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Puppy School South Sydney - Now Running at Dogs in Town, Marrickville

South Sydney is a big stretch of the city. Now owners from Marrickville, St George, Bankstown, and the surrounding suburbs can get access to a high quality puppy school and puppy program. That changes in June 2026.

The Toe Beans Co Puppy School is coming to Marrickville, running at Dogs in Town on Addison Road - a well-established dog care facility with a strong local reputation and the kind of professional setup we look for when choosing where to deliver our programs. Weekend sessions, small groups of 6 to 10 puppies, and a curriculum built around far more than just teaching a few commands.

Whether you're in Marrickville, Dulwich Hill, Sydenham, Tempe, Arncliffe, Rockdale, Hurstville, Bankstown, Lakemba, or anywhere across the south and south-west, this is the closest and most convenient quality puppy school option in the area.

Why Dogs in Town Marrickville

Dogs in Town Marrickville on Addison Road is one of the most established dog care venues in the inner south-west. The facility runs daily daycare with professional staff who genuinely understand dog behaviour and group dynamics. It's clean, it's well-managed, and it creates exactly the kind of controlled environment that structured puppy training requires.

For puppy school specifically, the hygiene and management standards matter as much as the space itself. Young puppies are still developing their immune systems, and the daily cleaning protocols at Dogs in Town give us confidence that every session is being run in a safe environment.

The Addison Road location is also genuinely central for the catchment we're serving. Marrickville sits at the intersection of South Sydney, the inner west, and the St George area - making it one of the most accessible points for owners coming from a wide spread of suburbs without having to fight their way into the city.

📍 Dogs in Town Marrickville - 55 Addison Road, Marrickville NSW 2204

Serving South Sydney, St George and Bankstown

This is the location for puppy owners across a wide area of Sydney's south and south-west who haven't previously had a high-quality, structured program close to home.

The Marrickville location gives suburbs like Hurstville, Rockdale, Kogarah, Bankstown, Canterbury, and Campsie a genuinely local option that doesn't compromise on the standard of delivery.

What the Program Covers

Our 4-week program runs the same structured curriculum at every Toe Beans Co location.

Week 1 - Foundations and First Impressions

After a short, practical briefing, we get straight into training. Week 1 covers structured puppy introductions, core commands (Sit, Down, Stay), supervised socialisation with trainer narration so you actually understand what you're watching, and hands-on help with biting, teething, and toileting - the things most new owners are struggling with most urgently. A framed photo of your puppy is taken and saved as a graduation gift.

Week 2 - Adding Difficulty

Commands progress under increasing distraction. We introduce Stay versus Wait as separate, distinct commands, begin structured loose-lead walking, and address jumping and attention barking. We also introduce the first two of the Five Golden Rules of Relational Leadership - the behavioural framework that underpins everything we teach.

Week 3 - Building Reliability

Command chains to develop mental fatigue, recall under real distraction (the hardest and most important skill), off-leash structured walking, and separation anxiety prevention. By Week 3, most puppies are noticeably bigger and requiring significantly more stimulation. We give breed-specific guidance on exercise and mental engagement to match where your dog is at.

Week 4 - Real-World Skills and Graduation

Walking techniques including figure-of-8, stop-start, and calm freeze. Park play education - how to read interactions, when to intervene, and when to let them work it out. Early adolescent problem prevention. Graduation with your Week 1 framed photo, final Q&A, and an invitation to continue in our Skool community.

What's Included

1:1 In-Home Visit before the school begins - we come to your home, look at your setup, and establish the foundations of routine, environment, and behaviour before Week 1 starts
4 Weeks of Puppy School at Dogs in Town Marrickville - weekend sessions, small groups of 6 to 10. Your puppy joins when they are between between 11 - 13 weeks
Skool community access - ongoing support via our private platform, well beyond graduation
The Complete Puppy Preparation Program - a comprehensive digital resource covering everything from crate setup to breed-specific development stages. Guides start from 8 weeks old until the end of their first 6 months
Personalised session homework to maintain momentum at home between classes
Framed Week 1 photo presented at graduation

Our Training Philosophy

The same philosophy applies in Marrickville as it does in every suburb we operate in. No pain. No fear. No force. No aggression.

Our approach is called Relational Leadership. The goal is not a dog that responds to food or responds out of fear - it's a dog that genuinely understands boundaries and chooses to work with you because you've established yourself as a calm, consistent, trustworthy leader. It's a meaningful distinction, and it's the one that determines whether your dog is well-behaved at 6 months or a handful at 18 months.

Commands are part of what we teach. Behaviourism - how your dog actually understands their place in your home and responds to the world around them - is the foundation everything else is built on.

Common Misconceptions We Address

"I'll start once they've settled in." The 8 to 12 week period is the single most important developmental window in your puppy's life. Every week without clear structure is a week of habits forming - and those habits become the defaults your dog carries into adolescence and beyond. Starting early isn't being intense. It's being smart.

"Commands equal a well-behaved dog." A dog that knows Sit, Down, and Stay but has no household boundaries, jumps on every visitor, and pulls constantly on the lead is not a well-behaved dog. Behaviourism comes first. Commands sit within that framework - not the other way around.

"Treat training is working fine." Until it isn't. Treat-dependent training tends to work well in low-distraction environments with food visible. It tends to fall apart in exactly the situations you most need it to hold - off-leash at the park, around other dogs, or when your dog decides the treat isn't interesting enough. Our approach uses treats strategically, without creating dependency on them.

The Toe Beans Co runs Puppy School across Sydney including Paddington, Zetland, Neutral Bay, and Alexandria. No pain, no fear, no force, no aggression - at every location, every time.

Upcoming Puppy Schools

Frequently asked questions

What age should I start puppy training?

We recommend that your puppy starts training as early as possible. Our program runs from day 1 at home with your puppy up until they are 8 months. We recommend taking your 1:1 session early into their time at home to get you set up. we have a plenty of support through 8 - 12 weeks old. For the group puppy school element you puppy must be 11 - 13 weeks old to start puppy school and have received their second vaccination.

What are your puppy school locations?

Our puppy schools are run across multiple different venues to ensure that you have a convenient place location to attend during the puppy program. We currently offer: Paddington, Marrickville, Neutral Bay, Zetland and Alexandria.

Which areas of Sydney do you work in?

Our services are offered all across Sydney. We have clients in the:

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

What are the different levels of support you offer for puppy school?

We offer 3 levels of support for our puppy program:

Silver: Our most popular program, this comes as standard with all programs and includes a one to one home sessions and support
Gold: Comes with everything in Silver plus 2 additional home training sessions to support with any other behavioural issues you are facing
Platinum: Only 2 - 5 clients accepted at any time. This is are most extensive program and is built for owners looking to take full control of their puppy's development. We provide additional one to one sessions, dedicated phone support and lifetime access to our programs.

Are there any dog breeds you do not work with?

No. Whether you have: a Chihuahua or a Mastiff, an unhinged lunatic of a Spaniel or a goofball of a Rottie. Big, small, angry, lazy, cute, ugly, cuddly or just straight up weird, we love them all.

Many dogs are stereotyped against because some idiot decided to treat them badly and make them into something they are not.

I have worked with Groodles that were dangerous to the point I couldn't enter the room and a 90kg Rottweiler who had to have his cuddly "Lilo and Stitch" toy whenever we went for a walk.

How do we match puppies for puppy school?

It is really important that your dog meets lots of other types of dog's when they are you. I do see some specific "cavoodle" schools cropping up but I cannot stress how bad an idea this is. Now, it is important that if you have a large breed (eg Bernese Mountain dog) who starts a course at 13 weeks old and a Pomeranian (who starts the course at 12 weeks old) this can make things unfeasible. We will match dogs based on their relative size and age, but we also want to maintain a good mix of breeds in all of our classes

What is included in the puppy program? (Short Version)

Our puppy program comes with the following components:

4 x 1 hour sessions for group puppy school
2 hour at home 1:1 puppy training
Lifetime access to 28 module online puppy program
6 months of support on phone, email and chat
Lifetime access to the dog calming code
Pictures and goodies from training
Breed specific guides
Equipment where required

My Puppy is Already 12/14/16 etc weeks old. Can I Still Join?

Absolutely. You can join the course at any time. There may be elements that you are unable to do but plenty of owners join later on and really value having us there to help.

Our course is divided up in to different age brackets to help you get the most out of what you are looking for

There are a few ages where certain things happen but other than that there are no limitations:

Puppy School: Your dog must be 12/13 weeks old in order to start the puppy school. This is for safety

You can still view the online puppy school videos if you would like to see what we do.

Do you offer fully private puppy training?

All of our puppy programs come with at least 1 x at home one to one session included. You can choose to increase this to how every many sessions you need. Some clients do not want to participate in group classes for several reasons. Socialisation is a critical point of puppy development. We are able to offer a full one to one experience for clients that are able to prove they can fully socialise their dog outside of our training.

What is the ethos behind your dog training?

Developing a well behaved dog has 2 parts: dog psychology & dog training. We focus first on understanding your dog and getting them to choose to follow and listen to us. When dogs aren't making all the decisions, they calm down and relax, making them far more receptive to training. To do this, we don’t need to use force, fear or aggression. In fact the opposite. Whether dealing with barking, leash pulling, jumping, or aggression, these behaviours typically stem from dogs being too excited, reactive, and emotional. The key is getting them to turn to you and listen when it matters. Once they're calm and looking to you for guidance, you can effectively show them how to behave.
In short: before you train the dog, you need to win their mind.

Your Pawtner In Crime

Whether you are saying hello to your first dog, or have recently said goodbye to your best friend, we are here. From puppy training to community events, come and join The Toe Beans Co

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Ethical First

Dog training is full of some mental people. It is always terrifying to see how many trainers use shock collars and pain to train pets. We don't do this. We NEVER use pain, fear, force or aggression and will never, under any circumstances, support, condone or recommend any practices that follow these schools of thought.

A Passion For Paws

I have pets. I love them. I know how special the bond is and that trusting somebody else with your pet is a huge leap.

My commitment to you is to love your pet like family and give you complete peace of mind when they are with us.

Ultimately, my goal is to give you and your pet the relationship you have always wanted.

In Australia, over 40,000 dogs & cats go to shelters every year and many for very fixable behaviours or inconvenience. I think it would be great to get this number down.

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Our Mission

To ensure you always have someone you trust that you can turn to when you need help with your pet. Whether it is: big or small, last minute or weeks in advance, you can be stress free in knowing your pet is in safe hands.
To raise as much money for Teenage Cancer Research as we can. The better a service we provide, the more people will want to work with us and the more we can donate. Simple as that.