Why are we a step ahead? Well I believe I run an extremely educational program but most importantly we only allow structured and off lead controlled socialising.

Most people assume puppy school is just a place to take your puppy to learn obedience i.e. sit, stay, drop.  At Kat’s 4 Dogs Puppy Pre Schools you will walk away with more than you could ever imagine.

Firstly, most people don’t truly understand what socialising means. So many people assume their dog is social if it can run around crazy at the beach with other dogs. For me this is not necessarily a properly socialised dog. This is likely to be a dog that has been allowed to practice how to play in an over excited state and practice play fighting.

Over time this could create issues for you and your dog as excitement and lack of focus are being reinforced.

What we do at Kat’s 4 Dogs Puppy Pre School in Doonan and Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast

We educate owners on how important it is to keep their puppy calm, not to allow excitement. We educate you on limitations, what it means and how to practice with your puppy.

If owners have an understanding on how reinforcing the wrong state of mind can affect their puppy it may prevent serious behavioural problems developing in the future.

There are many facets to socialising not just playing. Being able to be around other dogs without having to play is demonstrating good social etiquette. Eating around other dogs is good social etiquette. Social protocol comes in many forms, not just play. We need to start practicing more than just play with young dogs so we can set them up for good results.

At Kat’s 4 Dogs Puppy Pre School I educate you on:

• toilet training your puppy correctly
• resource guarding and how to prevent this from becoming a problem
• preventing separation anxiety
• handling your puppy correctly and so much more.

My program is designed to help you in the real world. It’s a balanced approach that if done correctly you should enjoy your new puppy rather than it creates stress for you.

Puppy Pre Schools are not all the same

Don’t assume all puppy pre schools are the same!!

Now, I agree there are some puppy schools that do not promote this type of structure and control. That’s why it’s important to ask how things are done in class.

• If your puppy is scared and sits under a chair or on your lap for the 4 weeks, you’ve wasted your money and the trainer has let you down.
• When your puppy is over excited and you’re asked to keep it away from the other puppies for 4 weeks, you too have been let down by the trainer.
• If the trainer advises you to spray water in your puppy’s face or smack it or pin it to the floor or shake a tin of rocks/nails at your puppy, your trainer has let you down.
• When all the puppies are allowed to run around crazy, jumping on people etc. you’ve been let down by the trainer.

At Kat’s 4 Dogs we are not band aid solution trainers, we are not into scaring your puppy or intimidating it. We are all about building trust and respect.

Vaccination

It is important to understand that your puppy can attend puppy school if it’s had only 1 vaccination. There is a lot of confusion around this topic.

Firstly, the puppy school must be run inside in a clean and sterilised venue. All the other puppies MUST have had at least 1 vaccination and the vaccination certificate checked by the trainer on week 1 of class.

If you wait for your puppy to have had all his vaccinations, chances are you will miss the puppy school window as cut off is 16 weeks.

It’s also important to understand your puppy is allowed to interact with other dogs you know have been vaccinated. For example, if your puppy has been vaccinated then it would be ok to interact with my dogs as they have been fully vaccinated. You should only allow this to happen in an environment that you can be sure no unvaccinated dogs have access too.

Give me a call on 0488 908 048 to find out more about my Puppy Pre School classes in Doonan and Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.