Puppy School & Puppy Life Skills

Congratulations on your new addition to the family!

The first few months of your puppy’s life are an incredibly important time for learning, social development and building the relationship you will share for years to come.

Our puppy classes aren’t simply about teaching your puppy to sit, stay or come when called. They’re about helping you understand your puppy – how they communicate, why they behave the way they do, and how you can communicate effectively with them.

By learning to understand each other from the beginning, you can build trust, confidence and a strong relationship, while helping your puppy develop the skills they need to navigate both the human and dog world.

We offer two puppy courses, designed for different stages of your puppy’s early development – Puppy School and Puppy Life Skills!

Which course is right for my puppy?

PUPPY SCHOOL

For young puppies beginning their learning and socialisation journey during those important early developmental weeks.

• 8-13 weeks of age
• 8-week course

Communication | Socialisation | Confidence | Trust | Everyday Skills

About Our Puppy Courses

Puppy School

For puppies starting between 8–13 weeks of age

Our comprehensive 8-week Puppy School program is designed to give you and your puppy the best possible start together.

Beginning during this important early developmental period gives us the opportunity to encourage positive social experiences, understand emerging behaviours and establish strong foundations from the very beginning.

Rather than simply focusing on obedience, we’ll help you understand how your puppy communicates, why they do the things they do and how you can communicate effectively with them. Together, we’ll work on building trust, confidence and practical skills to help your puppy navigate both the human and dog world.

What will you and your puppy learn together?

Topics covered throughout Puppy School include:

• Understanding how puppies and dogs communicate
• Building trust and a strong relationship with your puppy
• Calming and settling skills
• Positive and appropriate socialisation with other dogs, people and children
• Understanding common puppy behaviours and how to respond to them
• Practical everyday skills including Leave It, Sit, Down, Stay, Heel and Come
• Helping your puppy become comfortable with handling and new experiences
• Building confidence in different environments and situations

And most importantly, you and your puppy will have plenty of fun learning together!

Our first class is just for the humans!

For the first session, we ask you to leave your new best friend at home – they’ll join us from week two onwards.

Starting with a puppy-free session allows our trainer to talk through some of the theory behind these important early months without the inevitable puppy distractions!

It’s also a great opportunity to ask questions about your new puppy, including socialisation, toilet training, behaviour, communication and anything else you’d like some help understanding.

Puppy Life Skills

For puppies aged 14–20 weeks

Would your growing puppy benefit from some extra help with confidence, social skills or navigating the world around them? Or perhaps you simply missed the Puppy School age window?

Puppy Life Skills is our 5-week program for puppies aged 14–20 weeks. It is designed for puppies who have missed Puppy School, as well as those who may find the busy environment of a traditional puppy class a little overwhelming or would benefit from some additional support.

The course focuses on helping you understand your puppy’s communication and body language, build their confidence and support them through new experiences, while developing a strong and trusting relationship.

What does Puppy Life Skills include?

The course begins with an owner-only theory session, followed by four practical sessions with your puppy. Over the five weeks, we focus on:

• Understanding your puppy’s body language and communication
• What socialisation really means and how to create positive social experiences
• Appropriate dog-to-dog communication and social skills
• Building confidence and trust through new experiences
• Positive husbandry skills for vet visits, grooming and everyday handling
• Enrichment and exploration involving different sounds, movement and environments
• Practical everyday life skills
• Real-world exploration sessions at a local park and Bold Park

Classes are deliberately kept small, providing a calmer, supportive environment where puppies can learn without becoming overwhelmed and owners can receive more individual guidance.

Our aim is to help you understand not just what your puppy is doing, but why – and how you can support them as they learn to navigate both the dog and human world.

When and where are the classes held?

Our puppy classes are held at Swanbourne Veterinary Centre, where we have a large, secure outdoor space with plenty of room for puppies to explore, interact and learn.

Puppy School classes are held on Sunday mornings, with a new 8-week course commencing approximately every two weeks.

Puppy Life Skills is a 5-week course with a combination of sessions at Swanbourne Veterinary Centre and practical park and exploration sessions nearby.

Our experienced team will guide you and your puppy throughout the course, helping you understand not just what your puppy is doing, but why – and how you can work together as they grow.

You can find out more about our trainers Lisa from Starbarks Dog Training, and Neri and Ash from Dog Whispering, here.

How to enrol?

To confirm your place, simply complete the online enrolment form at the top of this page and submit full payment.

Not sure which class is right for your puppy? Please contact us on (08) 9384 2644 and our team will be happy to help.

Training Courses Terms and Conditions

Please be advised there is a non-refundable administration fee of $10 for all puppy class bookings.

You can find our full Training Courses Terms and Conditions here.