About our Puppy/Basic Training Course.....

On our combined Puppy and Basic Training course we teach a method that enables dog and owner to communicate better. Only a small percentage of human communication is verbal and most of a dog’s communication is via body language. Therefore by minimising the verbal background noise and using hand signals and food lures, we can get dogs to respond much quicker to their owners. This method has obvious advantages for anyone who owns a deaf dog.

As well as teaching the usual niceties that people expect like sit, down & stay we also deal with the necessities that make living with a dog bearable:

Bite inhibition – don’t bite people or dogs!
Go to toilet in the appropriate place
Don’t chew things - except what I give you
Don’t jump up
Don’t pull on lead
Come back when I call you
Be happy at home alone – don’t bark or destroy the house!
Don’t chase joggers, cars, bikes, children, wildlife etc

We combine the Puppy classes and Basic training for older dogs for a good reason. Puppies and older dogs need to learn to get along - puppies need to learn the doggy manners that will enable them to fit into canine society. We can provide as safe an environment as is possible for this to happen.

As part of the course you will be given a training lead and weekly reminder & information sheets.

The course is restricted to no more than 10 dogs. But you can bring as many people as you like! We actively encourage all the family to be involved in the training.

The course is six weeks long. The course fee is £55. For details of when the next course starts click here.

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About our Intermediate Course......

Our Intermediate course builds on the basic skills acquired on the Puppy/Basic Training course. It therefore requires a certain level of previous training for both the owner and the dog. We prefer people to have completed our Puppy/Basic Training Course, but if you have trained elsewhere we will consider enrolling you straight onto the Intermediate course as long as your skills & those of the dog match our Puppy/Basic Training course. If you have any queries about this don’t hesitate to contact us.

One of the main aims of the Intermediate course is to further enhance the relationship between owner & dog by introducing them to Connection exercises. Methods popularised by Geert de Bolster & Brenda Aloff. Distance control exercises like “leave it” also feature heavily in the course.

The course is six weeks long. The course fee is £35 if you have completed the Puppy/Basic Training course. If this is your first course with us the fee is £50.

Once people have completed the Intermediate course they are welcome to continue attending the classes at £5 per session. We can tailor the exercises for people so that we continue to improve & enhance the dog’s & owner’s skills.

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About our Advanced Clicker Classes......

These classes are purely for those people & dogs that have trained with us for some time. The reason for this is that the skills required include the dog being able to work off lead around other dogs & knowledge of Clicker Training is obviously a prerequisite.

Periodically we run Introduction to Clicker Training courses for those people who show a keen interest in furthering their knowledge of dog training & behaviour.

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About our Agility Classes......

Please note: at this current point in time we do not have a venue to run Agility classes.

We try to ensure that our Agility classes are fun! Although many of our clients have gone on to compete (and quite successfully) at Agility, we are not a competitive club. Which means our emphasis is on control, accuracy & did we mention fun?! Because of this our classes are generally quite quiet, with very little barking, just the odd round of applause. We also welcome any breed - we have had both ends of the breed spectrum from Chihuahua to Great Dane.

Because we are out on a field, many dogs who don’t cope very well with the proximity of other dogs in a hall environment do quite well at our Agility classes. It is also a great place to practice that off-lead control that so many owners can only dream of.

Basic training (preferably to the standard of our Intermediate course) is a prerequisite for joining the Agility classes. Classes run during the year for as long as the weather holds out, we do usually have to break for the winter - but who knows with Global Warming!

Classes are £5 per session. There are no set courses.

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About One-to-One Training....

Most dogs & owners progress faster when in a class situation surrounded by other owners & dogs that are having similar issues. However, there are some dogs that simply cannot cope with a class environment, either because they are nervous or because they get over excited in the presence of other dogs.

In these cases we can offer one-to-one training in the home, or on occasion at our training hall or field. The appropriateness of this will be judged on a case-by-case basis. 

One-to-one sessions are charged at the following rates:

At one of our venues - £30 per hour
In the owner’s home - £40 per hour (further charges may be added if travelling time exceeds half an hour)

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About Behavioural Consultations....

We can offer help for all behaviour problems. The normal “puppy problems” like house training, pulling on lead, jumping up, destructiveness etc., we address in our Puppy/Basic Training course. 

Fear-based problems (including phobias) and aggression (dog-dog aggression & dog-human aggression) problems will require a full behavioural consultation. This involves an extensive questionnaire followed by a 2 hour home visit during which a plan of action will be decided. Continuing help by phone and/or email will be included. For some cases, more than one visit may be necessary.

We are very experienced at dealing with aggression problems. In cases of dog-human aggression we obviously require full disclosure of the extent of the problem before we visit the home. 

Please note: unlike in the popular TV programs on dog training, in the real world there are no quick fixes for behaviour problems. If you want a quick fix that requires no or little effort on your part, then we are not the people for you.

Consultations are charged at the following rates:

First visit (2 hours) - £70*
Subsequent visits - £40 per hour*

(* further charges may be added if travelling time exceeds half an hour)

 

“In the dog’s interest” used with the kind permission of London Canine Training Establishment