Puppy Preschool Package (Puppies 8-16 weeks)

If you are a new puppy parent, the Puppy Preschool Package is for you!  Getting yourself and your puppy started off on the right “paw” in life is essential! My curriculum is specifically designed for puppies in this very sensitive age group and focuses on exploration, socialization and positive solutions to everyday puppy behavior.

The goal of the program is to build a foundation of trust and confidence in your puppy, setting them up for a lifetime of success, free from aggression, fear and anxiety. Additionally, giving you the tools and skills you will need in order to communicate with your puppy, and eventually your dog, in a positive, force-free manner to achieve your training goals.

The Puppy Preschool Package is 6 weeks in duration. The initial 1.5 hour consultation/training session is held in your home, and the 5, once a week, one-hour training sessions are either held in your home, at Dexter’s Deli in Del Mar or a safe location picked by me. The cost of the program is $750

Learning Objectives

• Learn about clicker training and how to use a clicker to train behavior

• Learn about different ways of training a behavior using capturing, shaping, targeting and luring

• Learn about the steps of training a behavior–Getting the behavior, adding a cue and raising criteria

• Learn about dog’s developmental periods and how each period in a dog’s life is critical to behavioral development and learning

• Learn about canine domestication, social behavior, senses, communication and how dogs learn

• Learn about socialization and the importance of positive socialization for puppies–Behavior problems are one of the greatest threats to the human/animal bond and early socialization is crucial to preventing difficult behavior problems such as fear, anxiety and aggression

• Learn about problem solving and prevention and how understanding the A, B, C’s (Antecedent, Behavior and Consequence) can help you conquer almost any behavior issue

• Learn about play biting and mouthing, jumping, counter surfing and stealing objects, chewing and digging and how to resolve these issues

• Learn the 5 successful steps to house training

• Learn about independence training to prevent separation anxiety

• Learn how to train the beginning levels of “Attention,” Responding to Name and Orienting Sound,” “Targeting,” “Sit,” “Settle on a Mat,” “Loose Leash Walking,” “Leave It,” “Drop It,” and “Recall”

Problem Solving and Prevention Exercises

1. Teach your puppy to be comfortable wearing a collar/harness and leash.

2. Teach your puppy how to play appropriately with people, and how to use (or not use) their sharp baby teeth.

3. Crate training-Make going in a crate a fun experience instead of a dreaded place.

4. Food Bowl Exercises-Teach your puppy to be comfortable with people near their food bowl to prevent resource guarding.

5. Handling Exercises- Teach your puppy to be comfortable with handling. This training is useful for veterinary exams, nail trims, brushing teeth, grooming, etc.

6. Gotcha Game-Teach your puppy to enjoy having their collar or harness held so when you reach for your puppy they do not shy away.

7. Leash Pressure Training-One of the foundation skills for preventing your puppy from pulling on the leash while walking.

8. Restraint Training-Using desensitization and counter conditioning can make an otherwise uncomfortable experience, comfortable, and is useful for veterinary visits or at other times when a dog may need to be restrained.

9. Muzzle Training-Muzzles don’t have to be scary! As a matter of fact, they can be fun and useful. Muzzles are required for traveling to certain places, and if your dog is injured, a muzzle is useful as most dogs will bite when in pain.

Foundation Behavior Training for dogs over 16 weeks

Foundation behavior training is akin to a child going to kindergarten and grade school to learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.  Without a solid base of foundation behaviors your dog, like a child, would not have the life skills to be successful living in our modern world.  Additionally, foundation behavior training gives you the tools you need to communicate with them.  In traditional dog training, foundation behavior training is called “obedience training,” but I much prefer “foundation behavior training” as it implies a relationship built on trust and mutual respect, rather than dominance, fear and punishment.

Foundation behaviors encompass such behaviors and skills as attention and focus, targeting, recall, sit, down, place, loose leash walking, bring, drop it, leave it, wait at a boundary and relax on a mat. 

Rates:

Payment for services is required in advance. Cash, checks and Venmo preferred, however, we do accept credit cards.

Training begins with a 1 ½ - 2 hour consultation/training session in your home which is $150-$200. After the initial consultation the rates are as follows:

1, one-hour session-$125

Bronze Package-3, one-hour sessions-$360 ($120 per session)

Silver Package-6, one-hour sessions-$690 ($115 per session)

Gold Package-9, one-hour sessions- $990 ($110 per session)

Platinum Package-12, one-hour sessions-$1260 ($105 per session)