Puppy School Options

[ajj_32]

Hi all,

I'm new here and have a 3 month old Dalmatian which I've had since eight weeks. We have just completed 4 week puppy pre school at our local vet at was just wondering if any one knew of a 'parvo safe' next step until she's completely vaccinated at 15-16 weeks. Are there any indoor sanitised dog training centres in Melbourne that offer some advanced puppy training??? I don't want to wait 4 weeks until she can go to an outdoor dog school.

Thanks so much for your help

[alpha bet]

Chances are your dog is already covered by the vaccination she had at 10-12 weeks. You don't need to wait - there is no such thing as an indoor sanitised dog training centre.... anywhere.

You are fooling yourself if you think your local vet was a safe place to attend puppy school. Your local vet was certainly not a "sanitised safe" area to have your pup.... after all the vet clinic is where people take sick dogs.... unless they remove all the furniture, pamphlets, magazines, photos etc and then wash down the floor and walls with soap and water and then steam clean.... there are germs in the environment..... and on the feet of everyone who comes to class.

Just consider with human children who go to playgroup, infant welfare centres, friends houses.... prior to having their full vaccinations.

If the mother was healthy and the pup is healthy she is building a strong immune system.

The importance of the social development of your pup outweighs any risk to her health.

Get out and enjoy your pup - Good luck

Edited June 17, 2015 by alpha bet

[ajj_32]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I'm just getting so confused about the best thing to do. Some people say don't go to parks until she's fully vaccinated, some say she should be ok. I really want to keep up the training but don't want to put her at risk!

What have other people done?

[Tassie]

Good on you for wanting to keep up with training and getting out and about with your puppy. Yes, there are some risks, but as alpha bet has said, unless there's a rampant parvo outbreak in your area (unlikely at this time of year in Vic, but check with your vet, there are more benefits in taking your pup out and about to see the world. I personally would avoid places where there are large concentrations of dogs under less than adequate control, but local dog training clubs are usually reasonably safe places. The clubs near me accept puppies into puppy class as soon as they have had their second vacc ... so usually about 12 weeks.

If you qive us an idea of you general area, we should be able to give you some suggestions of training clubs/classes that might suit you and your pup.

[Dogsfevr]

You run a bigger risk of bringing parvo home on your shoes .

Personally a park would be the last place i would take a puppy to train due to the idiots with bad mannered dogs.

You can be doing training out the front of your house & in your area,short walks,learning about cars,trucks & buses going past & anything else the outside world can deliver ,noises etc etc.

As mentioned puppy pre schools at vets are a higher risk than most places as they don't clean there carparks etc etc so if they have an affected dog most owners have no idea & just walk them in .

Your pup is old enough to go to big dog obedience school

[ajj_32]

Thanks everyone:)

I feel much more confident about taking her to school now. I'm in the Greensborough are and really like how the K9 company have training over different days/nights and in different locations so I might try them first. I really want to get Dotti into agility eventually so the earlier when start on the training the better:)

Thanks Again:)

[The Spotted Devil]

Welcome! I run the only Spotted dog in agility in Victoria! If you are serious about competing in agility you will need to train with a club that understands competitive agility rather than doing a few jumps/tunnels "for fun." Don't get me wrong - my dogs and I have a BALL but it takes a lot of skills beyond just taking a jump!

[ajj_32]

Welcome! I run the only Spotted dog in agility in Victoria! If you are serious about competing in agility you will need to train with a club that understands competitive agility rather than doing a few jumps/tunnels "for fun." Don't get me wrong - my dogs and I have a BALL but it takes a lot of skills beyond just taking a jump!

Would love the details if you don't mind:):)

[The Spotted Devil]

Welcome! I run the only Spotted dog in agility in Victoria! If you are serious about competing in agility you will need to train with a club that understands competitive agility rather than doing a few jumps/tunnels "for fun." Don't get me wrong - my dogs and I have a BALL but it takes a lot of skills beyond just taking a jump!

Would love the details if you don't mind:):)

There's nothing really near you unfortunately BUT I did travel to Hastings from Brighton for agility for a few years! Now I live in the Eastern Suburbs I go to Croydon & Districts Obedience Dog Club which is probably your closest. My absolute pick would be private small classes or one-on-one with Awesome Paws. They are a long drive to Cranbourne for me but seriously worth it. Agility is about relationship building and lots of flat work (ie no equipment) and the jumps etc are the icing on the cake!

[ajj_32]

Welcome! I run the only Spotted dog in agility in Victoria! If you are serious about competing in agility you will need to train with a club that understands competitive agility rather than doing a few jumps/tunnels "for fun." Don't get me wrong - my dogs and I have a BALL but it takes a lot of skills beyond just taking a jump!

Would love the details if you don't mind:):)

There's nothing really near you unfortunately BUT I did travel to Hastings from Brighton for agility for a few years! Now I live in the Eastern Suburbs I go to Croydon & Districts Obedience Dog Club which is probably your closest. My absolute pick would be private small classes or one-on-one with Awesome Paws. They are a long drive to Cranbourne for me but seriously worth it. Agility is about relationship building and lots of flat work (ie no equipment) and the jumps etc are the icing on the cake!

Thanks so much, I'll keep that in mind:)

[sheena]

Thanks everyone:)

I feel much more confident about taking her to school now. I'm in the Greensborough are and really like how the K9 company have training over different days/nights and in different locations so I might try them first. I really want to get Dotti into agility eventually so the earlier when start on the training the better:)

Thanks Again:)

We don't start training with obstacles until the dogs are at least twelve months old, for agility & then it is only with very low jumps. Tunnels & puppy humps are OK. They have to be 18 months old before they can compete. But there are heaps of things you can do with your pup from day one that will prepare him for agility. When he gets a bit older, you can work on focus, stays, recalls (very important in agility), teach him tricks like spins, weaves between your legs, leave-it, back-end awareness, running between the uprights of jumps...the list goes on & on :) Just remember with a puppy, to keep all your training sessions really short...like a couple of minutes at a time. Finish while he is wanting more, not when he starts to get bored & distracted.

[alpha bet]

ajj, we run puppy agility classes - We are at Wandong which is not that far out from Greensborough on the ring road - takes 30 min from Greensborough exit to our place.... monday and tuesday evening but will be introducing some Workshop Days on weekends which will build some specific skills - we have just finished our new indoor facility for the winter... much easier in the cold weather. Will have some new photos up in a few weeks when I get my photo shop organised. www.alfoxton.com.au

The pups learn to use different equipment but just at puppy level.... plus teaching loads of tricks and basic work under distractions which is great for any future comp work you might be interested.