Puppy Training

At All About Dogs, we believe positive reinforcement training is the best way to create a happy and confident dog who understands what is expected of him. Training should begin as soon as your new your new puppy arrives in your home.

Our First Paw Forward program is designed to take advantage of a young dog’s early learning and socialization period. The class is open to pups from 8 weeks – 16 weeks. Puppies must have their first vaccination to attend, but it is not required that they be fully vaccinated. We introduce the basic commands, such as sit, down, off, come when called, settle on a mat and preliminary leash walking. You will learn to avoid common puppy problem behaviours by developing your dog’s self control and ability to focus and respond to you around other dogs and people. The class routine also includes the opportunity for the puppies to socialize in a safe and controlled environment before being ready for interaction with other dogs out in the parks and on the streets.

This intermediate level class is open to “First Paw Forward” or young “Never Too Late” grads. It is designed to help you build on the basic level skills you learned and make them useful in your everyday life.

During this six-week graded program we gradually improve your dogs focus and reliability under increasingly difficult distractions.

We will improve the dog’s sit stays, down stays, heeling around other dogs, toys and food. Retrieving skills, tricks and training games will be introduced to help improve your training skills and keep things interactive and fun.

This class is open to puppies under six months old. It can be taken in conjunction with or as a follow up to the First Paw Forward or Excelerated Puppy programs. In this class, your puppy will continue to improve upon the basics: sit, down, stay, focus and impulse control.

Emphasis will be on improving your puppy’s confidence and relationship with you through toy training and interactive play. This teaches the dog to play appropriately with you even around other dogs. Puppies will also be introduced to restrained recalls, target and trick training as well as to low level agility equipment, such as: tunnels, planks, tippy boards, and ladders.

The timing of this program will often coincide with the onset of your puppy’s first fear period where the dogs can become fearful of new things. You will be coached on how to help your pup through their reactions and how to provide support and encouragement without force or coddling. Helping puppies to overcome initial fears builds resiliency during this developmental stage and helps them grow into more confident adult dogs, able to take new things in stride, and develop trust in their human companions.

Some students with young pups often worry that their pup needs more “obedience”. While this is invariably true, agility training is not necessarily a step away from their goals, but actually a invaluable asset in creating a better relationship between them and their new puppy.

Growing pups can often appear big, clunky and lacking physical confidence or show signs of skittish and nervous behaviour. Where the outgoing and energetic dog seems a natural candidate for dog sports, it is often the “fraidy-cat dog” that may derive the most gain. Many of the foundation skills taught in this program concentrate on developing your young dog’s body strength, balance and awareness. Gangly puppies may not seem the most obvious candidates for dogs sports but are often the ones to reap the most benefit overall.

[dt_list style=”2″ dividers=”true”][dt_list_item image=””]Build your dog’s confidence[/dt_list_item][dt_list_item image=””]Create a well balanced puppy[/dt_list_item][dt_list_item image=””]Utilize early learning and learn proper socialization[/dt_list_item][dt_list_item image=””]Avoid unwanted behaviour problems[/dt_list_item][dt_list_item image=””]Build your dog’s self-control and focus[/dt_list_item][dt_list_item image=””]Build your relationship with your dog[/dt_list_item][/dt_list]