Puppy School and Dog Training in Double Bay

We run puppy school about nine minutes from Double Bay in Paddington, and we train older dogs one to one in your own home across Double Bay, Bellevue Hill and Darling Point.

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 preschool in Double Bay, the basics

Quick Facts

Where We Work: In your own home, across Double Bay, Bellevue Hill, Darling Point and Edgecliff

What We Offer

Council Area

Woollahra

Nearest Puppy School Location

Dogs in Town, 308 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

Distance

About 3 km, roughly nine minutes by car

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 Double Bay

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, about 3 km from Double Bay and a straightforward run up New South Head Road. 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 Double Bay

What it is like owning a dog in Double Bay

What It Is like

Double Bay is one of the most dog friendly looking suburbs in Sydney and one of the more restrictive ones once you read the signs. Cafes will bring your dog a bowl. The water in front of you is a different story.

Double Bay Beach, Blackburn Gardens and Murray Rose Pool all have dogs prohibited, so the harbour you can see from almost everywhere in the suburb is not somewhere your dog can go. That catches out nearly everyone who moves here.

Most of the housing is apartments, which means toileting, exercise and decompression all happen outside, in public, past other dogs. Add the cafe strip on Knox and Bay Streets and your dog is doing a lot of social work every single day.

Popular Landmarks
  • Knox Street
  • Bay Street
  • Cross Street
  • Steyne Park
  • Murray Rose Pool
  • Double Bay ferry wharf
  • New South Head Road
Main Housing Style

Mostly apartments, with larger houses on the hill toward Bellevue Hill. Very little private outdoor space at street level.

What goes wrong for puppies and dogs in Double Bay

Local Challenges

  • Separation anxiety. Apartment living plus a full working day means long hours alone with a neighbour on the other side of the wall
  • Cafe manners. Knox Street and Bay Street mean your dog is expected to settle under a table next to other dogs, and most dogs are never actually taught how
  • Off lead access that runs on three different clocks. Steyne Park north end, Steyne Park sportsfield and Lough Playing Fields all have different rules
  • Frustration at the water. Double Bay Beach and Murray Rose Pool are both dogs prohibited, so the harbour is out
  • Lift and lobby reactivity. In an apartment there is no distance available and no way to leave
  • Recall at Steyne Park. It is unfenced with New South Head Road on one side and the harbour on the other

Common Breeds

  • Cavoodle
  • French Bulldog
  • Maltese
  • Labrador
  • Miniature Poodle

Off Lead Spots

  • Steyne Park northern end, the rigging area between the sea wall and the northern pathway, at all times except during sailing events
  • Steyne Park sportsfield, 5pm to 8.30am, except during organised sport
  • Lough Playing Fields, Manning Road, 3.30pm to 10.30am, except during organised sport
  • Lower Cooper Park, 3.30pm to 10.30am
  • Cooper Park upper section and Bellevue Gardens, at all times

Busy Streets

  • New South Head Road
  • Cross Street
  • Bay Street
  • Knox Street

What we get called about in Double Bay, by age

Puppies up to 16 weeks in Double Bay

Toileting with no garden

A puppy in a house learns half of this by accident, because the back door is always there. In a Double Bay apartment there is no accident to have. Every toilet break is a lift ride, a lobby 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 lobby are boring by the time they are urgent.

Learning to settle in a cafe

Double Bay owners take their puppy to Knox Street early, which is right, and then hold them on their lap for an hour, which teaches nothing. A puppy who is only ever carried in busy places never learns that busy places are survivable at ground level.

We teach settling on a mat properly, in short sessions, before the cafe is the test.

Socialisation that is really just exposure

Standing on a busy footpath while dogs walk past is not socialisation, it is exposure, and for a nervous puppy it makes things worse rather than better. A puppy who has a frightening first month around dogs does not grow out of it, they grow into it.

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

Teenage dogs, 17 to 32 weeks, in Double Bay

Recall stops working at Steyne Park

The recall you had at twelve weeks holds right up until the morning it does not. Steyne Park is unfenced with New South Head Road on one side and the harbour on the other, and the off lead area is a strip rather than the whole park.

We rebuild it on a long line 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.

Lunging at dogs tied outside cafes

Knox Street and Bay Street are full of dogs at ankle height under tables, and an adolescent walking past has no way to give them space. This is where a lot of Double Bay reactivity actually starts.

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

Barking at every noise in the building

An apartment has a lift, a corridor, a rubbish chute and neighbours coming and going. A teenager who was fine with all of that at four months starts announcing every one of it 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.

Dogs 32 weeks and older in Double Bay

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 strata. 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, lobbies 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 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 dog who cannot be left in a cafe or a shop

Double Bay life involves a lot of stopping. A dog who has never learned to switch off in public turns every coffee into a management exercise, and eventually the owner just stops taking them.

Settling is a trained skill rather than a temperament, and it is one of the faster things to build once you work on it directly.

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 Double Bay call out, start to finish

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

The call

A four year old Maltese in an apartment off Cross Street. Screaming at every dog in the lobby and the lift. The owner had started using the fire stairs, which had solved the encounters and not the dog, and she was carrying him from the eighth floor twice a day.

What we found

He was fine with dogs in the park. He was not fine with a dog appearing two metres away in a metal box with the doors closing. Being picked up every time he reacted had also taught him that the reaction was what produced the rescue, so it had got louder rather than quieter.

What changed

We worked in her actual building, on her actual floor, with the lift, starting with it empty and stationary. He came off the arm and onto the floor, and the lobby stopped being the place where things happened to him. About four weeks to a normal lift ride, and the fire stairs went back to being fire stairs.

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 preschool and dog training in Double Bay, a closer look

Puppy preschool is the usual starting point for a Double Bay puppy, and our nearest puppy school is nine minutes up New South Head Road in Paddington. Dog training for older dogs happens in your own apartment, lifts and lobbies included.

Double Bay looks like one of the most dog friendly suburbs in Sydney and is more restrictive than it appears. Cafes on Knox Street and Bay Street will bring your dog a bowl. The water you can see from almost everywhere is a different matter. Double Bay Beach, Blackburn Gardens and Murray Rose Pool all have dogs prohibited.

That is the general rule right across Sydney, incidentally. There are very few dog friendly beaches here, and most people find that out the hard way. On this side of the harbour the genuine exception is Rose Bay Foreshore between Dumaresq Reserve and Percival Park, which is off lead at all times including in the water.

Off lead in Double Bay itself runs on two clocks in the same park. The northern end of Steyne Park, the rigging strip between the sea wall and the northern pathway, is off lead at all times except during sailing events. The sportsfield is off lead only from 5pm to 8.30am. Lough Playing Fields runs 3.30pm to 10.30am, which is a third window again. None of them are fenced, and Steyne Park has New South Head Road on one side and the harbour on the other.

  • Puppy preschool and settling work, so a cafe strip is survivable rather than exhausting.
  • Adolescent training for recall in an unfenced waterfront park.
  • Dog behaviourism for adults, including lift and lobby work in your own building.

Puppy school is at Paddington, nine minutes up New South Head Road. See adolescent training and in-home behaviour training. We also work in Bellevue Hill and Darling Point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Puppy school and dog training questions we get asked in Double Bay

Common questions we get about our puppy program.

Puppy school and dog training questions we get asked in Double Bay

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.

How long does it take to fix separation anxiety?

Most puppies show clear improvement inside one to two weeks of steady work. An adult dog with a long running pattern usually needs four to eight weeks. The variable that matters most is the homecoming. Every excited greeting sets the work back, which is why most owners take longer than they need to.

What should I do when my dog reacts on the lead?

Create distance first. Move away from the trigger until your dog can breathe again, then reward calm. Do not correct the reaction. Your dog is already stressed, and adding a correction makes things worse.

Do Maltese struggle with being left alone?

It's common in the breed. Maltese were bred as companion dogs, so being left alone goes against their nature. This doesn't mean they can't be left alone, but it does mean separation needs to be trained gradually and early. Starting when they're young, building up from short absences, and giving them something to do while you're gone helps a lot.

How often should I take my puppy out to toilet in the first month?

After waking, after eating, after playing, and every 45 to 60 minutes in between. Carry your puppy to the spot rather than letting it walk there, or it will go on the way. Use one command, said once, and only once you are already standing in the toilet area.

My dog ignores me at the park. What am I doing wrong?

Almost certainly one of two things: the cue has been used when the dog didn't come (teaching them the word is optional), or 'come' has been consistently associated with the end of something enjoyable. Stop using the word until you've rebuilt the behaviour on a long line from low-distraction environments.

What age should I start training my puppy?

Start the day your puppy arrives home, typically around 8 weeks. The socialisation and learning window opens before vaccinations are complete. Basic marker conditioning, sit, settle, and name response can all begin immediately. Waiting until 12 or 16 weeks means losing the most neurologically receptive period for the simplest commands.

How much does private dog training cost in Sydney?

It varies with the trainer's experience, the session length and how complex the case is. For our own one to one training, the current options and what each one includes are on the booking page: https://thetoebeansco.com.au/pages/local-sydney-puppy-trainer-puppy-school-and-puppy-program

Can I talk to someone before I commit to anything?

Yes, and we would rather you did. The meet and greet is fifteen minutes, free, and there is nothing to sign at the end of it.

Bring the questions you feel silly asking. Most of what people are worried about at eight weeks is completely normal and takes about ninety seconds to answer, and knowing that before you spend anything is worth more to us than a booking made by someone who is not sure.

Dog Training In Nearby Suburbs

Not sure where to start with your Double Bay 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