Back before the pandemic, I used to teach group puppy classes. For the last ten years, I’ve taught three classes a week in different vets waiting rooms with four pups maximum. I even worked for another training company running their Saturday classes which were huge with 10 pups included. And I really loved teaching basic training and good manners. Which is funny because when I set out to become a trainer, I never wanted to teach groups at all.
So there I was teaching puppies, teenagers, older dogs, rescue dogs, big dogs, small dogs and Kennel Club Good Citizen dogs. Classes every night of the week except Monday – because who wants to come out on a wet Monday night in December to train your dog?
But COVID-19 changed all that. I found that group training was banned. And even then, I wasn’t allowed for some months to work with people in their gardens. I looked at the course I designed for pups and reviewed what needed to be trained. I added in bits and changed bits where necessary. Once I was allowed back to work I started doing 1-2-1 home training courses for puppies. And I made a huge discovery. That actually, most pups need that little bit of private training before they go into the groups. That it means you get a solid base to start from before there are lots of other distractions around.
Most classes are full of people looking at the pups. And the pups are playing around and not concentrating. Occasionally, they will do something good and sometimes the owners will get it. But being in a group is not the ideal place to train. Especially when your pup is less than 16 weeks old.
So I came to the decision that I would stop running group puppy beginners classes. I made a few changes to the course again to include a walk and socialisation in a park as the last session of the course. It makes sense to me to give your pup the best start in life and what better way than learning with you and trusting you before you ask them to go out into the big wide world?
I was reminded of this when I started working with a client who had a dear little pup called Joe. He was a poodle cross and had been in a very poor way before he came to my client. I believed he was younger than he was advertised and, bless him, he was totally shut down. To make things worse, the little chap had a serious ear infection. On my first visit he spent most of the time hiding away from me. Both his “mum” and I thought it was going to be a long climb for this tiny pup to settle long enough to teach. So we sat and talked and, for that first session, we did nothing. I let him hide and eventually he did come to me for a very brief cuddle but then straight back to Mum.
We decided to take it slowly. I would work with them both and teach my client the exercises without Joe having to do anything. The next time I visited he was still cautious but did work for cheese. Let’s face it, there’s not many dogs that can turn down cheese! But he was starting to open up. His owner reported that he was getting better at home with her and her family when they visited.
Each time I went to see them, Joe had improved. The homework was done on time and his sit was so adorable! He even went on holiday with his owner and was so well behaved. She was so proud of him. And I was so happy that they really did have an amazing bond. By the end of the course, Joe was playing happily with me and his toys. By taking it slowly and not pushing him in to training I had seen him open up to a new life with lots of possibilities.
For this puppy, it was all about taking it slowly. But we put a lot of pressure on our pups to be fully trained as soon as possible. And while group classes can be fun, it’s better to have a pup that’s relaxed around you before they have to encounter another pup.
So that’s why I don’t run group puppy classes any more. There are other advantages too. We can tailor the course to you and your lifestyle. I can be flexible on timings so evenings and weekends mean that we can work with the whole family. More importantly, you and your pup get my full attention. And I can make sure that you feel that you both are actually benefiting from the training. There are some good trainers out there who do run amazing group classes. But for me, the future is all about the individual… you and your pup.
