Getting a new puppy suddenly floods your house with excitement, and soon the stuffing of all the plush toys you recently bought him. A puppy’s curious nature leads them to explore anything and everything with amazing bravery for such a small creature. This phase of puppy growth should be used for socialization! Positive interactions with other dogs, cats, people, and every day events will help your puppy gain confidence which is a building block for learning. Dogs that are comfortable with their settings tend to learn quicker as they can focus on their owner rather than worrying what the dog 30 ft. away is doing.
In class we start basic obedience such as, knowing their own name, coming when called, sit, lay down, and stay. It is a wonderful atmosphere for the puppies and owners as everyone is “in the same boat”. Puppies can meet other people who may look different than their family such as people who are tall, or wearing a hat, and some families have their mature children involved. The class is a learning environment which means although we have a teacher, discussion is always welcome. All of this learning is based on positive reinforcement of course!
Not all dogs are adopted as puppies and need to be socialized as adults, which is also something we can help with! Our adult dog class has a very broad age group, so some dogs may only be a year old and other dogs may be senior dogs. You can certainly teach old dogs new tricks! Adults can benefit from classes whether they are old pro’s or in the works. An adult dog who is challenged by training or puzzles keeps their mind active which improves their overall quality of life.
In the adult class, we make sure dogs know their basic skills, and then we move on to more challenging tricks. This class is also taught using positive reinforcement. This teaching method creates a strong bond between a dog and their owner. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a dog and its owners have fun with training and use it as a form of enrichment.