Puppy School and Dog Training in Dover Heights

We run puppy school about seventeen minutes from Dover Heights in Paddington, and we train older dogs one to one in your own home across Dover Heights, North Bondi and Vaucluse.

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 and dog training in Dover Heights, at a glance

Quick Facts

Where We Work: In your own home, across Dover Heights, North Bondi, Vaucluse and Rose Bay

What We Offer

Council Area

Waverley

Nearest Puppy School Location

Dogs in Town, 308 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

Distance

About 7.5 km, roughly seventeen 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 Dover Heights

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 7.5 km from Dover Heights. 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 Dover Heights

What it is like owning a dog in Dover Heights

What It Is like

Dover Heights is quiet, residential and full of big open grass with an ocean view. It looks like the easiest dog suburb in the east, and the thing that catches people out is how much of that grass is on lead only.

Raleigh Reserve is the one real off lead park and it is the whole reserve, all day, which is genuinely unusual for Waverley. Dudley Page Reserve, Rodney Reserve, Caffyn Park and Eastern Reserve all look exactly like off lead parks and are on lead at all times.

The other thing is the cliffs. Eastern Reserve sits on the Federation Cliff Walk and Diamond Bay Reserve next door has a stretch council marks as unstable and off limits. None of these reserves are fenced.

Popular Landmarks
  • Dudley Page Reserve
  • Raleigh Reserve
  • Rodney Reserve
  • Federation Cliff Walk
  • Military Road
  • Diamond Bay Reserve
  • Blake Street
Main Housing Style

Almost all houses on decent blocks with gardens, and very little apartment stock. Quiet residential streets throughout.

Puppy and dog behaviour problems in Dover Heights

Local Challenges

  • Parks that look off lead and are not. Dudley Page, Rodney, Caffyn and Eastern Reserve are all on lead at all times despite being big open grass
  • Cliffs. Eastern Reserve sits on the Federation Cliff Walk and none of the reserves here are fenced
  • Dogs who are fine at home and unmanageable outside it, because a garden lets you skip the walk for months
  • Fence line and gate barking on long private boundaries in very quiet streets, where any noise stands out
  • Fewer dogs about than the beachside suburbs, so puppies here can reach six months having met very little
  • Recall on the whole of Raleigh Reserve, which is bounded by six different streets

Common Breeds

  • Labrador
  • Cavoodle
  • Golden Retriever
  • Groodle
  • Border Collie

Off Lead Spots

  • Raleigh Reserve, whole reserve, all day
  • Hugh Bamford Reserve, north end, all day
  • Diamond Bay Reserve, Craig Avenue, designated area only, all day
  • Barracluff Park, North Bondi, 3pm to 10am, not during organised sport

Busy Streets

  • Old South Head Road
  • Military Road
  • Blake Street
  • Dover Road

What we get called about in Dover Heights, by age

Puppies up to 16 weeks in Dover Heights

Not enough happening

Dover Heights is quiet, which is lovely to live in and hard to socialise a puppy in. There is less traffic, fewer people and fewer dogs than the beachside suburbs, so a puppy can reach four months having met almost nothing without anyone doing anything wrong.

We set out exactly what the first weeks outside the house should look like, and puppy school in Paddington does the controlled dog to dog part.

Toilet training that has not really happened

A puppy with garden access will go outside, so owners assume it is done. What has often not been learned is asking, because nobody ever needed to be asked, and that shows the first time they are somewhere without a back door.

We build the asking deliberately, so the garden is a convenience rather than the whole system.

Car sickness, because most outings are a drive

Puppy school, the vet and most of the busier places are a drive from here. A puppy who dislikes the car has a much smaller world, and pushing on usually makes it worse because every trip confirms it.

We fix this early, in short pieces. It is far easier at ten weeks than at ten months.

Teenage dogs, 17 to 32 weeks, in Dover Heights

Off lead in the wrong reserve

Dudley Page Reserve looks exactly like an off lead park. So do Rodney, Caffyn and Eastern Reserve. All four are on lead at all times, and adolescence is when a dog starts testing whether the lead was ever really necessary.

Raleigh Reserve is the one that is genuinely off lead, and we build the recall there so you have somewhere legal that works.

Recall failing near a clifftop

Eastern Reserve is on the Federation Cliff Walk and Diamond Bay Reserve has a section council marks as unstable and off limits. An unreliable adolescent recall is a different level of problem in those places.

Long line, and we are conservative about when it comes off anywhere near a cliff.

Guarding the gate and the driveway

Quiet streets mean any noise stands out, so a dog who takes on the boundary here is very noticeable to the neighbours. Adolescence is when they decide the job is theirs.

We take the job off them and change what the garden is for.

Dogs 32 weeks and older in Dover Heights

A dog who cannot be taken anywhere busy

Perfect at home, impossible in Bondi Junction or on the promenade. That is not two dogs, it is one dog whose world was quiet and small for the first year, and the answer is not more discipline.

We start on your own street and build outward, slowly and deliberately, rather than throwing the dog at the thing they cannot cope with.

Barking at the boundary all day

A dog with all day garden access and a long fence line does not relax in it, they work in it. More exercise makes them fitter and no calmer.

We change what the dog does with the whole day rather than trying to interrupt the barking itself.

Two dogs who have sorted things out between themselves

Houses here are big enough for second dogs, and the second dog usually arrives on the assumption they will keep each other company. What often happens is an arrangement between them the owners are not part of.

We work with both dogs in the house together, because the problem is the arrangement rather than either animal.

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 Dover Heights call out, start to finish

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

The call

A one year old Golden Retriever in a house off Blake Street. Faultless at home, and completely unmanageable the moment she was somewhere with other dogs. The owners had been told she needed more discipline.

What we found

She had a big garden, quiet streets and had met maybe a dozen dogs in her life. She was not being defiant, she was overwhelmed and had no idea how to behave around dogs because she had never had the practice. More discipline would have made a frightened dog quieter, not more confident.

What changed

We rebuilt her world in stages. Quiet streets first, then Raleigh Reserve at its emptiest, then structured meetings with dogs we could predict. About eight weeks before she could handle a normal morning at the reserve, and the family stopped avoiding places.

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 in Dover Heights, and what comes next

Puppy school matters more in a quiet suburb like Dover Heights than in a busy one, and the nearest classes are in Paddington. Dog training for adolescent and adult dogs is one to one, in the house.

Dover Heights looks like the easiest dog suburb in the east. Quiet streets, big blocks, acres of open grass with an ocean view. The thing that catches people out is how much of that grass is on lead only.

Raleigh Reserve is the one genuine off lead park, and unusually for Waverley it is the whole reserve, all day. Dudley Page Reserve, Rodney Reserve, Caffyn Park and Eastern Reserve all look exactly like dog parks and are on lead at all times. Dudley Page in particular is the single most common mistake made in this suburb.

The other local factor is the quiet itself. There is less traffic, fewer people and fewer dogs here than in the beachside suburbs, so a puppy can reach four months having met almost nothing without anyone doing a thing wrong. That surfaces at eight or nine months as a dog who is faultless at home and unmanageable anywhere else, and the answer to that is never more discipline.

  • Puppy preschool matters more in a quiet suburb, because the world does not come to you.
  • Adolescent training for recall on unfenced clifftop reserves beside the Federation Cliff Walk.
  • Dog behaviourism for adults, including multi dog households and boundary barking.

Puppy school is at Paddington. See adolescent training and in-home behaviour training. We also cover North Bondi and Vaucluse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about puppy school and dog training in Dover Heights

Common questions we get about our puppy program.

Common questions about puppy school and dog training in Dover Heights

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.

What's the most important thing on the puppy socialisation checklist?

Handling. Specifically, having your puppy touched by multiple different people in all the ways a vet or groomer will touch it. Sound socialisation is a close second, particularly traffic and sudden loud sounds. These are the two categories that generate the most avoidable adult behaviour problems when they're missed, because they're also the two that seem least urgent when the puppy arrives home.

Can I tick off a socialisation experience if my puppy was scared of it?

No. The goal isn't exposure. It's the puppy registering the stimulus as non-threatening. If the puppy showed stress signals and couldn't recover, the experience needs to be repeated at lower intensity before it can be ticked. Move further from the stimulus, reduce the duration, use high-value food, and let the puppy opt in rather than being held near something that frightens them. An exposure that ended in a fear state hasn't socialised the puppy to that stimulus.

Why does my dog bark at everything?

There are four real drivers. Poor socialisation, which is by far the biggest cause in a dog that should not otherwise bark. Breeding, since Beagles, Border Collies, Dachshunds and Chihuahuas were selectively bred to be vocal. Separation anxiety, where the dog believes barking will bring you back. And an overly stressed dog, which is the one most owners never suspect.

If your dog reacts instantly to any noise, they are on edge, even if they seem calm the rest of the time.

How old should my puppy be before meeting other dogs?

Puppies can start controlled dog-to-dog introductions from 8 weeks, as long as the other dog is vaccinated and the environment is clean. The socialisation window closes at around 6 months, so waiting until the full vaccination schedule is complete often means missing the most important developmental period. Structured puppy school on clean indoor surfaces is the safest format for early introductions.

How much exercise does a Golden Retriever need?

Adult Goldens need around 1.5 to 2 hours of exercise per day. They're active dogs that love to swim, retrieve, and run. Puppies need less. Too much high-impact exercise before 12 months can affect their developing joints.

Should I use an anti bark collar?

No, and we will not refer you to anyone who recommends one. Spray, vibration and shock collars all work by making the barking unpleasant for your dog rather than dealing with the reason behind it. At The Toe Beans Co we completely disagree with any method that uses fear, force, pain or aggression, and any tool that follows that thinking.

Is there a puppy trainer near me in Sydney?

The Toe Beans Co offers in-home puppy training and group puppy schools across Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, and North Shore. Puppy school includes 1:1 at-home training, a 4-week group class, and an online course. Luke works with puppies from 8 weeks across all the major training foundations.

Is puppy school worth it if my puppy is already friendly with other dogs?

Usually yes, because friendliness isn't the same as supervised exposure. Even an easygoing puppy benefits from controlled contact with a range of unfamiliar dogs and people before the 24-week window closes.

Dog Training In Nearby Suburbs

Not sure where to start with your Dover Heights 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