Puppy School and Dog Training in Cremorne Point

Both words get used loosely in Australia and neither one is protected, so anyone can print either on a card. Here is the honest version.

Training is teaching a dog what to do. Behaviourism is working out why the dog is doing something else. Most of what we are called about is the second one, and the training only sticks once that part is sorted. So we do both, and we start with the why.

Luke Buchanan is Dog Trainer Academy accredited, Red Cross pet first aid certified and AFP background checked. If your dog needs medication or a clinical diagnosis, that is a veterinary behaviourist rather than us, and we will say so and point you to one.

Nothing. They are three names for the same thing. Vets tend to say puppy preschool, some trainers say puppy kindergarten, we say puppy school.

What actually matters is not the name on the door. It is whether the group is small, whether the puppies are matched by size so yours is not learning next to a dog four times its weight, and whether someone is watching the play properly and stepping in before it tips over. A badly run puppy class can set a puppy back further than no class at all.

Of all the issues we cover this is by far the most common in Sydney. Unfortunately, there is no one fix for this and usually it takes a combination of elements to get results. There is no guarantee of fixing separation anxiety

Similar to the above but there are many more moving parts. Different methods approach this differently but this can be solved. This can be exacerbated with new borns, if that is the situation you are in

We aim for between 6 and 10 dogs in puppy school to balance quality and socialisation.

The program runs from the day your puppy comes home through to around 8 months old. The 4-week in-person Puppy School happens once your puppy has had their second vaccination, usually from around 11 weeks, with 6 months of dedicated support throughout.

Our puppy program includes the following:

• Initial Home Puppy Consult: We come and meet you and your puppy in your own home. We can help with how to set up your puppy area's and with issues such as toileting and teething.
• Access a 4 Week Puppy School (once your puppy has had their second vaccination, usually from around 11 weeks): Our 4 week puppy school covers socialisation, behaviourism, command training and owner education. 4 x 50 minute puppy classes covering everything that you need to know
• Choose Your Support Level: Choose between our different levels of support to access more 1:1 training, individual phone support and lifetime access. Choose between Silver, Gold and Platinum. Common issues we support on are recall, calm walking, toilet training, separation anxiety, barking and how to teach your children good habits around your dog
• Access Our Complete Puppy Program: Structured across five parts. Orientation, The Big 8 (biting, toileting, routine, crate training, crying, sleeping, home set up and socialisation), your Weekly Journey from week 8 to 24, a standing Problem Library, and Beyond The Spine for adolescence. This gives you the confidence that you can solve any problem with your puppy.
• Access Our Behavioural And Breed Specific Courses: We identify the most common issues with breeds and how to solve them as well as 20+ other behavioural issues
• Your Puppy Team Cohort: Everyone who joins the program, joins in one of our cohorts. You can ask people how they solved problems or just vent that your puppy won't stop crying at night.
• Lifetime Access to the 5 Golden Rules: Receive lifetime access to the 5 Golden Rules program as soon as you sign up for the course
• Phone, Chat and Group Chat Support Through The Community: All our programs comes with ongoing support through our online community. You can also get one-to-one phone and text support on some of our advanced programs
• Additional Support: Workshops: We offer additional support through access to our Video Tutorial Platform which includes 4 Puppy Specific Courses and tutorials on solving 10 specific behavioural challenges
• Additional Video Support: Owners that select our "Platinum" program receive 6 months free access to our video tutorial database with over 300 videos including 4 Puppy Specific Courses and tutorials on solving 10 specific behavioural challenges
• During sessions, if required, we will also provide equipment such as front pull harnesses and long lines

It is really important that your puppy meets lots of different types of dog while they are young. We do see breed specific schools cropping up, cavoodle only classes and the like, and we cannot stress how bad an idea that is.

That said, a large breed starting at 13 weeks and a Pomeranian starting at 12 weeks in the same class is not workable for either of them. We match puppies on relative size and age, while keeping a good mix of breeds in every class.

No dog trainer or behaviourist can guarantee outcomes in a given timeframe unless they are willing to use unethical methods (eg shock collars etc). As a completely ethical dog training organisation, we would never use these methods.

There are 4 important factors when it comes to training:

• Your ability to be consistent (the most important)
• Your personality
• Your dog's breed
• Your dog's background

We always tell our clients that if you follow our training, are patient and diligent you should see the 1/1/1 rule. That is gradual improvement in 1 day, 1 week and 1 month.

The methods we use have helped over 100,000 other dog owners to solve their dog's behavioural issues.

Both, and which one you need comes down to your dog's age. Puppies get group puppy school alongside one to one work in your own home. Older dogs get one to one only.

Group obedience is very good at teaching a dog to behave in a hall full of other dogs. It is much less good at fixing the barking that happens in your hallway at eight in the morning, because the hallway is not in the hall. That is why everything past puppy school happens in the place the behaviour actually lives.