Mary puppins

The first and most important step in training, Puppy Pre-School is a socialization program that develops the student’s confidence and ability to focus in a wide range of environments and circumstances. During this phase, the instructor creates a bond with the student, monitors his natural behavior to determine his needs, and assists the pet parent with potty training and other challenging puppy behaviors.

For students ten weeks of age and older, Puppy Primary School includes leash training and basic commands like sit, lie down, come when called, stay, take it, leave it, and drop it. In addition to vocal cues, the student will learn to respond to hand signals that will help him to focus when distracted.

For the student who has demonstrated an understanding of both verbal cues and hand signals, Puppy Prep School demands performance under pressure. The student will learn impulse control by having to follow cues despite temptations to eat, play, or explore. While bad manners are always discouraged by the instructor, this phase focuses on alternate behaviors to curb jumping, begging, barking, and other breaches of etiquette.

For adult students with no formal training, the Doggy GED combines the socialization of Puppy Pre-School with the basic cues learned in Puppy Primary School. To graduate from this level, students must learn both hand signals and verbal cues and be able to demonstrate them during field trips.

After completing the Doggy GED, students in Doggy Day School will be challenged to perform their cues in the presence of increasingly difficult distractions. Situations that elicit inappropriate conduct will be simulated in order to redirect the student to a suitable alternate behavior. The student will also learn new cues, including heel and settle, to develop a higher degree of impulse control.