What to Do Before Your Puppy’s First Training Class
Bringing your puppy to their first training class is an exciting step. However, it can also feel a little nerve-racking, especially if you are afraid your puppy will be the worst behaved or most frightened one in the room!
At Canine Kids, we understand that every puppy arrives with their own unique personality and learns at a different pace. Our puppy training classes in Surrey are designed to help both you and your puppy feel supported from the very beginning.
Choosing the Right Class for Your Puppy’s Age
Before booking, it is important to make sure your puppy is in the right class for their stage of development.
Our Pup1 Foundation Level classes are specially designed for puppies up to 18 weeks old. These early weeks are a key time for socialisation, building their confidence and teaching essential life skills.
For older puppies and young dogs from 19 weeks up to 2 years, we offer Pup2 and Pup3 adolescent and adult dog classes. These focus on calmness, focus, responsiveness and impulse control around distractions.
Pack the Essentials
A little preparation helps your puppy settle more easily. That’s why before class, we recommend bringing:
Plenty of small, tasty treats
A comfortable collar or harness and lead
Poo bags
A favourite toy
A blanket or mat if your puppy already uses one
Water, especially after travelling
It’s usually best not to feed a large meal just before class. A puppy who is slightly hungry is often more interested in treats during reward-based training! However, they should still feel comfortable and well.
Keep them Calm Beforehand
Your puppy’s first class is a big experience, so it helps to keep the rest of the day quiet. Avoid long walks, bringing in lots of visitors or busy outings beforehand.
Our classes are small and carefully managed to create a laid-back learning environment, but your puppy will still be taking in new sights, smells, people and other puppies. Arriving rested gives them the best chance to learn and enjoy themselves.
Do Not Worry If Your Puppy Is Not ‘Perfect’
Many owners worry that their puppy needs to know basic cues before starting class, but that’s not the case.
At Canine Kids, we are here to help you build those foundations using kind, reward-based and positive reinforcement methods. There is no force, no shouting and no pressure for puppies to get everything right straight away.
Our classes focus on useful everyday skills, including paying attention, the foundations for recall, loose lead walking, polite greetings, settling, skills involving play and preventing problems like biting early on.
Know What Support Is Available
Our puppy classes are led by Karen Lockey-Kennedy, a highly qualified puppy behaviour and training specialist with over 25 years of experience. We keep groups small, with a maximum of five puppies, so each puppy receives individual guidance.
We also offer puppy socialisation sessions, one-to-one puppy training and ongoing support for owners who would like extra help.
Give Your Puppy the Best Start in Life
Your puppy’s first training class is not about perfection. It is about helping them feel safe, confident and ready to learn.
At Canine Kids, we help families across Camberley, Farnham, Fleet, Godalming, Northchapel, Guildford and the wider Surrey area raise calm, confident family dogs through kind, modern training methods.