Puppy classes

[catfancier]

I'm thinking about taking over running puppy classes (socialisation - ages 3 - 6 months) at a new pet retail store where I live as I used to do it a few years ago at a previous job. We used a 4x sessions, 1 hour per session format but I am struggling to remember what was covered in the lessons. Does anyone have a list of topics that were covered each session when you took your pup through socialisation and/or basic training lessons?

Thanks

[Giselle]

1) Dog communication skills
2) Handler focus - yes, it matters no matter how old that puppy is! But I'm not talking boring stare-at-me focus. I'm talking about choosing to focus on the handler vs. focusing on the other dogs (this is huuuuuuuuuuge!!!!!!!! HUGE!!!!).
3) Building strong foundation for obedience via clicker
4) Explaining what clicker training is and encouraging its use <-- a lot of people are intimidated and/or don't understand what's so beautiful about clicker training. I would use my own demo dog to demonstrate what's so great about clicker training to encourage the folks to try the same. Specifically, I would do a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot a LOT of games. People get too caught up in what their dogs should so, how they should act, how perfect they should be, etc. I say, screw that. Take out a clicker, bring some treats, and play some games Puppies are supposed to be fun.
5) Learning "mat" or "place" or "crate". In other words, teaching the dog to go to a place and staying there <--essentially for learning calming behaviors.

Have you read Control Unleashed or seen Susan Garrett's Crate Games? They have wonderful wonderful wonderful games that you can play with young puppies to encourage self control and strong handler focus in the face of distractions.

[IRescue452]

Autumn's classes were at the local dog club, I'm not sure I'd ever do obedience at a retail store.

Commands: recall, front, stay, wait, sit, stand, lay down, ok, back, heel

New experiences (mirror, noises, greeting new people)

Touching dog all over so they are used to it (touching paws, ears, belly)

Taught us about NILIF

Basic agility (everything but weave poles)

[Giselle]

IRescue, keep in mind, this is a class geared towards 3-6 month old puppies. I don't think heavy obedience or agility foundation skills should be the highlight of the class I do agree with NILIF and body handling, though. That stuff should begin Day 1 with any dog of any age.

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

Hate to be ignorant, but can you explain the NILIF thing to me? I've seen it mentioned a few times, but I have no idea what it is, lol.

[IRescue452]

That was the 3 month beginner class.

[BC_MoM]

Hate to be ignorant, but can you explain the NILIF thing to me? I've seen it mentioned a few times, but I have no idea what it is, lol.

It means Nothing In Life Is Free. It's great for some dogs, but as always, it's not necessarily a good choice for ALL dogs. Personally, in my training, I take bits and pieces from different methods/theories and make my own up. But NILIF is basically where your dog has to work for everything it receives. Before it's fed, it must sit and wait. Before it goes outside, it must sit and wait until you go through the door first and tell your dog it is okay to go through. Comprende?