Nekhbet Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 awww how I miss puppy preschool ... all those little nip marks Well when I ran one I charged $40 for 3 x 1 hour (and do you think we limited it to an hour!!!) lessons, one per week It was for socialisation, but I also made sure: sit starting/knowing drop beginners walking on lead basic health/first aid nutrition (different brands/diets including raw food) toilet training kids and dogs puppy proofing your home anything else that cropped up. I made a booklet covering most of what I talked about so I didnt have to try and talk all lessons, and an email addy for questions. Also let the kids come along so they could be involved in the training too, but I did ask parents not to let their kids run around with the pups to prevent any accidents. I grouped puppies according to breed sizes and age so there was never too big a difference between the puppies. I remember one little pup who refused to play for 2 weeks and her owner was getting worried and started to doubt me when I said just leave her be. By the third week that little fluffball was bossing everyone else about, even the pups much bigger then her! Never had a problem, enormous fun. Also, this old German lady came with her spitz and we taught it about 5 tricks (in german) by the end of the sessions. From a little snoot to a dog that could sit, drop, dance, try and bark on command :D and walk on a leash. Ahhh bribery is a wonderful thing. Your puppy preschool should also be able to handle left field questions, major problems etc or at least point you in the direction of someone who can. If you dont like what the person has to say, leave. Get a refund of at least half. No one should be rough with your puppy, let them get out of control together, belittle your opinions or ideas or force you into buying products. You should be able to choose and be guided. If you are REALLY wrong then yes you should be told but if you prefer BARF over commercial foods then you should be told the pros, cons and if you are ready to feed a growing puppy this diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Thanks so much Rob! The BARF diet must be good because we are having major hassles with him 're-eating' it if you know what I mean. He only does it when we're not home. Any ideas on how to stop him from doing this............anyone? We're desperate!!! Copraphagia. Do a DOL search, there are some really good tips on preventing this. Feeding pineapple is supposed to be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 We did ours in a waiting room as well.. I think it was a bit too crowded and the pups did not have any opportunities to interact and socialise with each other as we had to hold our pups on our laps all the time... as a result of that my pup slept most of the time throughout the lesson while the instructors talk/lectured.. I 'learned' how to teach the tricks etc... but that does not mean my pup is 'able' to do it... Nonetheless... I did gain some useful knowledge but I wouldn't say it was a really fun experience or is value for money.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doglicious Posted April 29, 2006 Author Share Posted April 29, 2006 (edited) We did ours in a waiting room as well.. I think it was a bit too crowded and the pups did not have any opportunities to interact and socialise with each other as we had to hold our pups on our laps all the time... as a result of that my pup slept most of the time throughout the lesson while the instructors talk/lectured..I 'learned' how to teach the tricks etc... but that does not mean my pup is 'able' to do it... Nonetheless... I did gain some useful knowledge but I wouldn't say it was a really fun experience or is value for money.... Yeah, I'm with you. Ours is pretty crowded and we have to hold our pup too and he falls straight asleep on my lap. I dont think it's doing him any favours holding him either because he looks down on the bigger dogs on the ground and doesnt really interact with them. I'm finding it interesting looking at the dogs other people have chosen and finding out their reasons and I've come across some breeds that I've never seen or heard of, so from that point its pretty good. I'm just not sure what my boy is getting out of it. He's a really gentle boy and getting humped and play bitten by a boistrous lab isn't much fun for him *L* Edited April 29, 2006 by Doglicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaywoman68 Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 I paid $60 for 3 x 1hr lessons (1 a week). Orson was little and I had never heard or been to puppy classes. It was conducted by my dogs' (I have 2 now) vet hospital. Orson enjoyed it and OH and I did too. But now that I think about it, I wish I had enrolled into the dog club I'm in now (for beginner's obedience) and I would have paid less and got more for value. I enrolled in the dog club and I went through puppy classes and I learnt more in puppy classes at the dog club than at the vet hospital (we still had fun at the vet hospital one tho) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~sgs~ Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 (edited) . Edited June 20, 2008 by skygoddyss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I have so far not been able to afford puppy school. We only have one puppy school here and its $180 for 5 weeks. I am wondering if it may be cheaper to take her straight to obedience training? She is now 18 weeks and I am worried that she wont be socialised properly if I dont do something soon. What is the average price of basic obedience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doglicious Posted April 30, 2006 Author Share Posted April 30, 2006 Thanks to gandalfthegrey we will be starting obedience classes this coming Tuesday night. It's $5 an hour. We are going to go to the Tuesday evening session and the Saturday morning session plus we have two more weeks of puppy preschool on a Thursday night. We are really looking forward to the obedience classes. If your'e after obedience classes in your area, post something on here. There's such a diverse range of people on here, someone is bound to come up with something for you! Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I have so far not been able to afford puppy school. We only have one puppy school here and its $180 for 5 weeks. I am wondering if it may be cheaper to take her straight to obedience training? She is now 18 weeks and I am worried that she wont be socialised properly if I dont do something soon.What is the average price of basic obedience? OMG I paid $70 for 4 weeks of puppy preschool, one-on-one instruction for 4 weeks, plus it gave me membership to the obedience club for the rest of the financial year (plus $2 a week training fee) We are currently doing puppy school, until Darcy turns 6 months and will then start proper obedience. We can't do obedience til 6 months unfortunately, even though Darcy is well and truly ready to go up! BTW The vet one I passed up was $40 for 4 weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doglicious Posted April 30, 2006 Author Share Posted April 30, 2006 (edited) feralpup How come you can't do obedience until Darcy is 6 months? Just curious...I know nothing! Edited April 30, 2006 by Doglicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 Thats ok DL I'm still learning myself.... The club we attend has puppy preschool for babies i.e 9 to 16 weeks I think, then you can start puppy class. When you start with this club, if your dog is under 6 months, they have to go into puppy class, but if they start obedience at 6 months or older, they would go straight into obedience class 1. Its the same at another club I looked at attending... Once your pup is 6 months, they get assessed for which class they go to next, and everyone who was old enough last week got passed up to class 2. So as far as I can gather, puppy class is almost the same as obedience class 1, but they have a bit more socialisation and play time to give the pups a break. Hope thats helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatevah Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 (edited) My mum went to a puppy school at Avalon Vets. She was not happy. They let the dogs run amock. One lesson was spent just talking about health and nothing else, the dogs did nothing. Another session was teaching stays which they taught the wrong way, and only one dog got to try it. No water provided for the dogs, when they did provide water upon request it had possum poo in it. Another person in the class taught my mum how to teach her pup to sit. It is run by a vet nurse. She is very disgusted and felt ripped off. They suggested putting a choker chain on a cavalier pup who is 12 weeks old!!! Quite often class has been cancelled. I have been teaching the pup myself. They charged I $25 a lesson!!! If you do take lessons at a vets ask to see qualifications, just because they are a vet nurse doesn't mean they can teach dog training. Doctors and nurses don't tell us how to bring up kids. I think you are better off going through an obedience club. Edited April 30, 2006 by DunnyBrush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devo Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I'm off to PPS tonight.. I got to Fitzroy North vet clinic. The lady there is a little vrazy but she seems good! I think devo and I are there more for the fun factor than learning atm.. we have learnt to sit.. (at home) I find it fun.. (but that might just be my lack of social life!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel774 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 My dog learnt how to run around off lead like an idiot and be a naughty puppy and ignore all instructions in puppy preschool. I'm not a fan of the ones that are all off lead, let the dogs run wild! It's too easy for bad things to happen too, it can happen so quickly. As an instructor for beginners (first time obedience and dogs right out of preschool), I'm often dismayed at what people have been told at puppy preschool. Too many vets get the junior nurses to do it with no dog training experience. It's really sad because for new dog owners, it's their first experience with obedience and an introduction into being an owner - I think the more experienced trainers should be handling them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 Touche Mel I couldn't agree more! Especially if you have a problem pup like we had in our first night.... And it doesn't even need to be inexperienced vet nurses - I know a vet with the worst behaved animal I can think of - imagine them teaching a puppy school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel774 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 A lot of trainers have naughty animals. It's often because they spend more time training everyone else's and not enough left for their own! A lot of people in the animal industry end up rescuing really difficult dogs too because someone else couldn't cope with them and they want to provide the dog a second chance. I had a really naughty puppy but it was great, he taught me a lot and I can walk into a class with him and confidently tell them everything he did last year as he sits calmly and patiently in the shade. So it's not the people with naughty dogs that make poor trainers, just the people who don't know what they're doing and are training without qualification or adequate experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Agreed, but this one's just a case of no training and no idea.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel774 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 LOL well vets and incompetance with animal handling is a whole other issue!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clover Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 The PPS i took our Chihuahua to was not the best, pups were forced to interact with one another and if they did not get along we were told to "let them sort it out themselves" yep wise idea to let 14 week old pups fight it out :D. Where i took Elvis was much better and we actually enjoyed going. Pups were not forced to interact and were given special time if they were having problems. By the end of the 4 weeks 95% of the bubs were sitting, dropping, walking on lead nicely and doing nice short stays. I would definitely go back there again . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ish Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Where was the one you enjoyed Clover? Mine are too old now, but good to know for puppy buyers and stuff. Can PM me if you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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