Worried about letting your new puppy off the lead?
Struggling to get your puppy to sleep through the night?
Finding owning a puppy much harder work than expected?
I’m Laura, your personal puppy trainer and I am here to help
Whilst you may have already mastered ‘sit’, it can be much more challenging to teach your puppy to walk nicely on a lead, and a daunting experience to let them off lead in the park. Your dream of having an adorable new addition in your family can quickly turn into a nightmare when they are pooing on the floor, chewing the furniture and refusing to sleep through the night.
Without training things have the potential to get worse. A dog who pulls on the lead, disappears for hours in the woods and jumps on guests becomes a liability rather than a joy to own. Many dogs end up in rescue centres when they change from cute puppies to hormone filled adolescents.
I have been training puppies for over 10 years, and raised 3 pups of my own – Bear the Jack Russell, Siri the Dalmatian and Emba the Pomeranian x Chihuahua. I know what it is like to have sleepless nights, puddles on the floor, the kids screaming because the puppy has bitten them or run off with a treasured belonging and be standing out in the rain at midnight trying to get the new addition to have a poo. Having worked with a variety of breeds from tiny Yorkshire Terriers to Great Danes and Newfoundland’s, I understand the individual needs of each puppy and owner.
Is your puppy biting you and your family?
Are you fed up with cleaning up puddles on the floor?
Wish your puppy had an off switch?
Feel you are lacking a routine with your new addition that works for the whole household?
Part of the Family is a free online mini course comprising of 5 videos for you to watch at your leisure. Get help with toilet training, play biting, feeding and setting a routine, sleep and teaching your puppy to be calm.
Things have changed a lot in my time working with dogs. After I first qualified as a Puppy School Tutor back in 2010 I ran classes of up to 8 puppies and their families in a local village hall. There was always a real mixture of different breeds, sizes and temperaments of pups.
The criteria was they had to be under 20 weeks old, but there is a big difference between a 19 week old Great Dane and a 10 week old Chihuahua. Puppies were taught to walk on a standard collar and lead, where as now days a harness is considered a better option.
Trying to teach a class with timid pups that found the world a scary place, and bouncy pups who just wanted to play was always tricky. With up to 8 clients and their puppies in a class, there was little time for to give each person personalized advice.
Whilst socialization is important, lumping it together with training important life skills can leave the pups and owners struggling to take on board essential information. A young puppy simply can’t learn if all their focus is on playing with the puppy sat next to them.
Over the years I slowly reduced the number of puppies in each class until I started just doing 1-2-1 training for young dogs. This worked much better, but the work done was still artificial. Dogs would excitedly drag their owner into the lesson, behave perfectly in the session, then drag them back to the car afterwards. This isn’t what I wanted. I wanted to teach owners skills that work in day to day life.
Practical Puppy is a unique training course in the way it combines online videos for owners to start teaching at home, with personal 1-2-1 help and advice via face to face training sessions or on Zoom. Your puppy is learning all the time, and the Practical Puppy course ensures both you and your new addition are correctly putting into place the essential life skills in your daily routine.
Training in a format convenient to you….
Face to Face
£180
The combination of online learning materials and 3 x 1-2-1 sessions at our location in Lamberhurst, creates the ideal learning environment. Learn at home where your puppy is most comfortable and then get help fine tuning your skills in your personal session with Laura your trainer.
Zoom
£180
With clients all over the world, zoom is the perfect way to train with us no matter where you live. Get 3x 1-2-1 zoom calls as well as access to the online learning materials.
Online only
£90
Progress through the 6 week online training plan at your convenience, and get the whole family involved.
In your home
£240
Have Laura the trainer come to your home for 3 x 1 hour 1-2-1 sessions to help you work through the online training materials. Train in the environment where your puppy lives and plays.
Group Puppy Walks
£10
Exclusively for those signed up to either the Face to Face, Zoom or Online only training with us. Join us for a short walk suitable for little legs where you can meet other puppies and owners, as well as as Laura any questions you may have. Great to add a socialization element to the training.
What you get at the Dog Owner Training School
“Laura’s support has been invaluable in producing a happy dog who is well on the way to being a delight inside and out, on and off the lead, despite not being the easiest breed. She’s patient and creative, and is able to adapt her approach and advice to the preferences of individual owners and dogs. There are many dog training resources out there, some good, some perhaps less so, but Laura’s non-judgemental approach and willingness to engage directly with specific challenges stand out.” Mrs Moriarty
Pre-recorded demonstration videos
Pre-recorded videos that you can watch and re-watch at a time convenient to you.
Email, phone and WhatsApp support between sessions
Its a bit like having a dog training in your pocket.
More than just training
The course includes a library of information including socializing your puppy, dog communication, car travel and more
Training in your own environment
Learn in the environment where you and your puppy need the training to work. Attending classes in a village hall is very different experience to building the training into your daily life.
A course the whole family can get involved with
It can be difficult to get everyone together at the same time. The online training is accessible to the whole family when it is convenient to them.
Offline learning materials
As part of Practical Puppy you will receive a paper training diary in the post.
Watching the online videos is just one of the steps in training your puppy, and the paper training diary helps keep you on track and record your progress.
“Excellent training programme. The videos are so informative, and full of advice. The benefit of having an online training programme means you can keep watching the videos time and again, and work at yours and your puppy’s pace, without feeling under pressure.
Laura is the fountain of all knowledge, who absolutely loves dogs, and is always available for a chat, and to offer advice when needed” G. Gasson
FAQ
There is no such thing as a silly question. Feel free to contact me laura@dogownertrainingschool.co.uk
“This is an amazing and informative course, at a time when so many things are having to shut down, Laura has come up with the perfect solution! As a new puppy owner this has proved to be a lifeline for us, it covers so much and Laura has been there to answer any questions we have, so it really is tailored towards your own puppy. Highly recommend” T.Harris
What exercises does Practical Puppy cover?
Practical Puppy covers:
– Teach your puppy to calmly walk on a loose lead without pulling
– Advice for safely being able to let your puppy off the lead on walks, how to get them to instantly come when you call and games to ensure they don’t wander far from you
– Teach your puppy to calmly settle on a mat. Very handy for if you want them to chill out in a coffee shop, and to stop them from leaping on guests
– Prepare your puppy for the vets and groomers by making sure they are happy to be handled all over.
– Learn what to do when your puppy picks up something they shouldn’t, and teach them to ‘drop’ your shoes, the tv remote or a ball so you can play fetch
– Teach your puppy not to snatch food, including biscuits on a coffee table
– And no puppy course would be complete without including sit, lie down and stand!
Tell me more about Laura Carter and the Dog Owner Training School
Laura has been professionally helping owners train their pet dogs for over 10 years. She is registered with the Kennel Club to run the Good Citizen Awards from Puppy to Gold.
Laura lives in Kent with her twin daughters, 4 dogs, 3 cats, a house rabbit, tortoises, chickens and a goose called Sam.
What breeds/ age of dog is this suitable for?
This course is suitable for all breeds of dog under a year old.
When and where are sessions held?
Face to face sessions usually take place on Thursday and Friday daytimes fortnightly in a private woodland in Lamberhurst, Kent.
Zoom sessions can take place at various days and times
Training in your home can be booked Monday – Friday daytimes, within 30 minutes drive of Cranbrook, Kent.
It is highly recommended you contact Laura at laura@dogownertrainingschool.co.uk to arrange a convenient time before signing up.