Greencross Vets Puppy School is a safe, fun and interactive course conducted by qualified trainers at selected Greencross Vets clinics or Petbarn and City Farmers stores. The course helps your puppy gain confidence along with puppies of similar age, learn basic training techniques, and help you understand your pup’s behaviours.

COVID-19 Update: To adhere to social distancing requirements, we request that only one pet parent or family member attend class with each puppy until further notice. In some locations we may be able to accommodate more attendees, please discuss this with your trainer beforehand.

Puppy and dog training – Best Behaviour Program

We currently offer two types of courses to cater to puppies of different ages and levels of training. Read more about our courses below to find out which course is best suited for you and your puppy.

	Puppy School Puppy pre-school is designed for puppies in their critical socialisation period who are new to training and learning new skills for the first time.	Beginner Classes Beginner classes are designed for dogs who may have missed out on puppy pre-school during their critical socialisation period, or may be lacking in manners.
Age	Puppies must be between 8 – 16 weeks on their first day of class	Puppies and dogs beyond 17 weeks old.
Duration of course	One hour per week, over 5 weeks. Week 1 is an intro class for puppy parents only (puppies do not attend) Weeks 2-5 include puppies.	One hour per week, over 5 weeks. Puppies and dogs attend every week.
Course Cost	$150 for 5 weeks	$150 for 5 weeks
What’s covered in the course?	-Toilet training -Behaving calmly around others -Settling into a new home -Settling your puppy for sleep -Safety and health essentials -Introduction to good manners -Basic cues for lifelong handling (sit, look, down, recall, wait, walking on a loose lead and heel) -Preparing for life in the family -Preparing your puppy for handling (e.g. by vets, groomers and new friends) -Understanding how puppies learn for lifelong training -Understanding dog behaviour and how to communicate effectively with your puppy -Troubleshooting challenging behaviours like jumping and biting	-Basic cues for lifelong handling (sit, look, down, recall, wait, walking on a loose lead and heel) -Listening to handlers in distracting situations -How to remain calm and focused around other dogs and new environments -Troubleshooting `terrible teens’ type behaviour -Understanding how to train for lifelong learning -Learning good manners for home and when out-and-about -Basics of clicker training (optional) -Understanding dog behaviour and how to communicate effectively with your dog -Shaping a current cue to improve performance

Register For Puppy School

Why should I join Greencross Vets Puppy School?

Greencross Vets Puppy Schools are conducted in conjunction with Petbarn and City Farmers by qualified trainers whose only goal is to help your puppy reach its full puppy potential. Our courses are designed to help your puppy develop vital social skills and equip you with strategies to teach your puppies positive behaviours such as toilet training, social etiquette (sit, stay, wait) and how to lead walk. Puppy School also helps your furry friend integrate into your family so you can establish a mutually loving, lifelong bond.

Greencross Vets Puppy School is also backed by our vast network of Veterinarians, Veterinary nurses, Veterinary behaviourists, Groomers and Retail experts that you can rely on for ongoing tips and advice. We work with some of the best in the industry to ensure we are up to date with leading scientific research and collectively draw on many thousands of hours of training and practice. All trainers undergo theory and practical training and assessments to meet our strict standards.

Socialisation and training during the first few months of your puppy’s life is key to their overall mental health and physical wellbeing. Improperly socialised dogs are often fearful of other pets, people and unfamiliar environments, so they are prone to developing stress related conditions such as separation anxiety. This fear may also manifest as aggression resulting in injuries to other dogs, people and often themselves. Pet parents may find themselves in a situation where they cannot take their pets out of for exercise due to dog aggression, their pets become bored and develop other unwanted behaviours such as hole-digging and other destructive behaviours. A lack of exercise may also contribute to health conditions such as obesity.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people can attend? Can I bring the family?

We encourage you to bring along the kids, training and understanding your dog’s behaviour is important for the whole family, perhaps even more so when kids are involved. Trainers may be able to use this opportunity to help your kids better understand how to handle their new furry family member, in hope of minimising stress and injuries when pets are incorrectly handled. Our classes will teach you about puppy and dog socialisation, dog communication, leadership, child and dog safety, training, vet care and troubleshooting naughty behaviour. You will learn how to decipher canine communication so that you can have a better understanding of why and how your pet learns and plays.

What do I need to bring?

Collar or harness and light lead.
Bed, Mat or towel for pup to sit on
Treats for training if they have special dietary needs

We advocate “force-free” training methods so no check chains or tightening collars are permitted.

Reward based training is humane, enjoyable, and enhances the relationship between puppy and owner. This technique involves rewarding good behaviour using treats, praise or toys and ignoring unwanted behaviours.

Is my puppy suitable for Puppy School?

It’s important that we provide all puppies and handlers with a safe, healthy and positive learning environment. To be suitable for our classes:

Your dog must be up to date with vaccinations as applicable (see detail below)
Your dog must be healthy and free of any health issues that could be contagious or affect their wellbeing and wellbeing of others
Your puppy must remain on-lead, and with the handler at all times
Your dog must not be dangerously aggressive towards dogs or people
The primary handler must be over 16 years old.

Does my puppy need to be fully vaccinated before attending class?

Parvovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes severe, potentially life threatening, gastrointestinal illness in dogs. It is highly contagious and can survive for long periods in the environment. The virus can withstand routine cleaning and weather changes, meaning the spread of the virus is hard to control. All dogs are at risk of infection, however unvaccinated dogs or young puppies under 5 months are at a higher risk.

Puppy School Class Requirements: Your pup needs to have a minimum of one vaccination given at least two weeks before the commencement of classes. (this is done at approximately 6-8 weeks of age) This is because it takes two weeks for your puppies’ body to produce enough antibodies to protect against the diseases the vaccine is made to protect against (parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis)

Week 1 – Puppy parents only
Week 2 – puppy parents and their puppy

We ask that you carry your puppy from the car to inside the training enclosure so that your puppy has no contact with any areas that are not freshly disinfected.

Beginners Class Requirements: Your puppy must have completed the entire course of puppy vaccinations more than two weeks before the start of first class. Puppy vaccinations are usually given at 6-8 weeks, 10-12 weeks and 14- 16 weeks of age. Adult dogs must be up to date with adult vaccinations.

All training areas are disinfected with hospital grade disinfectants before and after every class

My dog is feeling a little unwell can I bring him to class?

We require you to keep your dog at home if they show any signs of illness. Many illnesses affecting puppies and adult dogs can be contagious, ranging from serious viral and bacterial illness such as parvo virus or infectious tracheobronchitis (commonly known as kennel cough) through to less life threating infections such as gastrointestinal parasites It is important to keep your dog at home if they are unwell to prevent the transmission of contagious diseases.

My dog knows how to sit, stay and lie down, but he pulls on the lead and doesn’t listen when we are at the dog park. What class should I join?

The Beginner Course is perfect for your dog.

I don’t know which class to join and I don’t want to go to one that is too easy. What should I do?

All classes are adaptable to suit the needs of the students. If your puppy is 16 weeks or younger when the course starts, we recommend enrolling them in the Puppy Course. If your puppy is older than 16 weeks, or you aren’t sure, we suggest joining the Beginner Course. We increase the challenge level week-on-week, so we don’t recommend joining a class that is too advanced. When in doubt, have a chat with your local trainer, and feel free to bring your dog in to meet a vet or vet nurse for a friendly opinion!

I want to teach my dog who is boss, and I don’t like the idea of using ‘bribes’ and treats to train. Do I have to bring treats?

Modern canine behavioural science shows that positive reinforcement is the most effective way to train. For most dogs, this means treats. There are a very few dogs who prefer to be rewarded with a toy. Your Trainer will give you specific advice on how to reward and train your dog, so feel free to discuss this with them and have them meet your dog before booking into a course. We will teach you how to decrease the reliance on treats so that you aren’t using them forever.

My dog misbehaves, and I need to use a check chain to control him. Why can’t I use one in class?

We believe in positive, force-free training methods. Check chains are unpleasant for dogs and can hinder their learning. We do not permit aversives of any kind in our training, which includes check chains, electronic correction collars, ‘lead corrections’, shouting, smacking or otherwise providing an unpleasant experience for your dog. Speak to your Trainer before the course starts, and we can help you find a harness type that will allow you to guide your dog.

My dog is out of control and I don’t feel ready to attend a group class. What should I do?

The one-on-one consultations are a wonderful way to prepare you and your dog for a group class, and to give you tools and strategies to attend a class confidently. It is very normal to have one or two one on one sessions and then enrol in a class after that when you feel ready. If a one on one consult is not available, please chat with your Trainer and get some basic tips and info to help you before enrolling. We are always here to help!

Do you allow off-lead play in puppy class?

Off-lead play is not available during class, however the puppies do get to meet each other one at a time under the supervision of our Trainers. We teach puppies how to learn good social manners, listen to their handlers, remain calm and interact with other puppies politely to ensure they don’t get frightened or overwhelmed by more boisterous pups.

Puppy and Dog Training