Spring is the air and before you can say Jack Russel we’ll be rushing headlong towards the end of 2017 and summer fun.
This is the time of year many families choose to bring a new puppy into their lives and a new puppy means it’s time to head off to puppy school.
With that in mind there are two topics we’d like to cover in today’s article, namely the importance of early training and correct socializing and what you should be looking for in a puppy school.
The Importance Of Early Experiences
It’s been proven that puppies go through a critical developmental stage in the first 14-16 weeks of their life. During this period your puppy’s brain is a sponge, ready to be filled with information about the world around them, and vital input and guidance that will shape their habits and behavior for the rest of their lives.
You don’t need to be good at math’s to realize that if your pup is with its mother for the first 8 weeks – which is non-negotiable – that you’re only left with 6-8 of these ‘golden weeks’ to expose your puppy to positive experiences with other dogs, people and different environments and situations.
Socialization is NOT just about playing with other dogs. It involves experiencing ‘life’ situations in a positive and non-stressful way.
This is not to say that your puppy will simply stop learning when it reaches 16 weeks of age, but providing a rich foundation of good social experiences and mental stimulation in this formative stage, will give your puppy a huge kick start in terms of self-confidence and mental development, and provide you with many opportunities to build a strong and lasting bond with your new best friend.
Why Puppy Classes?
Well quite simply, because there is a right and a wrong way to guide your puppy through these early developmental stages and we don’t expect everyone who gets a puppy to suddenly become a training expert.
A top notch puppy school will not just provide you and your puppy with positive experiences and stimulating activities in the training environment, they will also provide you with effective strategies, and guidance to make your entire puppy-raising journey a success from the get-go!
What About Vaccinations?
This one comes up far too often:
Be aware, that some old school vets are going to warn you off of this thinking and tell you that your puppy needs to be kept away from other dogs, until they have had their second, or sometimes even 3rd vaccinations before you can take them to training classes. If you follow that advice, your puppy could be 13 weeks, or even older before it starts experiencing the outside world and meeting other dogs and people!
The chilling truth here is that the risk of exposure to ‘dread puppy diseases’ is relatively minor in comparison to the instances of dogs that are given up to shelters, or euthanized for behavioural problems later in life, because they weren’t given a good start.
Isolation leads to fear, fear leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to behavior problems – you don’t need to be Yoda to figure that one out!
What Makes A Good Puppy School?
Thankfully this isn’t a million dollar question, but if you answer it wrong, the cost for you and your puppy could be very high.
These are the pillars your ideal puppy school should be built on:
1. Science
Dog training is not an art form, a gift, or a ‘mystic connection with your wolf-taming ancestors’, nor is it based on so called ‘experience’.
Modern dog training is based on proven behavioural science and conditioning techniques. It also requires a sound knowledge of how dogs learn, the social and genetic traits of domestic dogs, and a practical and realistic understanding of how they fit into modern human society.
Your ideal puppy school will be staffed and run by professionals, with acknowledged, up to date qualifications in canine behaviour. The trainers will show a confident understanding of the scientific principles of training, they will all use the same, or very similar, terminology when discussing training and behavior and consistently apply those principles in their classes. Do not be afraid to ask about the qualifications of the trainers at a school you are considering.
2. Compassion
Your ideal puppy school will take their scientific knowledge of canine behavior and conditioning techniques, and apply it in the kindest and most humane way possible.
Classes will be taught purely using positive reinforcement, and rewards based techniques.
There will be no discussion, of dominance, or pack leadership, or demonstration of techniques to physically overpower or manhandle your dogs.
Choke chains, spray bottles, loud shouts and other outdated correction and punishment based techniques will not be allowed, or taught in the classes. These create a relationship based on fear and intimidation, and have no place in dog training in this day and age. If you see or hear any of this being done, take your puppy, and find a more up to date training facility. You owe it to your puppy!
3. Structure
The classes at your ideal puppy school will be small and personal and seldom have more than 8 handlers in a class. The classes will be run according to a planned curriculum, but at the same time trainers will show flexibility to address the needs and learning pace of each individual handler and dog pair in the class. The trainers will provide regular feedback and input to every handler, offering both praise and constructive and insightful input where there are opportunities for improvement.
4. Fun
Last, but very definitely not least. The staff at your ideal puppy school will be enthusiastic in their approach to every class and every new handler and puppy that they meet.
The emphasis will be on creating a happy, relaxed environment where you and are puppy can have fun and build a relationship while learning together.
One way of recognizing that you have arrived at your ideal puppy school is that the staff may push each other out of the way in the rush to be the first one to greet your new puppy when it arrives. Please do not judge them for behaving like this, many of them are addicted to puppy breath and cannot help themselves!