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How To Choose A Good Puppy Class
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1. A good class encourages puppies to start young.
The socialisation window opens for a dog during the ages of 2-4 months. This however goes against the advice given to many owners to keep their dogs indoors to prevent diseases and the ages at which many other forms of training methods accept dogs for training is also much later than that.
Owners must understand that once this window of opportunity closes, it is very difficult for your puppy to be socialised after that, and many dogs develop fears or aggressions later on in life due to lack of exposure and confidence.
We must learn to balance our puppy's physical health with their psychological health. With proper care and precautions taken, you can achieve both and have your pup grow up to be a confident, independent adult dog!
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2. A good class uses Positive Reinforcement.
Puppies can start training when they are just few weeks old with positive reinforcement. Because our theories and principles are based on science and animal psychology, there is no need for any special equipment or pain or compulsion during training. We are basically just making use of how animals think!
This makes sure that owners learn about their dogs as early as possible and learn how to train these young puppies with kind and gentle methods.
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3. A good class has adequate puppies.
For socialisation to happen, there must be enough people and dogs for the puppy to socialise with. There is no point going to a class with only 1 other puppy, you are not getting the most out of this crucial age.
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4. A good class does not emphasize on commands.
Obedience commands can be learnt at any age. But important exercises like how to prevent aggression, how to desensitize your puppy and how to socialise your puppies must be done at a young age. Psychological health must be attended to at this age more than anything else.
You can learn simple commands in class just to get started on teaching your puppy important manners and skills, but there should not be too much undue emphasis on obedience commands. If you find that the lesson is all about heeling and stays, then you might have signed up for a basic obedience class disguised as a puppy class.
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5. A good class keeps clean.
The biggest misconception about puppies is that you must keep them at home for the first few months of their lives until they are fully vaccinated and strong. This creates a lot of problems for owners who end up with dogs that are undersocialised and goes balistic at the sight of a lorry or another dog a distance away.
You can still bring your pup out if you know that the place you are going to is clean and free of strays. For example, your friend's house, or in your fenced up estate, or out for a car ride, or indoors in a clean and sterile classroom environment where all the dogs who come in are already vaccinated and clean. In actual fact, for most puppies who have received their first vaccination, you can already bring them out either in a crate or being carried and let down on the ground if you know it is a clean place.
Honestly, if you think about it, if your puppy should only stay at home until all vaccinations are done, then shouldn't the veterinary clinic be the place we must most avoid? Since there must be plenty of viruses and bacteria from other sick dogs floating around in the clinic, isn't it ironic that you are being told to avoid some much cleaner places elsewhere?
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6. A good class has plenty of off-leash play!
This is probably the most important point to look out for in a puppy class. The puppies must be given plenty of breaks for off-leash play, during which dog-play behaviors should be expained to owners to help them understand more about playtime.
If you go to a puppy class and the entire session is just training on commands and the dogs are on leash the whole time with zero off-leash play, then keep your money and go somewhere else. Your dog is missing out on two of the biggest lessons that playtime teaches, bite inhibition and social language of other dogs.
Observe the class before you sign up, or else it could be a waste of your time and money - and your puppy would have wasted a lot of learning opportunities.
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