Puppy class

• Dogs are eligible for our puppy class so long as they are under a year old, the younger the better, and have had their “jabs”. Our puppy class is held at 7.30pm on Wednesday each week and lasts about 45 minutes.
• There is no need to sign up to a set number of classes and there is no distinct starting week - just bring the dog along. The first week is free, a taster. Come along, try it, and if you don’t like it walk away, otherwise join on your next visit.
• There is a weekly fee of £3 per dog per class, and an annual membership fee of £15. (It’s half-price for handlers aged <16 or >65.)
• If you do come along to our club we would expect you to bring the pup, a normal soft collar and lead (not a flexi and not a chain – we will be asking you to drop the lead and let the pup run around dragging the lead behind for part of the time), and a good supply of small treats that really interest your dog (meaty chunks of chicken or sausage or little cubes of cheese usually work really well.)
• Don’t feed the pup just before you bring it; he/she may be more interested in the treats and will be less likely to leave a “deposit” during the visit. (You will be carrying poo-bags in any case, won’t you? Besides, you should never feed a dog before exercise!)

Before You Get Your Puppy is a free online book by Ian Dunbar. It is available as a pdf download (2.68MB) from:

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/you-get-your-puppy

The most important things that your puppy will learn at puppy class are:

• to inhibit its bite,
• to happily encounter people,
• to happily encounter dogs.

Your puppy will bite. This is good. “The more your puppy bites, the safer its jaws will be as an adult, since it will have had more opportunities to learn that bitng hurts.” (Ian Dunbar)

In puppy class your dog will spend some part of each session running around off-leash with other dogs, at which time some of their play will involve biting. Other puppies are the very best teachers. When they hurt another pup it will yelp and the fun will stop. In this way they learn to bite more gently so as not to stop the game. (This is what we must do too. Never punish the pup for biting - just yelp and stop the fun.)

In addition to this organised chaos (we like to call it socialisation) the puppy class follows the Kennel Club’s Puppy Foundation Assessment scheme. This lays the foundations for a well-behaved dog. The maximum age for a puppy is 12 months, and puppies must attend for a minimum of 4 weekly sessions over an 8 week period.

As part of any normal dog training process, training the owner is as important as training the puppy, therefore both owners and puppies are assessed. The course includes 12 different exercises and each exercise will be covered as part of each training session. They are: -

1. Responsibility & Care
2. Cleanliness & Identification
3. Attentive Response To Name
4. Puppy Play
5. Socialisation
6. Handling & Inspection
7. Puppy Recall
8. Basic Puppy Positions
9. Walking in a Controlled Manner
10. Stay for approximately 10 seconds
11. Take Article Away from the Puppy
12. Food Manners (take a treat without snatching)

Puppies who successfully complete the Puppy Foundation Assessment course will be awarded their very own rosette and KC Good Citizen puppy certificate.

Dogs Trust Apps

Dogs Trust have two applications available for download for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (Android to follow.)

iMutt is a free game where you help a dog in a centre prepare for life in a loving home, and You and Your Puppy is an information-packed resource for anyone thinking of rehoming or buying a puppy or who has recently done so.

 http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/a/apps/default.aspx

You and Your Puppy covers everything from choosing a dog to homecoming and beyond, including:

• Responsibilities of a Puppy Owner
• Living with Children
• Food and Treats
• Training, including 'Sit' and 'Come'
• Socialisation

You and Your Puppy is £1.99 for iPhone and £2.99 for iPad (which is the HD version).