Puppy School & Program

We offer four levels. Every level includes four weeks of group puppy school at your chosen venue, the Relational Leadership framework, our Before Day One course and lifetime community access.

Bronze: the group puppy school on its own, with no home sessions, no online course and 24/7 digital trainer support using our free guides.

Silver: one 90 minute session in your home, one month of the online course, 24/7 digital trainer support that knows your course, and answers from Luke in the community for that month, and the Adult Dog Behaviour Guide library.

Gold: three home sessions, three months of the course, 24/7 digital trainer support that knows your course, and phone and text with Luke for those three months, and the weekly live Zoom Q&A.

Platinum: ten home sessions, six months of the course, 24/7 digital trainer support that knows your course, and priority phone and text for those six months, a kick-off call, your breed's 4 week guide, the video tutorial library and your training equipment. We take five Platinum clients at a time.

Every level includes four weeks of group puppy school, the Relational Leadership framework, Before Day One and lifetime community access.

From Silver up you also get home sessions, the online course, 24/7 digital trainer support that knows your course, and answers from Luke in the community, for as long as your course access lasts. Phone and text starts at Gold, along with the weekly live Zoom Q&A. Platinum gets priority phone and text.

If your puppy is too old for group school, Private Puppy Training swaps it for an extra home session at every level, with everything else the same.

Start the day your puppy comes home. The habits you will be trying to undo at eight months are being set in the first few weeks, so the sooner the routine at home is right, the less work there is later.

Book your one to one session early so you are set up from day one. For group puppy school your puppy needs their second vaccination first, which usually means we can take them from around 11 weeks. The online course runs week by week from eight weeks to twenty-four weeks, so there is always something to work on while you wait.

You can start our puppy program at any age. We recommend starting as early as possible and have online and one to one support to help you through the early weeks at home. Your puppy needs to have had their second vaccination to join group Puppy School, so we are able to take puppies from around 11 weeks once that has happened.

Group puppy school runs at six venues, and all six take bookings: Dogs in Town at 308 Oxford Street, Paddington; Dogs in Town at 44 Epsom Road, Zetland; Dogs in Town at 500 Glenmore Road, Edgecliff; Dogs in Town at 266 Mitchell Road, Alexandria; Dogs in Town at 55 Addison Road, Marrickville; and DoggieLove at 71 Military Road, Neutral Bay.

Anyone in Sydney can attend any of them. Start dates vary by venue, so check the booking page for what is running next or ask us and we will tell you.

Your one to one sessions happen at your own address wherever you are in Sydney, so only the group class brings you to a venue.

Classes are capped at ten puppies and matched by size, which balances quality with socialisation.

It is really important that your puppy meets lots of different types of dog while they are young. We do see breed specific schools cropping up, cavoodle only classes and the like, and we cannot stress how bad an idea that is.

That said, a large breed starting at 13 weeks and a Pomeranian starting at 12 weeks in the same class is not workable for either of them. We match puppies on relative size and age, while keeping a good mix of breeds in every class.

The course has five parts.

Orientation: welcome and day one, why our method works, how the course works, and common puppy myths.

The Big 8: biting, toileting, routine, crate training, crying, sleeping, home set up and socialisation, before the Weekly Journey begins.

The Weekly Journey: a section for every week from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, so you only read the week you are in.

The Problem Library: a reference you can open any time, from recall and vet visits to first aid and common problems.

Learn About Your Breed: what is normal for your breed, and what to watch for.

We confirm your place, then send you a link to book any home sessions your level includes. From Silver up, 24/7 digital trainer support that knows your course and your online course open the same day, so you can start straight away even if your first group class is a few weeks off.

Yes. You can join at any point. There may be one or two elements you have already passed, but plenty of owners join later and get just as much out of it.

The course is divided into age brackets so you are only ever reading the part that matches the puppy in front of you. If your puppy is already past 16 weeks, Private Puppy Training is usually the better fit, because it swaps the group class for an extra home session. We will tell you that rather than sell you the wrong thing.

The only hard limit is group puppy school. Your puppy needs their second vaccination to join, which usually happens somewhere in the twelve to fourteen week range and most commonly at twelve weeks. That is for safety.