Your Puppy Preschool Experiences

[corvus]

The one we went to was more puppy class than puppy pre-school. The classes often went for an hour or more, which I felt was just too long for wee little puppies. Pups were also expected to ignore other puppies and sit quietly, which was another thing I found a bit unrealistic. We would have been much more successful in the class if our pup had been allowed to play with the others for just 10 mins at the start of the class to get it all out of his system.

What I did like about it was the use of games in training. Me and Kivi won musical chairs, which was defiitely the highlight of our puppy class experience for the humans. We also got prizes when we got things right, which was fun. I did like the way the trainer was open to me doing things marginally different, although as it came out several months later, the trainer had not been okay with it at all and had been very threatened by me daring to ask politely if I might do it slightly differently and ripped into me over it as soon as they got their back up over something. NOT shouting at your clients is a really good start!

[Sheridan]

When I did PPS with my last wheaten, we went for one class then left. It was run by a company whose reputation, I've since found, is not that great. There was a 3 month old lab puppy who terrorised my 9 week old wheaten. The owner did nothing, the trainer did nothing and, in fact, told me not to do anything, and my dog was terrified and end up being sick. I ignored this advice but not soon enough. I got my money back and went elsewhere. The second one was better but it took some work for him to get over the first experience. He spent several of the classes hiding behind me before plucking up enough courage in the final weeks to have a little play.

Edited October 20, 2008 by Sheridan

[Dory the Doted One]

I have run them and particpated in them at varying times in my life.

The ones I didn't like where free for alls, and the ones where someone banged on about all the boring crap that we all get pounded into our heads. Having said that there are plenty of people who don't know it, so I have to bite my tongue. I guess HOW it is presented to me might be the key here. Listening to someone drone on about worming because they lack the personality to make it interesting...blah blah blah...(LOL..this usually happens in vet clinics where nurses are REQUIRED to run puppy pre-schools and hate it...)

The ones I've enjoyed (and I'm biased because they were usually run by me...in taken over by me) were classes that touched on those topics...but were bascially structured to meet the needs of the classes. Class sizes where relatively smallish...certainly no more than 8 puppies. And it was often open floor for questions. Key topics were spoken about in real life terms...often from personal experience...be that my own...or someone else in the class. Makes it a lot more relevant and meaningful, and realistic. Use of photographic examples...You should have seen my excellent photo of an actual pyometra (caution...check that everyone is cool with graphic photo's BEFORE showing them) and an great photo of a healthy 'normal' uterus. What made that picture excellent...my hand was in the picture and it was great for people to gauge scale. (never did get a piccie of cancerous testicles. *sigh*)

I love to listen to animated people who seem interested in the information they have to pass on...who are interested in engaging people and infecting them with their own enthusaism (geniune enthusiasm...plastic sunshine turns me off pretty quick) Speak to people on a EQUAL level, not down to them. These are intellegent people who CARE...otherwise they wouldn't be there. Every question is important...even if it is the hundreth time you have heard it.

And number one...thing to keep in the back of your mind....Sometimes the Students...become the Teacher....look with that perspective in mind and you are automatically interested and engaged in your audience. Man, I've learnt HEAPS from my class members...some of it sent me grey...some of it made me cry...and a lot of it made me laugh.

(BTW....with my pyo pictures...I had a 99% hit rate for pre-bookings of desexings after that class. Ghoulish personal stories of whelping litters going wrong helped as well.)

[SpikesPuppy]

We've been umming and ahhing about taking Nessa (9 week Collie Smooth) to PPS or not. We've had enough puppies that we know how to teach the basic commands and manners, and we understand socialisation pretty well (and take her out to various places), as for meeting other dogs- she will be a show dog and until she can show herself at 3 months, she will be coming to shows with our older dogs. Starting from last Sunday!

I second what someone else suggested- a beginners and an experienced puppy class. Maybe a Puppy Pre School for the novice owners and a puppy socialisation class for the ore experienced? We also don't need to crap about what products to buy, desexing blah blah. Plus we don't want to teach sit at this age either.

As for my experiences- first puppy school was way back in 1999 with my Newfy boy. it was run by a very clever vet nurse who did a great job IMO. Some off lead stuff but mostly on lead training. And it was always FUN and well informed.

Then I took Caber (Border Terrier) to the same vets, different nurse, in 2004. It was a disaster, we only stayed for the first class and never came back. it was a free for all with bullying pups etc. I remember a 16 week old Goldie pup who kept wanting to pounce on Caber (9 weeks at the time), to this day he is uncomfortable around Goldies. And the whole time the moron owners just laughed at how cute their puppy was.

Oh and another thing about many puppy schools, from a dog exhibitor's point of view- I do NOT like other people giving my pups commands (especially sit, which the moron Golden owner tried to do with Cab), and I also get concerned with 'pass the puppy' when kids are involved, and I always request that no one touches my pup's mouth (because I don't want them being mouth shy etc).

After that disaster, I enrolled Caber in a different class, this one was better, it was outdoors in a private park and mostly on lead (with supervised playtimes), this class focused heavily on socialisation and that part was great- there were tunnels, different surfaces, strange toys or household noises (vacum cleaners etc), mini agility equipment such as a see saw and a frame (no jumps!). Pricey and preachy at times but overall I was impressed.

Then in 2007 I got Ziva, went back to the original vet clinic and attended their class, being run by a qualified instructor. This was a good class (if you ignored the usual preaching), and was positive based. Also very understanding with me not wanting to teach sit and being concerned about Ziva's mouth and so on. There were playtimes at the end of class, with all pups being monitored (Ziva was a bully had to be MY dog that was the one given time outs ).

[Leema]

The class I went to was just for socialisation aspects. It wasn't a free for all, but it was an area where Clover could learn to ignore other dogs and focus on me.

The good things was that I was given the freedom to go and do my own thing in the corner. They had extra treats for when I ran out! And they presented good advice to puppy owners. It was also good because it was inside, and I particularly wanted to socialise Clover to inside places, as Mac has issues with this.

The bad was that the floor was slippery and it made it difficult to play tuggy!

[Madeleine]

Our class was excellent....even though there was a 14 week old standard poodle desperately trying to play with our then shy 10 week old pug. We had a 'time out' pen as ours was in a paddock next to the vets (which was excellent), so if ANYONE had seen any misbehaving they could pick up the perpetrator and pen him for no more than two minutes....it worked, people would pick up other owner's dogs and pen them.

I don't really believe in the small vs large breed thing...my dogs will always be small, and there will always be large dogs at the lake or at the beach that they need to get on with and know how to stand their ground etc. so I have no problem with that.

The instructor did speak down to us on occasion...but she was only a young thing and she was doing the best job she knew how....she's becoming a wonderful vet nurse at the practice. There was a great mix of 10 minutes at the beginning and end for a free for all, and while we were being educated, the dogs were allowed to play.....I thought it worked really well...and they gave handouts etc with useful info on them. We also did a training part - just sit, stay, come and drop but they went around and individually sorted you out if you were having problems, that also gave the opportunity if you were having other probs to have a quick chat about those too.

It was also free!

[Cam]

third day

same as usual

- pass the puppy

- lots of off leash time

tonight included quick recaps on dos and donts

- mouthing/teething

- walking on a lead

- stay command

I cant really remember much more.

As for everyone saying they dont get a lot from these things. Why not organise things through this forum?

There must be 5+ people with puppies around the same time all the time.

For me, its my first real time with a puppy, and knowing everyone in the class is vacinated is a good thing.

I would definetly go again even after knowing everything I have learnt.

We had a puppy who missed last week.

At the start of the class she was ears down, tail between the legs under the chair snapping at all the puppies.

At the end of the night she was ears up, playing with all the other puppies and walking around the room.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Cam

[corvus]

I want to go to your puppy class, Dory!

One thing I have found with a lot of dog trainers in general is that they think they know everything about dogs - in general and yours - and that you probably know nothing. This hasn't bothered me so much in the past because I would just do my thing, but I was a kid back then and used to doing what I was told. Nowadays I can cope with it as long as the trainer is actually open to the notion I might know something about dogs, at least my dog. I have been to wildlife classes where the teacher has been saying a lot of things I (as a person with a degree in zoology) don't think is entirely accurate. Sometimes it's hard to keep from piping up and offering my interpretation, or what I have heard from other experts, however it occurs to me that just because I know a lot about wildlife doesn't mean I know everything about wildlife, and just because a mentor of mine said something does not mean there is no truth in anything that conflicts slightly with that. It can be quite interesting to see what other people know as facts and how they choose to pass their information on.

Sorry, that was all a bit off topic, but I just wanted to say that I totally understand why trainers are often arrogant and think anyone who hasn't made a career out of dogs doesn't know anything about them, but keeping your mouth shut and listening even when you think you know it all can still teach you things. The trainer in our puppy class repeatedly used Kivi to demonstrate something and she would always ignore me if I told her we were using a slightly different hand signal and he didn't know that one, and also she would repeatedly drop the treat and walk off, which always confused him and left him wondering if he'd done the right thing and where his treat was. Instead of ignoring that, she could have turned it into a lesson about what a confused puppy looks like. It's exasperating when someone is so caught up in showing everyone how good they are at getting fast results that they won't admit when things didn't go perfectly to plan.

[smatta]

I'm taking my puppy a 11 week old staffy to puppy school next week nd after reading some of the stories i'm having second thoughts,has anyone been to the school at the kingsway vet in Perth ?

[Dory the Doted One]

Hey Smatta,

I would still go, but be proactive about what you will and won't allow with your puppy. Remember it IS your puppy.

If you think things are getting too rough, you have the right to remove your puppy from the situation. Afterall, you are the one that has to live with the consequences of things. So what if the nurse or facilitator might get narky. It's your dogs wellbeing. (but then I've stepped in before to rescue other peoples dogs from sketchy situations. )

Expect some rough behaviour, but if your dog is being bullied...pick them up. If you dog is being the bully, put them on lead.

[cannibalgoldfish]

I took both of my Shibas to the course the guide dogs run here in Launceston. I know Shibas can potentially be dominant so socialisation was always on the cards from day one. Loki, my first is a submissive quiet boy (Ok! he is a mummys boy, and proud of it!) He was totally un intersted in the other dogs. Would just sit and sigh and look the other way whenever another dog came up to say hello. The lady running the course kept using him as an example of "the more aloof breeds" yeah, thanks . A few years later I took Wylie to the same course. Little beast has attidude issues, ie- he is god. (normal shiba) I spent the first few weeks sqirting him with a water bottle cause he didnt stop barking and trying to push around the wimpy pups. These courses just run through the basics. But they do seperate the class into two age groups rather than size. Puppy and adult. Which means you get all breeds and sizes running with each other but more in keeping with their development. Wylie didnt learn any manners till I started walking him to the off leash area and he tried to bully two young labs who thought the funny little barking thing was great fun and tried to roll him into little balls. No aggression from them at all, but he sure learnt he wasn't god and other dogs might just be bigger than him! It was the best thing for him. Now days I just have to watch him around the little girl dogs.....

[sabertooth]

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 would agree and i wish i was at your uppy class. i took my 14week old chihuahua to puppy class and we had to let them all off the lead at the same time and there was a big huski puppy that was only 9 weeks old and she thought it was great fun to stand on my puppies head and make him squeal real loud and the instuctor would not let us stop it as it was just puppy play. well now my dog who is now 14mths old does not like other dogs to touch him at all and now i have a dogue which is very large and play time is hard but slowly getting better.

[smatta]

Hey Dory

you were right i am glad i went ,the class was an eye opener at home with my 11yr old staffy he is totally different.

Went to the school and out puffs his chest tail straight in the air and he didn't take a backward step.

[pcjm]

We just finished week 2 of puppy preschool and it is very informative, it is held by a local kennel club which means that when he finishes preschool he can go straight into obedience classes. The only problem is that the club is breaking up for christmas so we will only get one more week of preschool then a six week break and then he will be too old and have to go to regular obedience. The classes are very good and so is the information books they give out at the start of the course.

[pennyw74]

We went to puppy pre-school with both our puppies at different places.

Our first puppy, we took to a private place. It was great. There were seven puppies in the class - a nice amount. We had off leash time in the beginning but our girl was the smallest in the class and completely overwhelmed by it all and just wanted to curl up on our laps.

We learnt to sit, stand, drop, stay. We also learnt to get into position on the left side, which they called heel (not walking heel). We practiced through the week until we went back.

Now we go to obedience classes to continue with the training.

With our second puppy, we just go to the same place we take Izzy to for obedience. He has just finished puppy classes. They teach similar things to the other puppy school but the price was a lot cheaper. The main difference was the size of the classes.

Sometimes, the length of time is just too long for puppies to concentrate. Sometimes, we went for 90 minutes at this first puppy school and Izzy would fall asleep towards the end. Ollie gets too distracted with all the dropped treats on the ground, too.

Overall, I think we're fairly happy with the way both were run, though. Talking about the length of time, I'm sure even older dogs have days where they lack concentration, too.

Rewards were supplied at the first puppy school - cheese and cabanossi.

[poodlefan]

First night last night at my vets.

There is a fair bit of talking but practical stuff too and all the info covered is given in handouts. Play time was initally between matched pups but more were allowed offlead when things were going well.

I have the class hooligan. Howie loves a game of Boxer smackdown. Fortunately, so did the boxer pups

Edited December 10, 2008 by poodlefan

[BittyMooPeeb]

Puppy preschool at my dog club is great . I have no 'bad' experiences, only good ones. We cover:

• puppy push-ups (sit, drop, stand)
  
• walking nicely on lead
  
• meal time manners
  
• leaving the puppy (i.e. pup is in an enclosure and cant get to us - we practice moving away. Who would have thought a Maltese could squeeze through the small mesh holes to get back to her mum )
  
• being handled by other people (pass the puppy!)
  
• touching the puppies feet, body, mouth etc
  
• recall, and recall from distraction (not a formal recall, a high pitched excited come to me (while running away from pup)
  

I might have forgotten some things .... we *may* do a few things like scenting/fetch/touch too. I cant remember.

The class is conducted on lead, so puppy's focus is on the handler. This is broken up by some play session - only two pups off lead at at time, separated from the other dogs, and matched in personality/size.

And .... a puppy doesn't automatically pass! I was very embarassed when Blossom and I had to repeat (before being allowed to go to beginners), but she really needed to and is a much better dog now for having done PPS twice (she had socialisation problems).

The other great thing about our PPS is that there is a natural progression to beginners obedience and beyond!

(I've thought of some downsides - classes scheduled for times when pups are often asleep (ie mid morning or mid afternoon), classes outside on cold wet days, the need to have dogs fully vaccinated before starting (as classes are outside))

Edited December 10, 2008 by BittyMooPeeb

[BittyMooPeeb]

I have the class hooligan. Howie loves a game of Boxer smackdown. Fortunately, so did the boxer pups

Lucky the boxer enjoyed it too