Puppies are like young children exuberant, happy and wanting to learn. What they learn however is determined by events that they are exposed to during the formative period, known as conditioning, and this determines how the individual interperates and interacts with the world around it. The new pup is purchased with all the right intentions however some of these animals grow up to become uncontrollable or a nuisance to their owners and the general public. This may result from something as simple as the owner not understanding their puppy. Every pup is a individual with their own personality and there is no one rule book for all. This makes it hard for owners to understand what temperament their dog has and how they should handle it.

The time between 8 and 20 weeks of age is the most crucial time in their life. This is when they need to be socialsed with other young dogs to build up their confidence and to experience new surroundings, interactions and people. This can be quite daunting for new owners, especially if they have not previously owned a dog. We try and aim our Puppy Pre-school classes for people such as this as we understand there is quite a lot of information to take in. 

Class Structure

The classes are broken down into three segments:

• Playtime
• Information
• Questions

Playtime

The playtime is where the puppies are allowed to interact on their own and at their own pace while being supervise.

They learn to interpret the body language and actions of other dogs as well as increasing their confidence in a new situation. This can become very noisy but at the same time a lot of fun for the owners and dogs alike.

Information

Topics relative to the health and development of a pup up to the age of 6 months are discussed and an information package given to each owner. Instructions on how to teach basic obedience are also given at this time. Each week a new command is taught however due to the age of the pups we are dealing with we do not expect them to necessarily master them by the end of the course.

Question Time

This is where we offer solutions to why their pups might howl in the middle of the night or why it digs holes. Health issues such as heartworm prevention as also discussed. We come across a great diversity of questions as with every week that passes each pup will do something different that baffles their owners. Problems can also be discussed over a cuppa and a biscuit at the end of the night.

When and Where?

The classes are held at the hospital on a Thursday night from 6pm to 7pm. They run over a 4 week period in which time we have loads of fun. The owners leave with a bit more understanding of this energy-driven bundle of joy and the knowledge that if they have a problem they dont have to be afraid of asking. We believe it is best to try and prevent a problem before waiting until it happens and then having to deal with it.

I can not stress the benefit we are seing in the animal community since Puppy Preschools have started. The nurses in the hospital are getting bitten less (and thats a good thing) but also people are more tuned into their animals and understanding of their requirements. 

Contact Details

If you are interested in finding out a bit more about our classes or would like to know when the next class commences then give one of the nurses who runs the class a ring on 41531399. We look forward to seeing you and your precious pet soon.

Puppy Preschool was started at the Hospital in June 1998. Since then we have seen many pups go thorugh and graduate

bringing joy to their owners. We have had a lot of fun through the years and if we had a video camera handy we could have won funniest Home videos a number of times. The main aim of Puppy Preschool is to ease the puppy into the world at large by developing its social adaptive mechanisms.