In-Home Puppy Training

Premier Puppy Program

Our Premier Puppy Program can be added to any of our main training programs so that you and your puppy have a few more sessions with our trainer to focus on important training to help prevent common forms of canine aggression and anxiety from developing when your puppy gets older.  This is some of the most important and beneficial training that can be done for your dog but because of the periods of canine development, there is a small window of opportunity to do this preventative training with puppies… so our Premier Puppy Program is only available in combination with your initial training program.  


FAQ – My puppy has a great temperament.  Does he really need this additional training?  

  • Absolutely!  Most fearfulness, aggression, and anxiety does not develop in dogs until around eight months of age and older!  Even puppies that have a great temperament can develop these behaviors from lack of proper and sufficient training.  It’s nature vs. nurture…nature is what is bred into your dog such as temperament but nurture is what happens to your dog in his life (or lack there of) that contributes to behavioral issues.   

Training in this puppy program includes:

RESOURCE GUARDING

Training to help prevent resource guarding so that you don’t have to worry about your puppy becoming aggressive around resources such as food, toys, beds, furniture, etc.  This is important no matter what…but even more important if your dog will be around young children!

HANDLING and GROOMING

Handling exercises so that you are able to easily groom your dog and don’t have to worry about your puppy becoming aggressive when groomed or touched in sensitive areas.  We can help make these situations less stressful for both your puppy and the handler whether that is you, your veterinarian, groomer, pet sitter, etc.  Too many dogs experience high levels of stress at the veterinarian’s office and have to be muzzled or even put under just to have a simple procedure done.  Even the most well-behaved dogs can act very badly when they are stressed.  We can help prevent that from happening with this program.

Some common examples of problems that are solved with this training:

  • Does your puppy bite the brush when you try to brush him?  
  • How about when it’s time to wipe those paws after coming inside?  Is your puppy chewing at the towel or trying to get away?
  • What happens when your dog gets an ear infection or eye infection….will you be able to administer the medicated drops without your dog fighting you or running away?  What about changing your dog’s bandage if he is injured?  
  • Did you know that you should brush your dog’s teeth?  Brushing your dog’s teeth regularly will save you a lot of money because dogs are typically put under to have their teeth professionally cleaned which also does not come without health risk.  Without this preventative training, brushing your dog’s teeth can be an unpleasant battle for you and your pup.
  • Even if you plan to let the groomer or veterinarian trim your dog’s nails…this can be stressful and dangerous for your puppy if he is not trained to lay still for this procedure.   

EXPOSURE TRAINING

Proper exposure training so that your puppy does not become fearful or anxious as he gets older around people, kids, dogs, different environments, noises, etc.  An overwhelmingly large number of dogs are aggressive or anxious from improper exposure training when a puppy is young.  This could be from a lack of exposure or also from being exposed too much too quickly.  We can help guide you in the right direction with this program.

Just one example of exposure training is exercises so that your puppy learns he does not have to be afraid of fireworks or thunderstorms…we specifically mention these because they are extremely stressful times for a lot of dogs and therefore their humans too!  

You may have heard of the importance to socialize your puppy with other dogs but do you know how to do so safely?  Which dogs are safe to socialize with?  On leash or off leash?  Just one bad experience can traumatize your puppy for life…especially if it happens during the fear imprint period.  Our Premier Puppy Program will answer those questions and teach you the best way to socialize your puppy.   (Socializing does not take place during in-home training unless you have a specific dog you want help introducing to your puppy).

BITE INHIBITION

Bite inhibition exercises so that your puppy knows the strength of their jaws and how to control the pressure accordingly.  This is crucial to be taught as early as possible.

SEPARATION ANXIETY

Training to prevent separation anxiety so that you don’t have to worry about your dog destroying your home or harming himself because of the high levels of stress he experiences when left alone….unfortunately another too common behavior with dogs that can often easily be avoided with some preventative exercises when they are puppies.  


Most puppies  need a little more help in some areas than others so we will use our additional time together in the best way for your puppy…focusing on what he needs most.  We offer this Premier Puppy Program so that we can include all of this training in addition to what we would typically cover in our main programs but if you prefer, we could also customize your main program to include some of this training by removing some other exercises typically done in that program.  We want to make sure we can help everyone regardless of their budget.  If you like your main program choice as-is and would like to also include all of this puppy preventative training, the investment for our Premier Puppy Program is $385.