Puppy Pre-School

Why Puppy Preschool?

Every year thousands of dogs are destroyed, end up in the pound or need to be rehoused due to behavioural problems. Many of these behavioural problems are due to lack of knowledge by the dog owner and lack of proper socialisation and training of the puppy at a very early age. Our puppy preschool provides a safe environment for your puppy to socialise and our classes are kept small to allow special time with each puppy. The owner is also educated in responsible pet ownership and how to look after hygiene, diet and nutrition.

What Does It Cover?

Dogoverboard's puppy preschool is the most comprehensive and educational in Newcastle. The course runs for 4 weeks and uses positive reinforcement methods to cover topics such as socialisation, house and toilet training, obedience, jumping, biting, mouthing, grooming, teething, lead training, desexing, bathing, nutrition, diet, hygiene, fleas and other common complaints, internal and external parasites, exercise and swimming. The course is designed to cover individual concerns from owners about their specific circumstances. We give special emphasis on the long-term wellbeing, behaviour and health of the dog. There are social play sessions, on-lead and off-lead times, introduction to a very large friendly adult dog, hands on bathing of the puppies and all puppies are taught to swim and safely exit the pool.

Enrolments

Preschool is structured for puppies between 8 and 18 weeks old who have had their first vaccination and worming. The course is designed and run by Cheryl Shaw the owner of Dogoverboard who is a qualified CAH (Companion Animal Hygienist) and has extensive nutrient and obedience training. Courses run for one evening a week over 4 weeks usually a Tuesday from 6:00PM until 7:30PM. Other days may be available depending on demand. At every session your puppy is present, we also encourage all members of the dog's family to attend. Book early to avoid disappointment as we limit the class size.

Course Outline

Some of the important topics covered in our puppy preschool include:

• Understanding the pack nature and behaviour of dogs - the pecking order of the pack
• Why socialisation is so important for a puppy and how to ensure your puppy is well socialised
• Diet, nutrition and feeding - understanding what is a good balanced diet which leads to a happy and healthy dog with fewer visits to the vet; what to feed and things to avoid.
• Grooming, bathing and nail clipping. Individual emphasis on what is best for your dog breed. Owners learn how to wash their dog correctly and some home maintenance grooming advice
• Fleas and ticks - what is really effective and how to ensure flea and tick treatments really work
• Worming, parasites and general health care
• Discipline based on positive reinforcement and behaviour modification
• Come, sit, stay and down, shake, crawl, rollover, stand, high 5 & 10 - the basics in puppy commands
• Training advice on how to ensure your dog continues its good manners;
• Problem behaviour - what to do and where to seek help
• Toilet training - the does and don'ts
• Council regulations - do it right and avoid hefty fines
• Car travel regulations - avoiding the fines
• Lost dogs and what to do
• Learn to swim - all puppies are given a supervised swim in the heated swimming pool
• Owners are given practical training on bathing and drying their dogs - each puppy is washed and dried by their owners and ongoing home care of the dog's coat is explained
• Supervised fun times and open interaction between all puppies and a socialisation session with very large adult dogs
• Exercise and play times - fun and socialisation with the other puppies and humans
• Question time - plenty of time to address your particular concerns
  

Graduation

On successful graduation from our preschool you and your puppy will have the knowledge and confidence to bring your puppy up to be a well socialised, happy and healthy dog. You will receive a graduation photo and certificate.