Puppy Training Dover Heights
A couple on Military Road called us last winter, their 9-week-old border collie was destroying their house. Chewed furniture, dug up the garden, constant barking. They were exhausted and overwhelmed. Does your puppy seem like a tiny tornado?
Puppy training Dover Heights means preparing your pup for coastal living with access to clifftop walks and beaches. Your dog will encounter wind, ocean sounds, cliff edges, and plenty of wildlife. They need proper training from the start for both enjoyment and safety.
The families who start early end up with dogs who love coastal walks and can be trusted around cliff areas.
Puppy Preparation (0-8 Weeks)
Before your puppy arrives at your Dover Heights home, there's important preparation work. Most people don't realise what puppy ownership involves until they're in the middle of it, dealing with toilet accidents and sleepless nights.
Our pre-puppy program covers everything you need before bringing the puppy home. You'll learn how to set up your space appropriately, what supplies are genuinely necessary, and how to create a schedule that actually works with your lifestyle.
We discuss breed selection too. This matters enormously, especially in coastal areas with strong winds and weather changes. A double-coated breed like a husky handles cold wind fine. A thin-coated breed like a whippet might struggle with Dover Heights winters.
You'll learn about:
- The critical socialisation window (8-16 weeks)
- Toilet training approaches that work
- Setting boundaries from day one
- Puppy development stages
- Coastal living considerations
For Dover Heights specifically, think about exercise and safety. There's amazing clifftop walks and beach access, but your puppy needs solid recall and lead manners before they can safely enjoy these areas. Cliff edges are no joke.
Starting puppy training Dover Heights with proper preparation means your not making preventable mistakes in those first crucial weeks.
Puppy Program including Puppy School (8-16 Weeks)
This period is critical for puppy training in Dover Heights. Between 8-16 weeks, your puppy's brain is absorbing everything. What they experience now shapes their adult personality and confidence levels.
Our puppy school runs with 8-10 puppies per class. This number provides excellent socialisation opportunities - your puppy learns to play with different breeds and sizes - while keeping the environment manageable for individual learning.
The program focuses on:
- Socialisation with other dogs and various people
- Basic obedience (sit, drop, come, loose lead walking)
- Appropriate play behaviour
- Building confidence around new environments
- Learning to settle and be calm
- Early recall training (critical for coastal safety)
- Exposure to wind, ocean sounds, and coastal conditions
For Dover Heights puppies, we emphasise coastal socialisation. Your pup needs to experience wind, waves, seagulls, ocean sounds - all the things they'll encounter on clifftop walks. A puppy who's only been in your house and backyard will find the coast overwhelming or scary.
Last spring, a family near Dover Heights Park had a kelpie puppy terrified of wind. Living on the coast, this was a problem. Through gradual exposure in our puppy training program, that dog learned wind was nothing to fear. Now loves clifftop walks in any weather.
The 8-16 week window closes fast. Miss it and new experiences trigger fear instead of curiosity. Proper puppy training Dover Heights during this period creates a confident coastal dog for life.
Post Puppy Program (16-52 Weeks)
Around 16 weeks, adolescence starts. Your obedient puppy might suddenly become stubborn, easily distracted, and challenging. This is when many behavioural issues develop, especially in coastal areas with lots of wildlife and distractions.
Our post puppy program includes 2 group training sessions with deep behavioural dives, plus months of online support. We teach you to identify potential issues before they fully develop and provide training for everything that might come up.
The program covers:
- Reactivity and aggressive behaviour
- Off lead walking and better walking practise (essential for safe coastal walks)
- Stopping jumping up on people
- Dealing with separation anxiety
- Biting and chewing issues
- Poor or no recall (dangerous near cliffs)
- Reducing unnecessary barking
- Managing hyperactive or fearful dogs
- Potty training problems
A family on Military Road had a labrador who started chasing seagulls around 8 months old. Made beach and clifftop walks impossible - the dog would bolt after birds with zero recall. They followed our post puppy program modules on recall and impulse control. Within a month, that dog could walk calmly past seagulls.
Adolescence in a coastal suburb like Dover Heights requires proper management. Our post puppy program gives you the tools to navigate this phase successfully, so you end up with a well-trained dog who safely enjoys everything this beautiful area offers.
