Course information This course combines the best of the Karen Pryor Academy Start Right for Puppies with the Life Skills protocols from the University of Lincoln. Having graduated from both courses, Karen has further developed her level 1 classes with an emphasis on preventing common behaviour problems and helping your dog to take responsibility for being well behaved. Ideally these skills are incorporated into daily life so time spent training your dog is reduced. This will of course take consistency and commitment from you as an owner, but once good  habits are formed it will become a natural way of living with your dog.

The 6 week course will help you to understand how our dogs learn, acquire the skills to help them learn and work out how to integrate learning into your daily lifestyle. The Life Skills have been phrased from the perspective of the dog.  The emphasis of the course is on what the puppy is learning at all times, not what we are training him to do.

Classes have a weekly theme to demonstrate to puppy owners how to fit the very important socialisation activities in with day to day experiences.  The themes are, heath and handling; wheels & childrens toys; obstacles and costumes and appearance.

In order to take the skills you are learning in the class outside into the real world, one class may be partly outside - you will get plenty of warning to dress appropriately for the weather! The first class lasts 90 minutes, includes refreshments and is without puppies. All other classes last one hour and are with puppies.

A copy of the book ‘Puppy Start Right: Foundation Training for the Companion Dog’ by Kenneth Martin & Debbie Martin is included in the package and incorporates all of the skills covered on the course.  You can choose from a hard copy or Kindle version.  The Kindle version can be viewed on any device including a laptop/Macbook where an audio version (similar to Audible) can be selected.

​

Instructors This class is taught by a highly qualified instructor with  a canine honours degree,  a graduate of Life Skills for Puppies Trainers course (Lincoln University), and the Puppy Start Right course (Karen Pryor Academy), APDT membership and experience in the field of animal behaviour and training.

Who is it for? Suitable for puppies 8* to 20 weeks with a maximum of 4 puppies per course.

​

When

New courses start every 6 weeks.

The first session is an induction class (without puppies) on a Monday evening from 7.30 - 9 pm via Zoom webinar.  This is an essential part of the course and all owners are required to attend.  It last approximately 90 minutes.

​

The 6 weeks practical classes are held on a Tuesday evening between 8.30 & 9.30 pm and usually start the day after the webinar.

Additional Information Scientific research tells us how important the first few weeks are for your puppy.  The experiences he has during the first 12 weeks of life are crucial to how he copes with the world for the rest of his days.  Until recently guidance from vets suggests that puppies wait until at least a week after their second vaccination before being able to mix with other dogs and to start experiencing the outside world, however more recent research suggests that puppies are protected after their first vaccine.  Balancing the need for socialisation and the potential behaviour problems associated with delaying socialisation, against the protection of the second and possibly third vaccine is a decision that new puppy owners need to consider in conjunction with theor veterinary surgeon.

​

*We strongly believe in the benefits of early socialisation, so are happy for puppies to join only after their first vaccination.

​

This leaflet explains more about the benefits and risks puppy socialisation and vaccination 

Vaccination v Socialisation