Because I get asked about puppy classes, I thought I’d provide an explanation as to why we do not run them very much. We prefer private training for baby puppies, but once puppies have had all of their shots, they are welcome to join our Basic Class where their learning skills excel once they are a little older.
Here are the four major take aways from my rambling video below:
- People expect too much out of young baby puppies (8 to 16 weeks of age). We’ve seen it time and time again, people getting frustrated because they are expecting adult things out of babies in a group environment.
- It’s hard for baby puppies to concentrate in a group environment. Good handlers will be fine, but a lot of people are not good handlers and we can coach people over and over, but sometimes there is a block that people can’t get past or sometimes it’s just not a skill-set that we can evolve in everyone, and this too can breed frustration.
- We don’t like the mosh pit of puppy play like you see in a lot of puppy classes. Bullying can happen, bad experiences can happen. Socialization doesn’t mean touching and interacting with everything in their environment. Leash reactivity can be created out of these mosh pit experiences. We don’t take this approach of free play, we socialize, but not in the traditional expected way that everyone assumes socialization means.
- Private training for baby puppies makes more sense. Learning in their own environment – house training, house rules, focusing on the individual at this stage makes a lot more sense for the younger puppies and it’s where the training is actually needed at this stage, not in a group hall.
I hope this gives you some insight into puppy class. Now once puppies are past the 16-20 week mark, they absolutely excel in group class. They are like little sponges and pick up exercises very quickly and keep up with the adults no problem. This age is a great age to start training in a group environment.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Smart Dogs Canine Training Milton 