Puppy Training Classes
What do you want your puppy to be like when he’s grown up? Let’s start working towards that, today.
Want to get your puppy started on the right paw? Our puppy training classes are a great way to prevent problems from starting, teach social skills, good manners, and a positive attitude about learning. We want to teach you how to teach your puppy so he wants to listen and earn praise!
Class rules:
- a maximum of 14 dogs per class
- a maximum of two people per dog
- students must be 16 years of age or older, no exceptions
- Please bring training treats for your dog (small, like pencil eraser size)
How puppy class works:
Each week, we cover different topics, practice around distractions, and work with you, wherever you and your puppy are at in your training. We’ll do a warm up to get the puppies attention, then talk and cover some topics, then bring the puppies out to practice.
Puppy class is for:
- Introducing training
- Socialization
- Problem prevention & solving
- Relationship building
- Building your puppy’s attention span
- Teaching self control, patience, and acceptance
Some of the topics covered in puppy training classes include:
- Voice
- Treats
- Training tools
- Teaching puppy their name
- Watch me
- Sit
- Down
- Stay
- Housetraining
- Leave It
- Give & Tug
- Food & Nutrition
- Walk Nicely on Leash
- Social Manners
- Come
- No Barking
- Accepting Handling
- No Bite
- No Jump
- Fear
- Adolescence
- Fun Games & Puzzles
- Problem Solving
- Sleeping through the night
Class is a combination of time talking and answering questions and plenty of time to practice with supervision. We want your puppy to get accustomed to working around distractions! We also want to make sure that you’re practicing well, so that at home and on walks, you can get your puppy to do anything you ask.
For tips and pointers, browse our puppy training section.
For information about how we teach, see Our Training Methods.
Let’s start raising the coolest dog ever—yours!
Requirements to attend:
- Your puppy must be between 10 and 16 weeks of age to begin this course
Puppies older than 16 weeks are ready to enroll in a Basic obedience class. - Two sets of vaccinations and a first deworming are required prior to attending, please bring proof with you to the first class.
Class details:
- Puppy class is one hour a week for six weeks:
- The cost is $150
- Class size is limited to 12 puppies. Registration and payment must be completed prior to first class meeting.
How to Join:
Please use the button below for online registration.
Registering online enables us to contact you if, for any reason, class will not be held.
First class:
- Bring proof of vaccinations. A vet receipt is fine.
- Bring your puppy on leash and whatever collar you’re currently using
- No retractable or “flexi” leashes please
When registering for this class you are agreeing:
- to be solely responsible for the actions of my dog from the moment my dog arrives until the time my dogs leave the property.
- to be responsible for the actions of my dog and to hold Kindred Spirits Dog Training, its trainers, and its owners harmless for any claim of loss of injury to myself, my dog and any injury my dog may cause to any other dog, down owner or bystander.
- to take photographs ONLY of my own dog, not photographs that include other people or their dogs.
- that once the class has begun, unless special circumstances apply, no refunds will be given unless Kindred Spirits Dog Training cancels the class.
(If you must miss a class, we will work with you to help you make up what was missed.)
How do we get all this awesomeness going?
Still have questions?
Keep scrolling for more information about:
- Puppy STAR Program
- Puppy Playtime
- Vaccines
- Class emails
- Children in class
Still have questions?
See our FAQ for even more information
And feel free to contact us!
Puppy play time is where puppies get to run and play with one another! Puppies playing with other puppies, outside of their family, is wonderful for teaching body language, dog manners, communication and social skills, and a little bit of patience, too! You can bring your puppy to puppy play once your puppy is enrolled in class and has attended at least one class session. We do not hold play on major holidays. Thursdays 6:00-7:00 pm, $5 per session
We participate in the American Kennel Club’s STAR Puppy Program. We include certain topics in our class and on week 6, you and your puppy will complete the STAR test–it’s a breeze for most! For puppies who pass, paperwork can be sent in to receive an AKC certificate and medal. For more information go to www.akc.org STAR stands for:
- Socialization – Your puppy learns to be at ease around people, other dogs, and the outside world
- Training – Your puppy learns Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Walk on Leash, Leave it, and other commands
- Activity – You learn how to exercise your puppy’s mind and body in fun and educational ways
- Responsibility – Teaching your puppy how to be a good citizen in the human world
We recognize that puppy owners have to weigh the risks of socialization against their puppy’s vulnerability to disease.
- Two sets of vaccinations and a first deworming are required prior to attending
- We also ask that puppies be kept up-to-date on vaccines throughout the class.
- If your puppy shows any signs of illness, please keep your puppy home and let us know how your puppy is feeling.
- We maintain contacts with many veterinarians in the area to stay up to date about any local health concerns.
We have set the criteria for attendance in our puppy classes based on position statements from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (JAHA), the American Kennel Club (AKC), and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB). All of these organizations encourage owners to attend group classes with their puppies to promote socialization behavior and help prevent behavioral problems.
“Puppies go through a sensitive period of socialization when they are uniquely prepared to benefit from exposure to social opportunities,” said AVSAB president, Dr. E. Kathryn Meyer.
That’s a lot of topics up there, right? We are here to help. Each week, we send an email after class with step by step instructions of what we talked about and what to practice. Just in case you had to take a potty break, we’ve got you covered.
We can no longer allow children in class. No one under the age of 16 will be allowed to attend class.