Did you know that the first year of a dog's development is the approx. equivalent of 18 human years?!  

Your puppy grows from birth to young adult in only one year.  

                -Infancy        -Toddler (terrible 2's & 3's)      - easier child stage

                -preteen        -Teenager (ug!)        -Young Adult

Think of all the milestones children hit at 1 year, 4 years, 10 years, 15 years. Your dog does all of that in one year!  There are not just physical changes in your puppy, there are intelectual, social and emotional changes as well.  Your puppy at 8 weeks of age is a very different dog at 16 weeks.  At 8 months pups are much more mature than they were when they were 16 weeks, but you can't compare this to the maturity of a 1 year old dog.  And so on and so forth.

YOU NEED TO START A TRAINING AND SOCIALIZATION PROGRAM NOW!!

Here's how it usually goes for most people:

Puppy comes home @ 8 weeks old
An 8 week old puppy is just coming out of it's infancy stage.   At this age a puppy is very dependent on you.  He will follow you all over the house and get under your feet.  He is not extremly active, and when he is it's short lived and he sleeps it off. At this age they sleep a lot!  He comes to you when you call him with no hesitation.  He's the perfect puppy.  You tell yourself this is going to be a breeze and that you picked the perfect dog. 

Puppy @ 10 weeks old
Your puppy is more aware, he is more inquisitive and he has settled into your home.  He is starting to get into things, but it's no big deal.  You tell him "no" and you take it away or remove him from the situation.  He is still coming to you when you call him.  Something new:  his puppy biting is getting a little rougher. He now comes to you and asks for attention.

Puppy @ 12 - 16 weeks old
Your puppy is basically a toddler now.  This will last for 4-6 weeks.  He is clearly smarter than he was 3 weeks ago.  He is now stealing stuff and when you say "no" he is running away with it.  He is starting to chew on things he is not supposed to and he is puppy biting you much harder now and your children are less than impressed with his sharp teeth.  You have taught him to sit for a treat but within this 4 to 6 week stage he is not coming to you like he used to.  In fact, it's clear that he is coming when HE wants to.  Some people enrol in a puppy training class.

Puppy @ 6 - 8 months old
Welcome to the start of your dogs teenage months.  Just as in human children, the teenage months are the most challenging because your puppy is going to test your rules and boundaries at every turn.  Your puppy already has an established relationship with you.  He knows your weeknesses and will use them to manipulate and do what he wants.  Your dog is now ignoring you when you call him from something better than you, and that could be simply sniffing around in the back yard.  This is a common age for dog owners to seek obedience training. However, it's a tough age to start establishing core obedience because your dog is still easily distracted and is in a defiant period of development.  It's never too late, but you could be MUCH farther ahead if you had started training months ago. Your dog should, at this age, be able to "sit" and let you walk all around him, walk away 60-100 feet and then give him a "down" command from that distance and throw a few toys around. Most people are lucky if they can get a 10 second stay at this age.

Puppy @ 9 - 12 months old
Your puppy is still a teenager, but during this stage is becoming more emotionally mature all the time.  Your puppy is capaple of MORE training now.  You can do some basic off-leash work in preparation for a completely off-leash trained dog between 12 months and 14 months old.  Your puppy should know sit, down, stay, recall and a variety of other commands.  Your puppy should, at this stage, start training for laying down outside the coffee shop and staying until you get back. Shockingly, most people don't even start to train their dog until this stage!! Again, better late than never, but by this age, your dog should be in the home stretch for being a reliably obedient dog off the leash (this means come when called regardless of distractions, sticking around you when he is off his leash, not bolting to see other dogs or animals, and staying for extended periods of time, calmly).

Puppy Preschool

What I am offering you through Puppy Preschool is the opportunity to learn how to train your puppy "right" from an early age.  This course is an in-your-home course that focuses on the key elements that will shape your puppy into a well rounded, obedient dog in the future.  As with all the courses that I offer, you will receive a detailed manual  that will cover topics that include:

Here's the break down:

5 lessons - Approx. 1 hour each.  Course Fee: $225 + tax

Lesson One - At your home.  You meet me and receive your training manual.  We do some Q&A and then some basic obedience concepts.  You get your first homework!

Lesson Two - We continue obedience, teaching your puppy a few more obedience concepts.  We do some handling exercises and a nail clipping lesson (if you want it) and go for a little walk.  We teach door manners so you can open your door without a dog bolting out into the street.

Lesson Three - By this lesson your puppy knows about marking training, the sit command and the down command.  Now we work on stay.  This week you will learn to teach your puppy to stay when you throw toys, walk all around him, walk away from him and briefly leave the room.

Lesson Four - We meet at a busy public area and work on socializing your puppy with the world.  You receive instruction on how to manage your puppy so he doesn't jump on people when being pet.  We will start some basic obedience in this public area as well.  Your puppy will meet one of my dogs.

Lesson 5 - We put the finishing touches on Jr. Obedince skills and the finishing touches on ringing a bell to go out to potty.  Emergency Recall is introduced.

Puppy Preschool Fee: $250

Perhaps you would be interested in Competition Puppy?