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.

Puppy School and Dog Training in Surry Hills

We run puppy school close by at Dogs in Town in Paddington. We also train dogs one to one in your own home across Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Redfern.

See What We Do

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

Puppy school and dog training in Surry Hills, the short version

Quick Facts

Where We Work: In your own home, across Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Redfern

What We Offer

Council Area

City of Sydney

Nearest Puppy School Location

Dogs in Town, 308 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

Distance

About 2 km, roughly ten minutes by car

What We Cover

Puppies from eight weeks, teenage dogs, and adult behaviour

Who Does The Training?

Luke Buchanan. Red Cross pet first aid, AFP background checked

Puppy school and puppy preschool near Surry Hills

  • A man sitting on the floor wearing a navy polo shirt and olive green pants, holding a brown and white spaniel puppy against a plain light gray background.

    Venue Name

    Dogs in Town, Paddington

  • A small black and tan dachshund wearing a light pink harness, sitting on a speckled cream floor in an indoor setting with a person's legs visible in the background.

    Venue Address

    308 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

  • Days & Times

    Four weeks, one class a week, 50 to 60 minutes. Rolling start, no fixed intake dates

  • 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 class is at Dogs in Town in Paddington. From Surry Hills that is about 2 km, roughly ten minutes by car.

    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.

Where we work around Surry Hills

What it is like owning a dog in Surry Hills

Introduce the section here.

Raising a puppy in Surry Hills: what to plan for

  • Local Challenges

    • Toilet training without a yard. Most people here live in units, so we set up a simple routine for balconies, lifts and stairs.
    • Busy footpaths. Crown Street and the side streets are narrow and full of people, so we teach a loose lead and a settle at cafe tables.
    • Food on the ground. Bars and takeaway shops mean scraps on the street, so we build a strong leave it and a hand target.
    • Small parks with lots of dogs. Off-leash parks here are small and get busy, so we teach a reliable recall before your puppy runs free.

  • Common Breeds

    • Harmony Park, Brisbane Street, at all times
    • Frog Hollow Reserve, 303 to 307 Riley Street (corner of Albion Street), at all times
    • Eddie Ward Park, Marlborough Street (corner of Devonshire Street), at all times
    • James Hilder Reserve, 121 to 131 Campbell Street, at all times (not in the playground)
    • Prince Alfred Park, Chalmers Street, at all times in the central grass and woodland area only

  • Off Lead Spots

    • Cleveland Street
    • Crown Street
    • Oxford Street
    • Elizabeth Street

  • Busy Streets

    • Darlinghurst
    • Redfern
    • Paddington
    • Moore Park

Puppy school and dog training in Surry Hills, local questions

Introduce the section here.

What owners say, at every age

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 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 Surry Hills, in more detail

Puppy school, puppy preschool and puppy kindergarten are the same four weeks. For a Surry Hills puppy, the nearest class is at Dogs in Town in Paddington. Everything else happens one to one in your own home, where the habits actually form.

Most homes in Surry Hills are flats or apartments. The rest are mainly Victorian terraces and townhouses.

  • Puppy school at Paddington: four weeks of small group classes, matched by size, plus home sessions from Silver up.
  • Private puppy training: the full program one to one in your home, for owners who want their own trainer.
  • Adult dog training: one to one sessions in your home for dogs 32 weeks and older.

See private puppy training and in-home behaviour training.

What are the main services you offer?

Our training comes in five forms.

Puppy School: four weeks of small group class for puppies up to 16 weeks, with home sessions and the online course from Silver up.

Private Puppy Training: the same levels, run in your home with no group class, and an extra home session at every level instead.

Puppy Orientation Session: one 90 minute session in your home for a new puppy, at $375.

Adult Dog Training and Behaviourism: one to one sessions in your home for dogs 32 weeks and older, at $465 per 90 minute session.

Never Guess Again: our online course on its own, with a live Zoom Q&A every week.

Puppy school runs at six venues: Paddington, Edgecliff, Neutral Bay, Zetland, Alexandria and Marrickville. Start dates vary by venue, so check the puppy school dates page. 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 six fixed venues within about eight kilometres of the Harbour Bridge: Paddington, Edgecliff, Neutral Bay, Zetland, Alexandria and Marrickville. All six are taking bookings. See the puppy school dates page for current dates.

What age should a puppy start puppy school?

Start as early as you can. We begin working with puppies from eight weeks, at home, on toileting, biting, sleep and settling.

Group puppy school starts once the second vaccination is done, which is usually somewhere in the twelve to fourteen week range and most commonly at twelve weeks. Classes run for four weeks, one session a week, capped at ten puppies and matched by size.

The socialisation window stays open until 24 weeks, which is the same as six months, so you have a real but limited run at it. Most of the problems that show up at six or twelve months are preventable if you start before they start.

Puppy School runs up to 16 weeks. If your puppy is already older than that, the work moves into Puppy Training instead, and it is still well worth doing.

What is the difference between Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum?

There are four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Every level includes the same four weeks of group puppy school, lifetime community access and 24/7 digital trainer support.

  • Bronze is the group class. Your 24/7 digital trainer support uses our free guides.
  • Silver adds one session in your own home, one month of the online course, and one month of asking questions in the community, answered by Luke.
  • Gold has three home sessions, three months of the course, phone and text support for three months and a weekly Zoom Q&A.
  • Platinum has ten home sessions, six months of the course, priority phone and text for six months, a kick-off call, a breed 4 week guide, the video library and training equipment. It is limited to five clients at a time.

From Silver up, your digital trainer support knows your course. Most families choose Silver.

Do you offer fully private puppy training?

Yes. Private Puppy Training is our puppy program run entirely in your home, with no group class. Every level gets one extra one to one session instead: Bronze has one, Silver two, Gold four and Platinum eleven.

On Puppy School, home sessions start at Silver. Silver has one, Gold three and Platinum ten. Bronze is the group class on its own.

If you choose Private Puppy Training for a young puppy, we will ask how your puppy is being socialised outside our sessions. Socialisation is not optional at that age, and a private program that quietly drops it does more harm than good.

Can I do both group school and private training?

Yes, and it's usually the better outcome. From Silver upwards our puppy school bundles both by design, so you're not choosing between the two. Bronze is the group class on its own.

Can you guarantee results?

No honest trainer can promise a specific behaviour or result. Puppy development and dog behaviour vary a lot from dog to dog and owner to owner.

What we can promise is the support, and the Do The Work Guarantee. If you do everything we ask and you are not happy, you get a full refund of your program fee. It covers Silver, Gold and Platinum on Puppy School and Private Puppy Training, every Adult Dog Training session, and the Never Guess Again online course.

Doing the work means attending your sessions, messaging us and trying our suggestions, working through the course on Skool, and keeping a training log. Never Guess Again has its own simpler conditions. The full conditions are on our terms and conditions page. The guarantee is on top of your rights under Australian Consumer Law.

Does your training use pain, fear, force or aggression?

Absolutely not. If you want a method like that I suggest you call the 1980s, go back there and never get a dog.

We teach Relational Leadership, built on calm and consistent communication. The aim is a dog who chooses to look to you when something happens, rather than a dog who has been made to. No pain, no fear, no force, ever, and that is not a marketing line. Anything that works through intimidation gets you a quieter dog for a fortnight and a worse problem six months later.

How many puppies are in a class?

Classes are capped at ten puppies and matched by size, so it is safe and there is room to actually work.

Does Medicare or pet insurance cover puppy training in Australia?

Medicare doesn't cover puppy training. Some pet insurance policies have a wellness or enrichment component that may include a contribution toward training, but this varies significantly by policy. Check your specific policy documents or contact your insurer. It's worth raising when you first take out a policy, as some providers include training contributions that policyholders don't know about.

Puppy School And Dog Training Nearby

Your nearest puppy school: Puppy School Paddington

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