Puppy Pre-School: The Delta Program

Puppy preschool places are available at our clinic on Wednesday and Thursday nights. To comply with current regulations, we request that:

  • Only two people attend per puppy
  • Class members wait outside until the start time

Puppy preschool is a proven way to help your puppy develop to their full potential. Walkerville Vet aims to maximise that by using an internationally accredited program.

Dogs that have attended good puppy classes are:

  • Friendlier to other dogs
  • Friendlier to strangers
  • Less fearful
  • And most importantly, more likely to stay with their owners

You can read all the evidence for puppy school here. Classes at Walkerville are conducted by Susanne Eckert,  AABP Professional Dog Trainer, Pet Professional Guild.

Essential Facts

puppy preschool notes
  • Classes run for five weeks, usually Wednesday or Thursday evenings
  • The first week is without puppies
  • Classes use food rewards
  • We use a large space to make the family welcome
  • The latest enrolment is at 14 weeks
  • Enrolment includes a 60-page reference guide
  • Classes fill quickly so book early!

Puppy classes go for five weeks, and the cost can be found here. If this is unaffordable, there are cheaper classes available elsewhere, and they will do a good job. The advantage of paying for a Delta-accredited instructor is having access to a wealth of both practical experience and the latest methods.

To enrol, just call or email the clinic and we will send you an informative guide and short questionnaire.

Class Structure

Our Puppy Program will cover the following topics –

Week One

– without puppies. A vast quantity of information will be delivered to you tonight and we don’t want puppy to be bored with school before he/she even starts!

  • The crucial socialisation period
  • How to have a happy puppy in a happy family
  • Positive reinforcement training – what it is and why it works, and how dogs learn
  • Rewards – quality, quantity and use
  • Cues
  • Settle/calm behaviour
  • Handling Dealing with undesirable behaviour
  • Teaching attention
  • How to help your dog to sit

Week Two

  • Revision from last week
  • Massage of various puppy body parts
  • On your mat training, including settle on the mat
  • Meeting people, sit for polite greeting
  • Supervised puppy play, Come away from play
  • Resource guarding, teaching give, dealing with nipping
  • Environmental Enrichment
  • Health care

Week Three

  • Revision from last week
  • Loose lead walking
  • Introducing puppy to Brooms, mops and walking sticks
  • Drop
  • Health Care
  • Supervised puppy play, Come away from play

Week Four

  • Revision from last week
  • Stay/Wait
  • Come
  • Health Care
  • Group Photo
  • Supervised puppy play, Come away from play

Week Five

  • Revision from last week
  • Show us your trick
  • Presentation of Graduation certificates
  • Feed back form

Lesson format and all documentation by Susanne Eckert.