Puppy foundation training plays an important part in the development of every dog. It begins the training relationship between puppy and handler and establishes an approach to learning that can provide the foundation for everything that follows — much like teaching a young child to read.
Home Visits
8-12 weeks
Group Courses
After vaccinations
Breeds
Miniature to large
Puppy foundation training
Building the skills your puppy needs for life
The way your puppy learns now can shape their behaviour and training for years to come. Our Puppy Foundation training helps owners from Didcot, Abingdon, Wantage, Oxford, Wallingford and surrounding areas build a strong relationship with their puppy while establishing the boundaries, focus and everyday skills they need at home and out in the world.
Training combines purposeful play with clear guidance and reward, helping your puppy learn what good behaviour looks like, make better choices and respond reliably to you around people, other dogs and everyday distractions.
Our approach
Puppy training that builds connection, focus and boundaries
Puppy training should be enjoyable, but it also needs to establish the behaviours that will matter as your puppy grows. We use food, praise, toys and purposeful play to reward the responses we want, while helping your puppy understand what is expected both at home and away from it.
Build engagement through play
Purposeful play helps develop your puppy’s focus and creates a positive connection between puppy and handler.
Establish clear boundaries
Practical ground rules help your puppy understand what is expected around the home and in everyday situations.
Reward the right response
Correct responses to verbal and visual cues are reinforced using food, praise or toys, depending on what motivates your puppy.
What your puppy will learn
Puppy training for everyday life
We concentrate on useful behaviours rather than simply teaching exercises for their own sake. Particular attention is given to skills such as recall and loose-lead walking that can become considerably harder to establish once unwanted habits have developed.
Training can include:
Sit, down & stand
Core positions and responses to verbal and visual cues.
Recall
Building a reliable response, including recalling away from other dogs and distractions.
Wait & stay
Developing patience, control and useful boundaries for everyday situations.
Loose-lead & off-lead walking
Helping your puppy learn to walk calmly and remain responsive to you.
Retrieve & steadiness
Early skills that can provide a foundation for more advanced or working-dog training.
Food manners & gentle mouths
Teaching appropriate behaviour around food and discouraging biting of owners, children and visitors.
Handling & veterinary inspection
Regular handling, including the mouth and body, to make routine care and veterinary examinations easier.
Calm greetings
Learning not to jump up and how to greet people and other dogs appropriately.
Starting early
Got a puppy that isn’t fully vaccinated yet?
You don’t have to wait until your puppy can attend group training to start establishing good habits. We offer one-to-one home puppy training from eight weeks old, allowing training to begin safely before vaccinations are complete and during an important early stage of your puppy’s development.
Training in your own home gives us the opportunity to work with you and your puppy in the environment where many of those first habits and routines are formed. We can help with boundaries, settling, handling, toileting, crate training and other everyday puppy behaviours, as well as beginning important foundation skills such as recall and responding to you.
It also gives you practical guidance on how to reward the behaviour you want and manage unwanted behaviour consistently, helping you build a positive training relationship with your puppy from the very beginning.
Group training
Puppy training classes with individual support
Each session begins with a short briefing and demonstration before moving into practical breakaway training. Rather than standing around waiting for your turn, you work with your own puppy while 2–4 instructors supervise the group, answer questions and provide individual tuition where needed.
You can also ask for practical advice on the things that come with living with a young puppy, including equipment, feeding, crate training, toileting and behaviour concerns that arise as your puppy develops.
Socialisation
Puppy socialisation that builds confidence
Socialisation is an important part of our puppy group training, but good socialisation isn’t simply about allowing a puppy to play with every person or dog they meet. We want puppies to become comfortable and confident around other dogs, people and new situations while still learning to remain focused and responsive to their handler.
Training alongside other puppies, dogs and people gives your puppy valuable experience in a controlled environment. Children are also welcome to attend with a responsible parent or guardian, helping puppies learn calm, appropriate responses to people of different ages.
Training for every puppy
Training for family pets to future working dogs
Our Puppy Foundation courses welcome all breeds, from miniature dogs through to large breeds. Training is tailored to the puppy and what you ultimately want to achieve, whether you’re building the foundations for a well-mannered family dog or have plans to progress into more specialised training.
The skills developed during Puppy Foundation can provide a starting point for further obedience training, progression through the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme, as well as more specialised disciplines including showing, agility, scent detection and gun dog training.
Next Step
Ready to start training with your puppy
Contact Martin or Belinda to tell us a little about your puppy and what you would like to achieve. We’ll answer any questions and help you choose the right training for you and your puppy.