How cool would it be if you could learn to successfully communicate with your dog so you can understand one another?  Well now you can! 

Walk the Dog Puppies is a fun and friendly puppy class course designed to help local new dog owners learn how to have a calm and responsive dog.  The five week courses located at The Village Centre in Leverstock Green are run by the award winning Berkhamsted based pet care company Walk the Dog. 

The courses help owners to teach their dog's the basics from recall, sit, stay, heeling, ‘leave’.  And, being run by certified canine behaviour specialist Hanne Grice, owner of Walk the Dog, the courses also teach dog owners how to avoid unwanted behaviours and deal with common problems in a calm, consistent and convincing way, without the need for gadgets, gizmos or force.  The classes have a maximum of 5 puppies per class, this ensures the owners and puppies have the time, attention and care they deserve.

So, below we’ve got some top tips to set you and your puppy on the road to successful dog training! 

· Lower your expectations. Remember, your puppy is just a baby; he doesn’t know he should toilet outside, or know even his name.  A human baby takes many months to learn to walk, talk, and toilet training can take years.  It's the same principle when you're training your puppy – patience, understanding and consistency is the key to successful training.

· Adolescence.  Around 4 months of age, the puppy moves into adolescence.  They get bored easily and have no self-control, they like action and speed.  Set some boundaries (e.g.) is the puppy allowed on the sofa by invitation only?  Is the dog allowed upstairs?

· Avoid long training sessions.  The puppy’s ability to concentrate over long periods is poor, and you need to help teach him self-control.  Keep training short, fun and easy.  Teach in steps, like the ‘sit-stay’ - build from one second to three seconds, five seconds and so on.

· Have fun with your puppy.  Play with your dog!  This teaches him to focus on you and builds the association that you’re fun to be with!  Playing helps build a bond with your dog too and is a great way for children to get involved.  Focus more energy into good play than walking the puppy.  Playing gives the dog mental exercise, as well as, physical exercise.  Over walking the puppy at a young age can cause problems to the hips and joints later down the line.

· Allow the puppy breaks and rest if he looses his concentration while training.

· Slowly introduce new experiences, environments, noises, machinery, clothing, animals and people to the puppy.  Take it slowly!  You mustn’t put pressure on your puppy or yourself.   Your behaviour dictates the behaviour of your dog.  If the puppy is scared by something move away in a calm manner, avoid making a fuss of the dog as this will only re-enforce the dog’s scared behaviour - you're as good as telling him "yes, be afraid!"  Show you are not bothered and there is no need for concern.

· Never hit, shout or punish the puppy.  Aggression only begets aggression.

· Toilet training.  Look for the key times the puppy will go; typically upon walking, playing and eating.  Pups will sniff and circle before eliminating.  Encourage the puppy outside into the garden.  As the puppy eliminates say a word like “be clean”, this builds the association of that word to that action, so in time you’ll be able to say the word and the dog will eliminate.  Once the pup has finished, praise with food reward immediately and say “good dog”, this positively re-enforces this ‘wanted’ behaviour.  Don’t go inside the house straight after the puppy has been to the toilet, as the puppy may learn to hold on for longer, as they want more time to explore the outside!  If the pup goes to the toilet inside the house and you haven’t caught him in the act, simply clean it up with no fuss (say nothing and no eye contact).  If you catch the puppy about to go or mid-flow – pick it up gently and take outside (repeat as above).

· Start grooming early.  Teach your puppy that grooming is a pleasant experience.  Brush him when he’s sleepy, gently touch ears/teeth/paws to enable him to get used to being investigated in these areas.  This will help when he goes to the vets, or when you need to clip his claws or brush his teeth.

· Learn to communicate with your dog.  Learn the dog’s language and you’ll understand each other and have the relationship you deserve.  Call Hanne Grice at Walk the Dog to find out how you can achieve this.

For more information about our 5 week puppy courses and our other services, call Walk the Dog on 01442 878628 / 07976 743031 or email us at: info@walk-the-dog.net

- Courses: £65.00 (includes free refreshments)

- Venue: The Buglass Room, Village Centre, The Village Hall, Leverstock Green, Hertfordshire HP3 8QG.

- Time: 6.30-7.30pm

Now taking bookings for March course, starts Tuesday 9th March 2010.