Puppy School and Dog Training in Lane Cove

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.

Our puppy program includes the following:

• 2 x 1:1 home training sessions (2 - 2.5 hours each) covering behavioural rules and specific areas of focus. We can do these sessions in your home or in the park/other areas where you struggle.
• Access Our Complete Puppy Program: Structured across five parts. Orientation, The Big 8, 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
• 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: For owners looking for more support we have a unique discount code for an additional video tutorial platform. We offer 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

Our Puppy School and Puppy Program includes a four week group puppy school, one to one sessions in your own home, and an online course covering every element of puppy development from day one routines through to adolescent workshops, with breed specific support up to eight months old and community and phone support alongside it. There are four levels of support: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, so you can choose how involved you want us to be. For puppies too old to attend puppy school at enrolment, over 16 weeks, our Adolescent Program replaces the group school with an extra one to one session at every level.

We offer four levels of support. Every level includes four weeks of group puppy school at your chosen venue, lifetime community access and Ask Luke, our digital mind, available 24/7 with no message limits.

• Bronze: the group puppy school on its own. No one to one sessions and no online course. For owners who want the class and are happy running the rest at home themselves.
• Silver: the full program. One session in your own home before school starts, six months of the online course, and direct support whenever you need it.
• Gold: everything in Silver, with three home sessions instead of one, a full year of course access, and phone support as well as messaging. Most families choose Gold.
• Platinum: ten home sessions through to adolescence, lifetime course access, the video tutorial library, your training equipment, and priority phone and text. We take five Platinum clients at a time.

All of our puppy programs come with at least 1 x at home one to one session included. You can choose to increase this to however many sessions you need. Some clients do not want to participate in group classes for several reasons. Socialisation is a critical point of puppy development. We are able to offer a full one to one experience for clients that are able to prove they can fully socialise their dog outside of our training.

1. Orientation
   Welcome and Day 1, why the TBC method works, how the course works, and common puppy myths.
2. The Big 8
   Front-loaded before the Weekly Journey begins. Biting, toileting, routine, crate training, crying, sleeping, home set up, and socialisation.
3. The Weekly Journey
   Individual sections for every week from Week 8 through Week 24. Puppy School (weeks 12 to 15) is folded in here. Week 16 is the critical mouthing transition. Week 17 links out to Recall Training Mastery.
4. The Problem Library
   A standing reference, open anytime. Husbandry and cooperative care, command training foundations, recall training mastery, health and first aid, working with your vet, common puppy problems, common dog problems and solutions, the breed-specific behaviour library, and practical life living with your dog (coming soon).
5. Beyond The Spine
   Adolescent workshops, middle adolescence (months 6 to 9), late adolescence (months 9 to 12), and the closing capstone.

Yes. For dogs 32 weeks and older everything is one to one in your own home. There is no group class at this age. Your first session runs two hours and every session after that runs sixty to ninety minutes.

There are four levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. They differ by how many sessions you get, how long you have the online course, and how you reach us afterwards. Every level includes Ask Luke, our 24/7 support, with no message limit.

The puppy school is 4 consecutive weeks and sessions last up to 1 hour. You will be in a class with up to 10 puppies which gives a good balance between socialisation and session control. The puppy school covers 4 main areas: dog behaviourism, command training (sit, stay, down, walk, recall), socialisation and finally owner education. Your puppy needs to have had their second vaccination to attend. Most puppies start group school between 11 and 13 weeks old, though this can shift depending on your puppy's breed and size for the current class.

Week 1

• Behaviourism: Introduction to Code
• Command Training: Sit, Down, Stay and Structured Walking
• Common Puppy Issues: Toileting, Barking and Chewing
• Socialisation: Puppy Introductions
• Adult Problem Behaviours: Barking For Attention
• Q&A and Introduction Photo

Week 2

• Behaviourism: Rule 1 and 2
• Command Training: Down, Stay and Walking, Early Recall
• Common Puppy Issues: Mouthing and Biting
• Socialisation: Socialisation and Play Time
• Adult Problem Behaviours: Jumping Up, Barking For Attention
• Q&A

Week 3

• Behaviourism: Rule 3 and 4
• Command Training: Stay, Recall and More Walking
• Common Puppy Issues: Stealing and Crying When Left
• Socialisation: (continued from previous weeks)
• Adult Problem Behaviours: Separation Anxiety
• Q&A

Week 4

• Behaviourism: Rule 5: The Walk
• Command Training: Recall and Loose Leash Walking
• Common Puppy Issues: Digging and Recall
• Socialisation: Managing Playtime in the Park
• Adult Problem Behaviours: Poor Recall, Leash Pulling
• Q&A and Final Graduation Photos

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.