Hi everyone, We are getting a black lab puppy on Friday and she is called Josie. Very excited but also very nervous incase we aren't up to looking after her! I have been looking into puppy training classes and wanted to hear other peoples opinons on them as I cannot decide if it is worth the money? Thanks
Hi Kerry, I have a 22 week old black lab puppy; we decided against puppy classes, as we did a ton of socialization and early training on our own. We did a few "drop in" puppy play times and started obedience classes with dogs of all ages at 16 weeks instead (here most puppy classes are from 8-16 weeks only). This approach is working really well for us and I found she is doing just well (if not better) as other pups who did the puppy classes. She will "graduate" at 6 months, so we have the basics to continue with recall, walking on leash, distraction etc as she gets older. Hope this helps!
No I don't have it, is it worth getting? Our breeder gave us a eubanka book I think it was called? Very excited but just anxious too as we (I live at home with with dad so its us that is caring for it) both work full time, we are taking the 1st two weeks for her settle in though. We both also work very close to home to be able to pop home at lunchtimes. Thanks for the information about the classes, I think we will manage on our own but I am just having doubts...!
Hi Kerry, I think you will find this article helpful: Advice On Raising A Puppy When You Work Full Time Working full time when you have a puppy can be successful, but you will need to have some good plans in place for who is going to care for her when you aren't around. Check out the article, and do let us know if you have any questions. Lucy
Hi Kerry and welcome new puppy arrival is exciting but can also be daunting so yes, The Happy Puppy Handbook will be invaluable for you . Puppy classes, well I don't know to be honest I didn't go to any, mainly because the local ones were just an excuse for all the pups to go crackers , get completely over excited and nothing was learned , but I guess if you find a good one, that's different . I preferred to train my dogs myself, but we all differ in our views, good luck
Welcome Kerry from Hattie 8 years and our rescue boy Charlie 5 years. Enjoy your little bundle of joy and don't worry everyone is here to help you. Helen xx
Hi, as a new puppy owner myself I'd say the settling in period takes longer than 2 weeks, would you consider splitting the time off so she can have someone at home for 4 weeks?
Hi and welcome to you and little Josie. I think it's pretty safe o say that we all felt pretty nervous in the days before bringing our puppies home, and probably doubted our sanity in the days and weeks afterwards Definitely invest in the Happy Puppy Handbook which is full of practical information and advice. I fear it twice before ringing my pup home, made my husband read it and referred to it frequently. I didn't have the option of attending puppy classes as it's something tat just wasn't available to us in France, I did however have a Rainer and some 121 lessons which helped with some of the basics, loose lead walking, walking around town etc, off lead walking and recall. Puppy classes can be very god, and they can also be very bad. If I was getting a puppy I would visit local puppy classes first, a good trainer should have no problems with a prospective client sitting in as an observer. The class shouldn't be large chunks of free play for the puppies but helping you with the skills to train your puppy.
Thanks for all your replies I appreciate it! I think for the first few months I will be able to pop home during my breaks at work aswell as lunch until she can hold her bladder for more than an hour! I have neighbours that would also be willing to let her out for the toilet during the time between my breaks! My brother is also at home two days out of the five working days so that will also be a big help, we would also look into a dog Walker should we need but gonna take it as it comes and see how her temperament is! Thanks again everyone
Hi and welcome to the forum. Harley was my first ever dog/puppy so I was very apprehensive too. I really recommend the Happy Puppy Book, it's got lots of good tips. I went to puppy classes as never been around many dogs and found it really good for teaching her to settle when around other dogs. The training itself was quite basic, but some of it was useful. I also work very close to home. I had her first 2 weeks off work, then went back on reduced hours for another 2 weeks (I only work 25 hours pw normally). I also take her to work sometimes (since she was 1 years old). I have a very good dog walker who comes in twice a week to walk her. On these days I leave the house at 9.30am, dog walker comes in at 11.30am, drops her back around 12.45/1pm then I'm home by 3/4pm latest. Harley is now nearly 3 and I only leave her for a max of 4 hours at a time. When I first went back to work my neighbour popped in every 30-45 mins to take her out for a wee. This only happened for 4 weeks until she was able to hold her bladder a bit longer. Look forward to seeing photos of Josie
We went to puppy classes and really didn't like them very much - I dropped out after 5 weeks - but I think possibly they were worthwhile just as an opportunity for my boy to meet other dogs (we are pretty rural so he doesn't often meet other dogs on his walks). Other people on this forum have gone to very good ones and found them brilliant. Whereabouts do you live? And welcome to the forum..... really looking forward to hearing all about your adventures!
I have just ordered the happy puppy handbook so should come in the next few days! Thanks for the recommendations! I live in Aberdeenshire Scotland and there is a well recommended dog trainer just outside my town so I have emailed her to enquire more information!
Aww that's great it's nice up here! I'm about 40 miles north east of Aberdeen, a small town called Huntly. Plenty of walks round here for Josie!
Exciting, frustrating and times ahead which will eventually settle down to such pleasure in owning a dog. I did take mine to puppy classes but they were good ones. I do not recommend ones where puppies have a free for all. We each had a chair and a mat, puppies did not socialise and taught the pups, sit, come, lie down etc and if a pup became too noisy, it was given a kong. We were taught about dog behaviour etc. Puppies very happy and learning in a relaxed way.
Hello and welcome to you and your new arrival! The Happy Puppy Book is great, an essential read. I went to classes but probably not until 16 or 18 weeks and found them invaluable. Having said that, our trainer was more "traditional" than positive reinforcement which is what Pippa on her website and forum tries to promote. In hindsight, there were a lot better ways of doing the training that we did, but I had no experience to know otherwise. I guess if you are confident you know what to do that you could do without them, but that socialisation may be something you would get at a class but maybe not on a daily basis if you are more rural. Very best of luck with Josie. So exciting. We all love photos, so check out our Technical and Help section jac
Thanks I am still waiting to hear back from the lady who does the classes but sounds like they would be worth a try anyway! The only thing I am worried about is leaving her whilst we are work but I'm sure wr will come to an agreement that keeps us and josie happy!
