Puppy School and Dog Training in Bondi

We run puppy school twelve minutes from Bondi in Paddington, and we train older dogs one to one in your own home across Bondi and Bondi Junction.

See What We Do
No pain. No fear. No force. Training in your own home · Free meet and greet, no obligation
No pain. No fear. No force. Training in your own home · Free meet and greet, no obligation

Puppy school in Bondi, the short version

Quick Facts

Where We Work: In your own home, across Bondi, Bondi Junction, North Bondi and Bondi Beach

What We Offer

Council Area

Waverley

Nearest Puppy School Location

Dogs in Town, 308 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

Distance

3.4 km, about twelve minutes by car or a single bus along Oxford Street

What We Cover

Puppies from eight weeks, teenage dogs, and adult behaviour

Who Does The Training?

Luke Buchanan. Dog Trainer Academy accredited, Red Cross pet first aid, AFP background checked

Puppy school and puppy preschool near Bondi

Venue Name

Venue Name

Dogs in Town, Paddington

Learn more
Venue Address

Venue Address

308 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

Learn more
Days & Times

Days & Times

Four weeks, one hour a week. Rolling start, no fixed intake dates

Learn more
About The School

About The School

Puppy school, puppy preschool and puppy kindergarten all mean the same thing. Vets tend to say preschool, we say puppy school, and it is the same four weeks either way.

Your nearest one is in Paddington, 3.4 km from Bondi Beach. It is a purpose built dog facility rather than a hired hall, fully enclosed and properly cleaned, which matters when puppies are meeting each other for the first time.

Classes are capped at ten puppies and we match them by size, so your puppy is never learning next to a dog four times their weight.

Learn More

Where we work around Bondi

What it is like owning a dog in Bondi

What It Is like

Walk Campbell Parade on a Saturday and the beach does most of the talking. What nobody mentions when you move here is that almost nobody has a garden.

Bondi is close to entirely apartments and units. That means every toilet break, every bit of decompression and every scrap of exercise happens outside, in public, past other dogs. One fact, and it drives most of what we get called about here.

It also means your dog is never quite off duty. A dog in a house with a back door gets hours a day where nothing is expected of them. A dog in a Bondi flat does not, unless you build it in deliberately.

Popular Landmarks
  • Bondi Beach
  • Bondi Junction Westfield
  • Marks Park
  • Waverley Park
  • Campbell Parade
  • the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk
  • Bondi Pavilion
Main Housing Style

Almost entirely apartments and units. Very few properties have a private garden.

Puppy and dog behaviour problems in Bondi

Local Challenges

  • Separation anxiety. Apartment living plus full time work means hours alone, and a neighbour twelve feet away who hears all of it
  • Recall in small open parks. Dickson Park and Waverley Park have roads on more than one side, so a dog that ignores you there is a dog heading for traffic
  • Reactivity on Campbell Parade and Bondi Road. Narrow footpaths and no room to cross for space, so dogs pass at a metre whether anyone is ready or not
  • Toileting. No garden means no accidental progress, so every part of it has to be taught deliberately
  • Lift and stairwell manners. Most reactive dogs here show it first in a confined shared space
  • Frustration at the beach. Dogs are banned from Bondi Beach, so the one place your dog most wants to go is the one place they cannot

Common Breeds

  • French Bulldog
  • Cavoodle
  • Whippet
  • Border Collie
  • Miniature Dachshund

Off Lead Spots

  • Dickson Park, Bondi, south end, all day
  • Waverley Park, western and middle section, all day
  • Barracluff Park, North Bondi, 3pm to 10am
  • Varna Park, Waverley, east end, all day
  • Marks Park, Tamarama, 4.30pm to 8.30am

Busy Streets

  • Campbell Parade
  • Bondi Road
  • Oxford Street, Bondi Junction
  • Westfield and the bus interchange

What we get called about in Bondi, by age

Puppies up to 16 weeks in Bondi

Toileting with no garden

A puppy in a house learns half of this by accident, because the back door is always there. In a Bondi flat there is no accident to have. Every toilet break is a lift ride, a corridor and a street, and a puppy who cannot hold it that long learns to go indoors instead.

We build the route before the puppy needs it, so the lift and the corridor are boring by the time they are urgent.

Socialisation without overwhelming them

Most Sydney owners are told to socialise their puppy and end up on Campbell Parade on a Saturday, which is the single worst place to start. A puppy who has a frightening first month around dogs does not grow out of it, they grow into it.

Puppy school at Paddington does the controlled version first, and we tell you which Bondi streets and which hours to use while that is still being built.

Biting, and a neighbour on the other side of the wall

Every puppy bites. In an apartment the usual advice, redirect and walk away, runs into a one bedroom flat where there is nowhere to walk away to, and the yelping carries.

We work on the settling side rather than the biting side, because a puppy who can switch off in a small space stops needing to be managed out of it.

Teenage dogs, 17 to 32 weeks, in Bondi

Recall stops working in the off lead parks

This is the one we get called about most from Bondi. The recall you built at twelve weeks held right up until the morning it did not, and it fails in exactly the places that matter. Dickson Park and Waverley Park are small and open with roads on more than one side, so there is very little margin.

We rebuild it at the distance it actually breaks rather than in your living room, which is where most people practise it and why most people think it is fixed.

Barking at dogs that walk past the window

Ground floor flats off Bondi Road get a dog past the window every few minutes. A teenager who was fine with that at four months starts holding the whole street as their responsibility at six.

We take the job off them rather than trying to stop the noise, because the barking is the symptom and the job is the cause.

Lunging on the lead where there is no room to move

On a wide street you make space and the moment passes. On Campbell Parade or the Bondi Junction footpath there is no space to make, so an adolescent who is only just coping is put over threshold several times a walk.

We work on your route and your timing first, then close the distance deliberately once they can cope with it.

Dogs 32 weeks and older in Bondi

Barking when you leave the flat

The most common call we take in this part of Sydney, and the one with a deadline attached, because it usually arrives with a note from the building manager. Owners have almost always tried a camera, a longer walk and the radio before they ring.

We start inside the flat rather than at the front door, because being left is only unbearable when being together was never neutral.

Reactivity in lifts, corridors and stairwells

A dog who is fine on the street can be a different animal in a lift, because there is no distance available and no way to leave. Most Bondi owners find this out on a bad day rather than a planned one.

We work it in your actual building, on your actual floor, because a shared lift cannot be practised anywhere else.

A rescue settling into a flat

Bondi takes a lot of rescue and ex racing dogs, and a dog who has never lived in a home arrives with no idea what any of it means. The first fortnight sets what they think normal looks like.

We come in early rather than after something has gone wrong, and set the house up so the dog is learning the right thing from the first week.

A man crouching in a studio while holding a Dalmatian puppy. The man is wearing a dark navy polo shirt and blue jeans, and the puppy is white with black spots.

A Bondi call out, start to finish

A composite of the calls we take here. Details changed, the pattern is real.

The call

A two year old French Bulldog in a one bedroom flat off Curlewis Street. Barking from the moment the door shut. Two notes from the building manager. The owner had already tried a camera, a longer morning walk, and leaving the radio on.

What we found

Not boredom. Being alone was unbearable because being together had never been neutral. The dog followed her from room to room, got picked up whenever he got anxious, and had never once been calm and separate in that flat while she was in it. The front door was simply where it became audible to the neighbours.

What changed

We started inside the flat rather than at the door, building tolerable distance while she was home. Departures got boring instead of emotional. Eleven days to the first quiet full morning. The building manager stopped writing notes at about six weeks.

What owners say, at every age

Absolutely fantastic, we had a 10 week old demanding Labrador puppy, 3 days later he barely lets out a yelp. It seemed expensive to get 1 on 1 help at first, but having him here meant we could remove any doubt about whether we were on the right track. Plus his online course and ongoing support have been a god send.

Mattice, 10 week old Labrador

I'm in Bellevue Hill and I'm struggling with recall and defiance with my 9 month old puppy. He thinks he's the boss. Luke at Toe Beans showed me a series of easy corrections and behavioural skills that my pup responded to almost immediately. He filled in my missing knowledge.

Lesley, 9 month old puppy, Bellevue Hill

I couldn't believe anyone could really have a big impact on a 7-year-old pet but within just one session, I could see a big difference in both of my dogs. They were calmer, more responsive, and Rosie was completely de-stressed around strange dogs.

Adrienne, 7 year old Bordoodle, Mosman

How we train

How We Train

How We Train

Force free, all of it. No shouting, no punishment, no pain, and nothing that works by hurting your dog.

We call it Relational Leadership. It is less a set of commands than a way of behaving around your dog, so that you become the obvious thing to look at when they do not know what to do. A dog that complies because it is worried about what comes next has not calmed down, it has gone quiet, and that comes back later somewhere less convenient.

Luke's Credentials

Luke Buchanan is the owner of The Toe Beans Co and Sydney's Puppy Trainer. He works as a dog trainer and a dog behaviourist, which in practice means the puppy obedience side and the behaviourism side are handled by the same person rather than referred on. He is accredited through the Dog Trainer Academy, Red Cross certified in pet first aid, and AFP background checked. Every session is run by Luke.

Force Free & Ethical. Always.

No pain. No fear. No force. No aggression. That is the whole philosophy in plain terms, and it does not bend for a difficult week or a stubborn dog.

Guarantee

Puppy school and dog training in Bondi, up close

Puppy school is the usual starting point for a Bondi puppy, and the nearest classes are twelve minutes away in Paddington. Dog training for teenagers and adults happens the other way round, in your own flat, because that is where the problems live.

Almost everything we are called about in Bondi traces back to one fact: nobody has a garden. A dog in a house with a back door gets hours a day where nothing is expected of them. A dog in a Bondi flat gets none of that unless somebody builds it in deliberately, and that single gap is behind most of the separation anxiety, the barking and the lift trouble we see here.

The second fact is the beach. Dogs are prohibited on Bondi Beach and its intertidal areas entirely, on lead or off, at every hour. There is no early morning exception. That surprises almost everyone who moves here, and it means the one place your dog most wants to go is the one place they can never be. If every walk heads that way, you are training a dog to pull toward somewhere they will never arrive.

What Bondi does have is small, unfenced parks with roads on more than one side. Dickson Park and Waverley Park both fall into that category, which is why recall matters more here than in a suburb with a big fenced reserve.

  • Puppy obedience starts before the problems do. Group work plus in-home sessions, from eight weeks.
  • Adolescent training is where recall and lead reactivity get rebuilt, usually between four and eight months.
  • Adult dog behaviourism is one to one, in your own flat, on the behaviour that is actually happening.

Puppy school runs at our Paddington venue, twelve minutes from Bondi Beach. For teenage dogs, see adolescent training. For dogs 32 weeks and older, see in-home behaviour training. We also work in North Bondi and Waverley.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about puppy school and dog training in Bondi

Common questions we get about our puppy program.

Common questions about puppy school and dog training in Bondi

What are the main services you offer?

Our dog training runs in three stages and you pick the one that matches your dog's age.

  • 8 to 16 weeks: puppy school, which includes four weeks of group class
  • 17 to 32 weeks: puppy training, for the stage where most owners feel they are losing the dog they had. There is no group class at this age
  • 32 weeks and older: behaviour training, one to one in your own home

Puppy school currently takes bookings at our Paddington venue and at Neutral Bay on the Lower North Shore. Zetland, Alexandria and Marrickville are venues in our network with no dates open right now, so check the puppy school dates page for what is taking bookings. Everything else happens in your own home, across Sydney.

Which areas of Sydney do you work in?

One to one training happens in your home, anywhere in Sydney within roughly a forty five minute drive of the Harbour Bridge. That covers the:

  • Inner City and City Centre
  • Eastern Suburbs
  • Inner West
  • Lower North Shore
  • Upper North Shore
  • Northern Beaches
  • Hills District
  • Western Sydney
  • South Sydney and St George

Group puppy school runs at fixed venues within about eight kilometres of the Harbour Bridge. See the puppy school dates page for which venues are currently taking bookings.

Can you help with apartment barking?

Yes. Excessive barking in apartments usually comes down to separation anxiety, boredom or attention seeking. We work on the root cause through structured independence training rather than just quieting the symptom.

Do I need puppy pads for toilet training?

Not necessarily. Puppy pads can slow toilet training down because they teach puppies it is fine to go indoors. If you have easy outdoor access, going straight to outdoor toilet training is usually faster. Pads are useful if you live in a high-rise or if the puppy cannot go outside yet due to vaccinations.

What is the difference between separation anxiety and boredom in dogs?

Boredom looks like general mischief: chewed furniture, raided bins, scattered toys. Separation anxiety is more targeted: scratching or barking near exits, destructive behaviour focused on doors or windows, toileting from dogs that are house trained. Record what happens in the first 30 minutes after you leave to tell the difference.

Can you help with reactivity on narrow footpaths?

Yes. We teach management techniques and impulse control that work in confined spaces. The goal is calm passing regardless of path width.

How long can I leave a puppy home alone?

A general guide is one hour per month of age, up to a maximum of four to five hours for adult dogs who are fully conditioned to being alone. An 8-week puppy can realistically manage one to two hours if well settled. At 12 weeks, two to three hours. At 16 weeks, three to four hours before a toilet break is needed. Building beyond these durations requires the gradual conditioning sequence, not just increasing time and hoping for the best.

Are French Bulldogs good apartment dogs?

Yes, they're one of the better breeds for apartment living. They don't need much exercise, aren't particularly vocal, and are happy to lounge. The main consideration is temperature. Frenchies do not do well in heat, so air conditioning in summer is not optional.

How much does puppy school cost in Sydney?

It depends far less on the trainer than on what is actually included. A group only class and a full programme are not the same purchase, so compare what is in the box rather than the headline number.

Ours is built around four weeks of group puppy school, one to one sessions in your own home, an online course that runs week by week from week eight to week twenty four, and ongoing support, across four levels.

Current prices for every level are on the puppy school booking page.

What is the best puppy socialisation class in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs?

Puppy school is the most useful thing you can do in the first 16 weeks. It covers basic training, off-lead play with vaccinated puppies, and problem solving with a trainer present. The Toe Beans Co runs small group puppy school in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Places fill fast, so book early.

Dog Training In Nearby Suburbs

Not sure where to start with your Bondi dog?

Come and speak with us about puppy school, teen puppy training or adult dog behaviourism. Book a 15 minute call, it's free and no obligation

Book a free meet and greet Pick A Puppy School

From the blog

Boston Terrier Training: Heat, Housetraining and Session Pacing
10 min read
Boston Terrier Training: Heat, Housetraining and Session Pacing

The Boston Terrier question Luke gets most isn't about behaviour at all. It's some version of "why does my dog...

Read more
Doberman Training: Watchfulness, Focus and Force-Free Handling
10 min read
Doberman Training: Watchfulness, Focus and Force-Free Handling

Most of the Doberman calls Luke takes aren't about a dog that's out of control. They're from someone who's been...

Read more
Siberian Husky training Sydney - calm alert Husky portrait
8 min read
Siberian Husky Training: Managing Energy, Escape Behaviour and Howling

Most calls Luke gets about Siberian Huskies aren't about aggression. They're from owners standing in a garden looking at a...

Read more
Pembroke Welsh Corgi Training: Nipping, Boredom and Back Health
7 min read
Pembroke Welsh Corgi Training: Nipping, Boredom and Back Health

Luke's most common Corgi call isn't about aggression, it's an owner describing a small dog that keeps nipping at ankles,...

Read more