What the puppies learnt & why they learnt it! Week 5 Puppy Socialisation Class.
The aim of any puppy socialisation class should be to start puppies along the right road to becoming a well adjusted, happy adult dogs, using fun training & controlled play/interaction with other dogs. This means giving a wide variety of skills to both dogs & owners & hopefully giving them the thirst for continued learning & improvement.
In this video you'll see the foundations for loose leash walking-not relying on the lead for control, Bella the Bishon shows focus, heel position & a happy, willing disposition while walking beside her owner Clare.
Fenella the Sprocker & Harry the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel show off their basic puppy positions of sit/down/stand. These are a useful tool for controlling dogs during times of high distraction & also a great way to teach your puppy cooperation. If your dog want something, he first needs to do something for you. A sort of 'say please' in every given situation.
You also see tricks such as Ted the Fox Terrier & Bobby the Papillon demonstrating spin & paw. Tricks are great for regaining attention & giving your dog something to do if they are stressed or distracted.
Owners are encouraged to reward any voluntary interaction by their puppies, but also to engage with other dogs in the class, requesting basic obedience positions & tricks from them too. This helps with the socialisation element of the class i.e. all humans are good & some want to engage with & reward me.
Regular recall & re-release during play helps teach puppies that running back to their owner doesn't mean the end of fun, but is still worth their while.
As well as formal handling exercises (not shown), random collar grabs by all human class members help de-sensitise puppies to the age old stumbling block-collar hold avoidance & over reaction to collars being touched.
During 5 weeks of puppy socialisation class, we make a start on sending puppies along the right road to becoming a well adjusted, happy adult dogs using fun training & controlled play/interaction with other dogs.
