The Puppy Perfect process
Start off on
the right foot.
I work with individuals, couples and families who want to do right by their puppy, who want to make sure they’re going to feel safe, confident and secure in their new home.
I’ll listen and learn about your situation, your worries, your needs and your hopes and fears. Then I’ll help you set up a solid foundation. When we’re done, you’ll feel confident and prepared.
Key steps of the Puppy Perfect training process:
Each step of the process is about creating a solid foundation for the next step.
Domestic Environment
It all starts here, for every puppy. We help you make sure your home is ready, with the right equipment and the best possible set up.
I’ll help you decide where your puppy should sleep, where to toilet it, where to feed it, and so on. We’ll talk about food and supplies, I’ll help you decide how to equip the crate (if you’re going to use one) and I’ll give you confidence that you’ve got everything you need. This stage in the process is also something of a reality check, giving you clear and realistic expectations of the experience of collecting your puppy and how the first days and nights will go.
Ground Rules
This might sound a bit strict, but it’s not at all.
I’ll help you figure out and get clear on the things that are important to you, and to think hard about the kind of dog you want your puppy to grow into one day. If you don’t want a dog that jumps up, let’s not encourage jumping up as a puppy. I’ll help you through the whole process to get everyone on board, sticking to the same rules and working in the same direction.
Relationship Building
A good relationship with your puppy needs the right foundations, and then it needs commitment and consistency.
I’ll show you exercises and games to play with your puppy, but I’ll also help you to keep the boundaries healthy and to know what not to do and what to (gently) not allow or encourage. This is where we’re really getting into the start of the rest of your puppy’s life, and the right work here will pay off forever.
Behaviour Training
With everything else in place, this is the reward.
Understandably enough, the bit everyone wants is to teach sit, and paw and down. Teaching your puppy what you want it to do starts with all the other steps and is made easier when it’s the final step, rather than rushed into. By this stage, you’ll have a good picture of how your puppy learns, and we’ll have got to a stage where the puppy is responsive to your training. A winning recipe, with the right guidance.
We’ll walk through those steps at a pace that’s right for you.
Nothing good ever came from rushing, or skipping a step.
It’s a flexible process too. We’ll revisit each step as often as we need to until you and your puppy are feeling confident. It’s not realistic to expect you or your puppy to remember absolutely everything the first time we cover it. The more we review and revisit, the more the knowledge and skills will sink in.
“We found Nikki’s advice to be invaluable both before and after picking up our puppy. She explains things clearly, listened to questions and concerns we had and came up with practical solutions and training steps.”
– David & Linda with Bailey (Beagle)
Why it’s crucial to lay the right foundation
Laying the right foundation is all important because if you wait until bad habits arise, I can promise you it will be much harder, more stressful, more expensive and take longer to correct.
No one wants a poorly behaved dog, chewing everything in sight, barking at the slightest noise, soiling whenever and wherever it wants. No one wants a dog running rampant in the park, or not coming back when called.
It’s a well-behaved dog that gets all the praise and appreciation, and rightly so. But a well-behaved dog isn’t down to the dog or the breed. It’s down to the owner. Every time you see a dog whose behaviour you admire, it’s because the owner created the right kind of environment for their puppy from day one.
“Nikki helped me with a problem we had – our little Spaniel, Robbie puppy kept biting us all. She was patient, helped us to understand and why it was happening and worked with us to stop it. She was fantastic and really really knows her stuff. Nikki, you’re the best, thank you!!!”
– Sarah
Ideally, you should start building a solid foundation before you get your puppy. If you can’t do that, time is of the essence – the first few weeks are the most important.
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 (what not to bite), and what to play with.
Those are the cornerstones of your puppy’s world; they will have a huge influence on the course of their life. They will have a huge impact on the kind of dog you’re going to end up with. Getting those things right now means things are much less likely to go wrong later. Getting them right now also means training your puppy will be much, much easier.
That’s why the first step of my process is all about you, your family and your home – not your puppy.
Creating the right kind of environment for your puppy means you’ll feel confident, safe and secure. You’ll lay down the rules you want them to follow. If you don’t know what the rules are, how can your puppy? Confusion breeds confusion. But building a solid foundation means you’ll be able to train your puppy with much greater confidence and form a loving bond with them.
