Interested in socialising your puppy with St Francis Veterinary Hospital? We offer a 6-week training course held at our Edenvale branch. Puppy classes are essentially where owners are educated, and their puppies are socialized.
- Puppies learn to be well mannered, confident and social companions
- Owners are taught how to communicate with their puppy and what to provide in order to maximize their puppy’s potential.
We are fortunate to have Tersia Kok as our certified trainer, Tersia has completed several courses in this field. She prides herself on the fact that she continues to update her knowledge of dog training methods and behaviour on a regular basis. Tersia has been involved in dog training at different levels since 1998 and is proudly associated with many professional bodies such as SABCAP, The animal behaviour consultants of SA, PP Guild and Tellington TTouch.
We focus on the following topics during class:
- Introduction of puppies and owners:
Hygiene, Injuries, Vaccinations, Children and equipment, Cruelty, Responsible dog owners, Sterilisation and Nutrition and Obstacle courses
- Basic stages of canine development
- Clicker Training
Clicker training is technology and a philosophy. It makes use of the principals of operant and classical conditioning. It also entails a different way of thinking, a way of relating to another living being – dogs –and creates a partnership which is mutually reinforcing and pleasurable. The clicker is a piece of plastic with a metal ‘tongue’ which makes a noise when you press on it. It marks the behaviour you want to reinforce. It can be compared with taking a picture of the desired behaviour.
- Basic Obedience:
Eye Contact, Name recognition, Settle, Sit and down, Stay, come when call or recall, Give or swop, walking on a loose leash, Leave and gently.
- Behavioural Information:
Bite Inhibition, House training, Resource guarding, Chewing, Toys, Digging, Jumping up, Crate training, Time alone and waking up
- TTouch:
- Graduation:
This is where all the hard work pays off; you get to proudly watch your puppy graduate from “Puppy School”. Many companies have generously given prizes for each puppy as they too realize the importance of training from a young age
Upon registration a full class manual will be provided, please contact us to find out when our next session will be starting.
We look forward to welcoming you and your puppy to our family.
Please take note of our class rules:
- All dog’s vaccinations need to be up to date prior to joining the class
- Dogs must have a fitting harness and lead (no choke chains are allowed)
- Please remember to bring soft treats to the class e.g. Boiled chicken
- Please ensure you clean up after your dogs if they do their business while attending the class
- Do not jerk on your dog’s lead when another dog approaches, keep it loose and relaxed
- Do not pull, push or force your dog to perform
- Classes will be cancelled if it’s raining, and there will be no classes held over long weekends or public holidays unless arranged in advance
- Children are always welcome in class, but please note that all kids under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult who must supervise the child at all times
- No refunds will be given for cancellations due to owner’s non-attendance
We look forward to welcoming you and spending the next 6 weeks together.
Interested? Download our registration form below and return to:
reception@stfrancisvets.co.za