At The Pet Doctors, our Puppy Pre School is designed to take maximal advantage of the crucial period in a puppy’s development called the Socialisation Period. During this time, which occurs between 3 – 16 weeks of age, puppies are learning all about life through visiting new environments, having lots of novel experiences and meeting new people and other puppies and dogs. The experiences that they have at this special time will influence their Behaviour and Confidence later in life. Without these experiences puppies can grow up to be fearful of new environments, show separation anxiety when they are away from you and even become scared or aggressive towards other people or dogs. Therefore, the Socialisation Period is the ideal time to help them to prevent any anxiety, say with meeting other dogs or people, and teach them how to socialise in a happy and relaxed way so that you have a well-mannered, happy dog which is a joy to own.

During the classes, which run once weekly for 4 weeks, we will cover:
• The psychology of how puppies learn and play
• How to meet people and other dogs in a well-mannered and relaxed way
• Toilet training your pup
• Essential healthcare issues specific to puppyhood
• Skills in animal handling so that your puppy will grow up happy for you to check it over and administer medications and other treatments
• Simple obedience tasks including – Sit , wait and come

When we first introduce our puppies to our Pre School we use a food trail so they develop good memories of the practice and look forward to visiting again. Remember, the main goal is to socialise your pup, so there will several opportunities during each class for this. There’s a lot of information to cover and you will be set homework so come prepared!

The classes are run in the evening at The Pet Doctors, Northcross. Puppies should be aged between 8 and 12 weeks at the start of the course and have had their first vaccination. To book, simply contact the practice and we’ll register your spot in the next class.