The Canine Classes running at Point Cook Dog Training & Day Care are group class for dogs of all ages, ranging from 4 months of age and up.
These classes focus largely on skills training and practicality. We also focus on settling, handling and teaching your dogs to relax with the added distractions of other people and their dogs in the background.
Training in a group setting helps you and your dog build focus, settling, improve impulse control, combat mild fears, frustration and excitement. Being in a group setting means dogs are still ‘socialising’ with people and other dogs.
All the classes are run using force free training methods and this means we use high valued treats, praise and play to reinforce the dog for appropriate and desirable behaviour. There is no aversive training here and equipment such as correction or choke chains, prong collars or electric shock collars are banned from any of our classes classes. Aggressive handling or shouting is also not tolerated.
In class you will learn a range of terminology used by force free trainers and you will learn how to use a variety of tools ranging from clickers, hand signals, bridging words and more to ensure you have multiple options to work with.
Levels are now mixed, so there may be some dogs starting from scratch working on their Canine Classes Level 1 whereas others may be returning to work on their Canine Classes Level 1 Advanced course. For those wanting to go even further, there is Canine Classes Level 2 which is aimed at the more mature dogs. We now mix our groups as it gives the more advanced dogs something to be distracted by and it gives those starting from the beginning something to aspire to!
All dogs start at Canine Classes Level 1 and work their way up slowly when they are ready!
Upon completion of the course, owners will receive a certificate for their level.
Whilst we like to include all dogs in these classes, for some dogs, an assessment prior to booking in necessary.
If your dog has bite history (it has snapped, nipped or bitten) or displays aggression/reacts towards other dogs or people by barking, lunging or snapping, then it must be assessed before booking to ensure safety and whether group classes will actually improve the behaviour. For some of these dogs, private lessons are more suitable.
If your dog is anxious or fearful of people or other dogs or you are just uncertain as to whether your dog will cope in classes or not, we again recommend an assessment prior to booking to ensure this environment will work for you and your dog and not instead make things worse. For some of these dogs, private lessons are more suitable.
Attention owners of Pugs, Bulldogs, Australian Bulldogs, Boxers and French Bulldogs!
It is advisable to book these breeds in during the cooler time of the year (April to December) as they do often struggle with the heat. Please consider the seasons before booking in.