Most puppy school checklists read like a shopping list. This one mostly does not, because almost everything that matters on the first night is either already in your house or is not an object at all.
Luke Buchanan, Owner of The Toe Beans Co and Sydney's Puppy Trainer, has watched a lot of first classes now, and the pattern is consistent: the owners who have a good night are not the ones with the best kit. They are the ones who got the hour before the class right. Here is the short version of both.
The five things that matter
Rewards
Whilst most people think this is just food that is not necessarily the case. At 12 weeks, if you have been following your routines and rotating your rewards you should know what your puppy likes: food, toys or physical affection.
Puppy school is distracting, that's sort of the point. By providing lots of random rewards you will learn what your puppy values more than anything in the world. For some dog's this is a belly rub, others its a bone, other it's a sound or a texture,
We like to use food as a lure (it's easy to hold and small) and then prefer to use physical affection and toys as a reward. We suggest bringing:
- Kibble
- A high value treat
- One fluffy toy
- One hard item toy
- Plenty of cuddles
A flat collar or harness, and the lead length that helps
A plain flat collar or a well-fitted harness with a standard lead of about a metre and a half is all the equipment your puppy needs, and a fixed length is the point.
A metre and a half gives your puppy enough room to sit, stand and shift without being pinned to your leg, and keeps them close enough that you are not negotiating with three metres of slack every time the group moves. Whatever you use, put it on at home rather than in the car park, so the first time your puppy wears it is not also the first time they meet nine other dogs.
A mat or towel your puppy already knows
Bring something your puppy already sleeps on, because a familiar-smelling mat gives them a defined place to settle in an unfamiliar room.
This is the item people skip and it does more than any of the others. Between exercises there is downtime, and a puppy with nowhere to be will spend it staring at the puppy opposite and winding up. A mat that smells of home is a place to go, and settling on it becomes a portable skill you will use in cafes and at the vet for years.
Do not wash it the night before.
Water, and where to put the bowl
Bring water and a collapsible bowl, and offer it during the breaks rather than leaving it down.
A bowl left on the floor in a group class becomes a thing to guard, a thing to tip over, and a reason for two puppies to arrive in the same square metre at speed. Offer it, let your puppy drink, then put it away.
Pre-Registration Online Forms
Before you can attend you will be asked some pre-arrival questions such as puppy birthday and vaccination dates. Group classes need the second vaccination complete, or proof that it is imminent, which usually lands somewhere in the twelve to fourteen week range, and your vet sets that schedule rather than us.
Have it on your phone rather than in a folder somewhere. It gets asked for once and then never again, and a class that does not ask about yours is not asking about anybody else's either. The piece on what vaccinations a puppy needs before puppy school goes through it properly.
What to leave at home
Most of what people pack for a first class never comes out of the bag.
- A bag of new equipment bought that afternoon. New harness, new lead, new collar, all worn for the first time in the hardest environment your puppy has been in. Whatever you are using, use it at home for a week first.
- Food in a large sealed container. It ends up on the floor and it slows you down. Pre-cut, in a pouch or a pocket.
- Expectations about what your puppy will manage. The ones who arrive certain their puppy will be the star tend to have the hardest night.
The one thing owners bring that makes the class harder
Leave the retractable lead at home, because it teaches the opposite of what the class is teaching.
A retractable lead works by paying out line when the dog pulls. That is the entire mechanism. Your puppy pulls, the world gets longer, so pulling is rewarded a few hundred times a week without anyone deciding to teach it. Then you spend week two of puppy school trying to teach loose lead walking against that.
There is a safety end to it as well. In a room with ten puppies, a thin line at ankle height that can be at any length between zero and five metres is a genuine hazard, and the brake fails at exactly the moment you need it most. Any plain lead of about a metre and a half is better, and you almost certainly own one.
What to do in the hour before you leave the house
The hour before the class changes how the class goes more than anything in your bag.
- Let your puppy sleep. A puppy who has been played with all afternoon so they will be tired and well behaved arrives over threshold, which is the point past which calm behaviour is not available to them. Tired and wound up are not the same state.
- Feed lightly, or hold the meal back. A full puppy will not work for food, and the whole class runs on food. Half a meal, or their dinner delivered as class rewards.
- Toilet break in your own garden before you get in the car, and again in the car park before you go in.
- Get there early enough to sit outside for five minutes. Let your puppy look at the building, the car park and the other people arriving from a distance, before walking into the middle of it.
- Put your own phone away before you walk in. Half of what a trainer corrects in a class is timing, and you cannot fix your timing while you are filming.
That five minutes outside is the one nobody does and the one that changes the most. A puppy who has watched the room fill from the car park walks in having already processed most of it.
If you forget something
You will forget something, and it will be fine. Bring the treats and the vaccination record. Everything else can be borrowed, improvised or skipped for one week.
If you forget the mat, a jumper off your own back does the job. If you forget the water, someone will have spare. The only two that genuinely matter are the food, because the class runs on it, and the paperwork, because it is the one thing nobody can lend you.
For what actually happens once you are in the room, the walkthrough on what happens in a puppy school class week by week covers it, and the piece on what age a puppy should start training classes is the one to read before choosing an intake. If you are still at the earlier end of all this, the puppy pickup checklist covers the kit you need at home, and the FAQ page answers most of the rest.
Want help putting this into practice?
The Toe Beans Co runs a free SKOOL community where Sydney dog owners get access to training guides, Q&As, and direct support from Luke. It's free to join.
Upcoming puppy schools in Sydney
Luke runs regular puppy schools across Sydney, with venues in Paddington, Edgecliff, Zetland, Alexandria, Marrickville and Neutral Bay. All six are taking bookings, and anyone in Sydney can attend any location. The full programme details cover what each block includes.
Check upcoming dates and book your spot →
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring the kids to puppy school?
Usually yes, and it often helps, since the puppy has to live with them too. Bring one child rather than three, give them a job, and be ready to take them out if the class gets long. Check with your trainer first, because it depends on the venue and how full the class is.
What if my puppy will not take treats in the room?
A puppy who refuses food they would take at home is over threshold, not fussy. That is information rather than a failure. Move further from the middle of the room, use something higher value, and tell the trainer, who will pace the introductions differently. Most puppies start eating by week two.
Do I need my own crate or playpen for puppy school?
No. Bring a mat or a towel your puppy already sleeps on instead, which gives them a defined place to settle between exercises without taking up floor space in a room with ten puppies in it. The crate work happens at home.
