A good puppy school program is meant to help your pup become a well socialized and confident dog, one which is relaxed in its home environment as well as when out and about with other dogs and people.

Puppy school is a secure environment where your puppy can socialise with other pups and be introduced to basic training commands such as sit, drop, wait and the all-important recall. You will be strengthening the bond between you and your puppy while learning techniques to encourage wanted behaviour and prevent problem behaviour such as biting and jumping up.

These days most puppy trainers/classes use positive reinforcement as the appropriate training technique. This allows you to change behaviour by rewarding what you want, i.e. sit, come, drop and ignoring or “blocking” (not rewarding or acknowledging) behaviour you want to change, i.e. jumping up.  When you block behaviours, they disappear without using any other “punishments” which are unnecessary and often inhumane

Socialisation exposes your puppy to unfamiliar dogs and people in a safe, non-threatening environment; it exposes them to a variety of different breeds and helps your pup to read other dogs’ body language helping them understand the difference between play and other communication.

Most experts say that the critical learning and socialisation period for a puppy is in its first 16 weeks and that puppy school is best between 8-17 weeks of age. If you miss the 17- week mark, it is not detrimental but the longer you leave it the more challenging the training and socialization may be.