I’m about to get a puppy – what do I need to know?
Yeyyy!! It’s amazing that you’ve made that choice – but the hard work starts now.
You’re excited about things and I’ll bet some of the things you’re looking forward to might include puppy cuddles, playing cute little games, all your friends meeting it and swooning over how cute it is, taking it out for walks, having it on the sofa keeping you company. That’s part of the joy of having a dog, right?
But if you’re like most people, you’re probably not that interested in puppy tantrums, having your hands and feet bitten and scratched, having a puppy that jumps all over everyone, a puppy that you can’t walk, or runs off and doesn’t come back when you call it.
And I’ll bet you’ll be even less excited about the puppy still doing those things when it grows up. A cheeky puppy might be cute, but no one loves a disobedient, rude dog – that’s not what you want.
The difference between a good puppy and a naughty puppy (and a naughty dog) starts with you – not the puppy. Right now, you can start to make that difference, well before the puppy arrives.
Puppy Perfect’s methodology, developed over the last 25 years, does not start with the puppy – in fact that’s the last part in the chain. A happy puppy needs the right environment, and that’s on you – your whole family needs to get on board and on the same page.
I can guide you through the steps. I can help you create a plan that gives you confidence. Help you get everything in the right place so you have the best chance of creating an environment your puppy will thrive in. Then I work with you to set ground rules that make sense for everyone involved.
Is it too late to start building the right foundations?
If you’ve just brought your puppy home, with maybe a crate, food, collar, lead and a few toys, then you’ve missed the best opportunity to get everything together, which was before the puppy arrived.
But it’s good that you’re still looking for help early on. Puppy Perfect is all about getting the domestic fundamentals right, and making sure you’re working from solid foundations.
If you already have your puppy at home, I would consider this urgent, because these first few weeks are everything. Your puppy is working out the world, where to sleep, where to eat, where to toilet, who is friendly, who is important, what to bite, and what to play with.
All of these things are an essential part of their environment. And they determine a huge part of the course of your puppy’s life, and as a result, the kind of dog you’re going to end up with.
Getting the Domestic Fundamentals right is not about training the puppy, it’s about you, your family and your home. Every time you see a dog whose behaviour you admire, they will have owners who understand how to shape and create that behaviour. They’re also good at managing and sustaining it over the long-term.
It’s your job to create the foundation for success for you and your puppy – and it’s my job to help you do that, which includes teaching your puppy good behaviour and even a trick or two with treats.
I can give you the blueprint for getting your house and life ready for the puppy and giving you all the best possible chances of success. Then, and only then, should you be worrying about what to teach your puppy.
I’ve already got a badly behaved puppy – can you help?
To be blunt, you’re late to the party. Your puppy’s behaviour is not just about a lack of it having obeyed the rules. Its environment and surroundings are not leading to success. That may include your interactions with it, the way it fits into your family, the setup in your house, how you’re feeding it, and many other factors.
This isn’t your fault, it’s hard and complex to get all this right, but training and shaping the puppy’s behaviour isn’t enough – it runs deeper than that. Training the puppy alone would be like expecting the plants in your garden to grow just because you water them. If the soil and amount of light and other conditions aren’t right, they’ll struggle and never fully blossom.
If you’re looking at all the videos on social media full of people doing tricks with their puppies, forget them. That’s not puppy training, and it’s not what you need. You can teach a dog absolutely anything and any tricks, but only after you’ve learned to be a great dog owner, and given it a healthy and happy start in life.
I think of this like a pyramid:
DOMESTIC FOUNDATIONS (environment) → BASIC RULES → BEHAVIOUR
You have to have the right foundations in place, then you get your basic rules worked out, and then teaching good behaviour is easy. You can mould any behaviour you want in a happy, secure dog that wants to please you. Whereas a nervous, unhappy, uncertain dog is much, much harder to train.
The way to address your puppy’s bad behaviour is by going right back to the start. That’s how I can help. We’re going to review everything that should have been in place and I’m going to show you exactly what to change, how to make the key tweaks and improvements that will give the biggest rewards. And then I’ll show you how easy it is to turn your dog into the obedient adorable friend you want him to be.
I’m not here to judge either. Making mistakes is how we all learn. What’s important is that you’ve recognised there’s an issue and you’ve taken a positive step to solve it by looking for answers and asking for help.
Our new puppy is not sleeping – can you help?
This depends on how long your puppy has been with you. If it just arrived yesterday then some crying is normal and there are answers. If you’ve had your puppy for more than a week and it’s still crying and whining at night, this is not just a puppy problem. This is an environmental issue – and the likelihood is that the causes of this problem lie in steps you’ve missed or fundamentals that should have been put in place from the start.
I’d need you to tell me more before knowing whether I can help or not. If I can, you need to be prepared to revisit the basics and rebuild the foundations – those are the things that need to be right before any undesirable behaviour can truly be corrected.
Our new puppy isn’t toileting where I want it to – can you help?
The same approach is true with training your puppy to toilet where you want it to as it is with training it to sleep where you want it to. If your new puppy is toileting indoors instead of outdoors, for example, a clear plan, the right materials and techniques and enough, consistent, ongoing support, we can get this sorted.
Can you train my dog to the very highest standards of behaviour, not just to fix problems?
There’s no absolute recipe for an amazing, perfect dog like the ones you might see on TikTok. A lot of them are the work of a lot of great training, and a lot of them are also the result of a lot of good editing and selective videos. The dog trainers there rarely post the 999 videos when their dog didn’t do what they wanted, just the one when it did.
But, after 20 years training puppies and dogs, I do believe there is a clear framework that is going to give you the best possible chance of great results. This starts with creating the right environment – building a solid foundation from day one. Getting the puppy’s world in order is crucial. The right place to sleep, the right amount of rest, the right amount of play and exercise, the right chew toys, the right food – it’s all essential. Like you, if your life is in chaos, how can you be expected to perform at your best?
Then it’s onto the ground rules. This too is essential and people don’t always work hard enough on this. Ground rules are the real fundamentals of what’s ok and what’s not. Is biting ok? Is it ok to jump on the sofas? Will the puppy go upstairs and sleep on your bed?
Most importantly, you need to get everyone in the puppy’s life on the same page. It doesn’t work to have a husband and wife applying different ground rules, or kids breaking all the rules. Boundaries need to be set, to keep your puppy safe and happy.
Inconsistent rules and vague boundaries will confuse a puppy and cause stress, fear and a total inability to give you what you want (which they will want to do – but they may give up trying if they decide it’s impossible).
Then, lastly, we come to training for the right behaviours. Behaviour, in most cases, will be the result of the foundations and ground rules. These things form the foundation of your relationship, and strengthen the bond between the two of you. Get them right and behaviour training is much easier, because all the puppy will ever need is to understand how to make you happy, what is expected – and to have that reinforced over time with the right rewards to solidify the learning.
I believe my approach – starting with the foundations, then ground rules and then behaviour training – is the best possible recipe for a happy, obedient, lovable and loving dog that you will be proud of forever.
Should I get a puppy trainer before I have a puppy?
This is a good question and does sound backward, but it’s fundamental to my approach. A puppy trainer’s input before you get your puppy can help you get everything they need so it’s there when they arrive. If I give you the knowledge and confidence you need in the first few days of your puppy arriving then all your domestic training starts correctly rather than going down the wrong road. It won’t lead to bad habits and it won’t need correcting later on.
You wouldn’t wait until your baby is in your house before buying the things it needs and working out how you’re going to structure your life when the big day finally arrives. I can help you get everything just right so that your puppy’s first days in your home are safe, calm and constructive, rather than fearful, stressed and negative.
How much does puppy training cost?
Money spent on puppy training at the very beginning is the best investment you can make. It will save you a lot of money in the long run, because once you have a problem it takes longer to undo and teach the right thing than starting off on the right foot in the first place. The price will depend on the number of sessions you and your puppy need, see my prices page for more detail.
How long will it take?
This differs for each puppy. Some puppies pick up these things quicker than others and therefore shorten the process, others need a little more support and the process can take a little longer.
Just like with children, puppies mature and learn at different rates. It may come as a surprise, but overall it costs much less, and takes less time to start early. This is the value and idea at the heart of my approach: get things right from the start and all we have to do is walk through the rest of the steps.
If you wait until you have a problem before seeking help, it’ll take much longer, be much harder and cost more to fix, and you’ll have to start by going back to the basics anyway. So it’s a false economy not to focus on building the right foundations at the beginning.
In general, we start with a pre-puppy session, before you have welcomed your puppy into your home. This takes around an hour, at most.
Once you have collected your puppy, we then have another session of up to 2 hours. This takes place in your home, and we cover a lot. It’s also important to understand that this focuses on you, the home set up, the family structure and the rules. We’re not spending 2 hours working with the puppy… no puppy would ever be able to handle that!
Then there are normally 2 follow up sessions, each lasting around 1 hour. These are where we work on implementing the plans, making sure that everything is working, and ironing out any issues.
By the end of these sessions, you’ll know that you’re on the right track and have all the right routines and foundations in place, with your puppy well on the way to becoming the dog you want it to be.
In total, the whole process takes about 5 hours.
We can then look to arrange further sessions according to your needs, as and when needed, but this often isn’t necessary if everything has been done right to begin with and you’ve been consistent.
Why do you have to come to my house?
My approach is all about creating the right kind of environment. Your home is the environment your puppy is in first of all, especially pre-vaccination before they are allowed out in the world.
Your home is where the puppy is going to learn its biggest lessons, how it fits into the family, what is and isn’t ok. Toilet training and calm, safe play are all learned in your home and shaped by your environment.
This means this environment is vital to get right in order to aid your puppies upbringing. Your puppy also reacts differently to stimuli at home than it does outside, so it’s important to see your puppy in their comfortable environment.
The puppy is going to live between more than one home… is that ok?
This is a challenge, but it’s perfectly manageable. For the initial early period, I highly recommend creating as much stability and routine as possible. My approach focuses on creating the right environment and once you’ve understood how to build a safe, positive environment that works for your puppy, there will be nothing stopping you from making your puppy happy and safe anywhere, so long as you put that same work in.
Can you visit before the puppy is vaccinated?
Yes, and I would absolutely recommend that. Your puppy is in their critical period between 312 weeks of age. This means they absorb things like a sponge and their curiosity encourages them to investigate.
This means that training during this time really is useful when that training is focussed on the right things: environment and ground rules and basic socialisation, not rushing into behaviour training. Your home and garden become their only pre-vaccination environment, so my visit can help to kick start your training journey when they are not allowed to go out yet.
Can I (should I do any training before the puppy is vaccinated?
The simple answer is yes, but the type of training pre-vaccination is the important part. Complex behaviours like sit, stay and loose lead walking aren’t the first things your puppy needs to learn, and this isn’t the right time for that. These come after your puppy has learnt the basics of life living with humans.
My approach, developed over the last 25 years, starts with creating the right kind of domestic environment and ground rules. And that starts even before the puppy arrives in your house, let alone before they’re vaccinated. Teaching behaviours will come after we’ve got those fundamentals worked out.
Do you do group classes?
I don’t do group classes anymore because I feel the individual, bespoke training I offer is much more useful and a lot more valuable than a rigid curriculum offered in a class situation. When there are 10 or more dogs and owners in a class, you won’t get much one-on-one attention.
I actually ran group classes for over 5 years, but decided to stop them. Long story short, I think they’re great, but they’re too focused on teaching behaviour and tend to completely overlook the domestic environment and ground rules. Even the very best group classes are just not enough on their own.
In a group class your and your puppies needs may not be met due to time constraints, large class numbers and artificial environments. Group classes can be beneficial in terms of socialisation and focus under distraction, but I feel the individual approach is much more personal to you and your puppy. It also allows us to cover more topics and is more real-world useful.
Do you need to meet the whole family?
This can be useful but not always necessary on the initial session/s, this can be especially true when working with families with young children. The primary caregivers (i.e. the adults) need to understand the training in order to explain it to the children and impress upon them the importance of everyone being consistent.
If I can’t meet all the family members, I do need to know who lives in the house or has regular contact with your puppy so I can get an idea of how to adapt the plan.
The important part to understand is that with my approach, we’re going to work together to nail down the ground rules and the routine. That needs to be done taking into consideration what you’re all comfortable with, and you all have to be on board and working to the same set of rules.
Can you train my puppy without me?
This is usually referred to as residential training and it’s a hard no for me, because it’s much less effective. It’s not to say that it can’t work, but it’s far less likely to be successful in the long term.
The central idea of my approach is that we start by creating the right kind of environment, and that depends on you. The aim, ultimately, is to let you understand your puppy, shape its environment and rules and enable you to get what you want from your puppy.
Those are skills that you will keep using throughout your dog’s whole life. If I simply teach it everything myself and then put it back into your environment and your rules, the likelihood is it won’t be long before it’s back to its old tricks.
A fundamental part of puppy training using my approach is also your relationship with your puppy. This is vital to your puppy growing up to be a well behaved, well-mannered dog.
I don’t have the puppy yet… should I wait?
The simple answer is no. Working with me now before your puppy actually comes home can give you a lot of the knowledge, confidence and skills you will need in the first few days. This ensures you are prepared and confident in how to move forward with your puppy. As soon as you know you’re getting a puppy, feel free to get in touch.
What is the maximum age?
I am an early learning specialist and look to get you on the right road from the very start. This type of learning is mainly focused in the first 6 months, and needs to start before the puppy is 6 months old – and the earlier the better. Once we have completed the initial programme, the rest of the training can continue.
My puppy is a year old, is that ok?
I would guess that now, at a year old, you have behaviours you are struggling with and as such you need a trainer who is a specialist in adult dog training. While I fully understand you might still love them like they’re your little puppy, biologically and mentally speaking, at 1 year old your dog is an adult.
Once dogs have created habits and their own idea of the world it becomes a problem solving issue rather than setting off on the right course. Adult dogs and puppies also learn and respond differently, this is due to prior knowledge. Puppies have no prior knowledge, whereas adult dogs do. This prior knowledge affects how they respond to training.
Do I pay at the start, or the end?
Payment for the full course is due after the first session has been completed strictly within 7 days by card, cash or direct bank transfer.
What resources and documents do you provide?
I’ll email you the bespoke training notes after each session. These notes will have clear advice, checklists and will be individually written for you. Many of my clients frequently tell me how incredibly useful and important the lesson notes are in helping them remember and apply everything after the session. There are also blogs and videos on the website that can accompany your training.
I want to be able to take my puppy to work with me… can you help with that?
Your office is another environment your puppy will need to understand and navigate and you will need to set it up and manage it as you do at home.
I would strongly advise that young puppies need to get to grips with life at home and the home environment first, and after this I can help you teach your puppy to thrive in another environment.
Remember, this is about teaching you, not just the puppy. Once you’ve understood how a good environment and consistent ground rules build great bonds and great behaviour, you’ll be able to take them anywhere with you, forever. That is the value of my approach and why it works so well.