any of the other mixed breed puppies as she didn't want her "expensive pedigree baby mixing with those dirty mongrels". That earnt her a bit of a telling off from our instructor though. Ha

[Guest Willow]

I'm wondering why they don't have puppy classes for small and giant breeds seperate as their would be quite some size difference going on. If I were to own a small breed (never would though!) I don't think I would be keen on taking it to classes with much larger pups around.

It's important for large breeds to learn how to behave around small dogs, and for small dogs to get used to large breeds......I won't allow big dogs to jump on little dogs, but they can learn important lessons on how to behave around smallies without being allowed off lead play with them.

When it's time for off lead play, I choose two pups at a time that will be compatible. In one class I had all large breeds and one tiny Chi girl.....for that class, she didn't get off lead play with any of the biggies, but with a bit of careful planning, she finished the course totally comfortable in the presence of biggies, and the biggies all learned to be calm & gentle in the presence of smallies.

The best way to have a well rounded dog is to make sure they are safely exposed to as many different scenarios as possible....biggies will bump into littlies at some point in their life, and if the owners have learned how to handle the situation, there will be fewer tears at the dog park.

[baker_girl]

I'm wondering why they don't have puppy classes for small and giant breeds seperate as their would be quite some size difference going on. If I were to own a small breed (never would though!) I don't think I would be keen on taking it to classes with much larger pups around.

It's important for large breeds to learn how to behave around small dogs, and for small dogs to get used to large breeds......I won't allow big dogs to jump on little dogs, but they can learn important lessons on how to behave around smallies without being allowed off lead play with them.

When it's time for off lead play, I choose two pups at a time that will be compatible. In one class I had all large breeds and one tiny Chi girl.....for that class, she didn't get off lead play with any of the biggies, but with a bit of careful planning, she finished the course totally comfortable in the presence of biggies, and the biggies all learned to be calm & gentle in the presence of smallies.

The best way to have a well rounded dog is to make sure they are safely exposed to as many different scenarios as possible....biggies will bump into littlies at some point in their life, and if the owners have learned how to handle the situation, there will be fewer tears at the dog park.

I wondered this too sometimes about mixing the sizing of dogs together. I understand that they can all learn things from each other and most of the time it wasn't an issue. But when the dogs were off lead in our class, it was all dogs at the same time. There were quite a few smaller dogs in the mix which were so much more timid than the bigger dogs. I'd watch my lab constantly but sometimes she'd get excited and try to play with the smaller ones and I often got looks from the other owners?? I figure they're all pups and this is how they play and interact but often I felt guilty or bad if my dog was a bit rough while playing with the smaller ones.

[Guest june.andnovas]

I'm wondering why they don't have puppy classes for small and giant breeds seperate as their would be quite some size difference going on. If I were to own a small breed (never would though!) I don't think I would be keen on taking it to classes with much larger pups around.

It's important for large breeds to learn how to behave around small dogs, and for small dogs to get used to large breeds......I won't allow big dogs to jump on little dogs, but they can learn important lessons on how to behave around smallies without being allowed off lead play with them.

When it's time for off lead play, I choose two pups at a time that will be compatible. In one class I had all large breeds and one tiny Chi girl.....for that class, she didn't get off lead play with any of the biggies, but with a bit of careful planning, she finished the course totally comfortable in the presence of biggies, and the biggies all learned to be calm & gentle in the presence of smallies.

The best way to have a well rounded dog is to make sure they are safely exposed to as many different scenarios as possible....biggies will bump into littlies at some point in their life, and if the owners have learned how to handle the situation, there will be fewer tears at the dog park.

yeah that sounds fair enough. I guess some schools don't go about it the right way and just let all sizes play together at once! That would be a good question to ask when looking to a potential puppy school.

[lilyandjazz]

My only suggestion would be to have experienced owner classes and first time owner classes.

All i really got out of the class that i went to was that i was socialising my pup which i did already before attending puppy school.

I find first time dog owners very trying and their questions would take up the whole class and very little training would be done.

I also had a little problem as the instructor of the class that i went to did not really understand that my puppy was a show dog and the pup i have is a natural sitter so i was not emphasing sit with her and in the ring the dogs are required to stand not sit.

I don't think i would ever go to another puppy pre school i thought it was a waste of time unfortunately.

But on the other hand if you are a fist time dog owner i think they really get alot of the class

[raeviel]

Our puppy school consisted of 6 puppies, both large and small breeds and one mile-a-minute instructor. The classes were pretty average really.

The information was handled poorly and explained haphazardly to the point where no one listened, we just watched our dogs play together- which in the end was the one thing the class was good for. We did learn techniques for sitting, lying and staying which worked OK so I guess that was good, too.

If there's one thing I've learned from these forums it's that many people have very different ideas on how to raise a dog. I think it would be hard to take a puppy class with a variety of different owners and breeds without disappointing some people.