Hey guys!

I know I mostly talk about things related to health and fitness, but I also l like to talk about my life, and in case you didn’t know right now a big part of my life kind of revolves around a puppy…

Brian and I are so obsessed and in love with Bernie.  It’s kind of crazy because we both had dogs growing up, but we still didn’t anticipate how much fun it would be to have a little pup of our own (or how much work it would be!).

That being said, Brian and I decided early on to invest in training courses for Bernie.  We know that Vizslas are  very high energy, need lots of love and attention, require a good amount of exercise, and can sometimes be a little “crazy.”  While we love all of this about Bernie, we wanted to have a well behaved pup that we could take out in public, enjoy walking with, play in the park, and just enjoy on other fun family dog outings.

We heard rave reviews about Ted Terroux Dog Training and the cost was relatively low, so we signed up for classes as early as we could!

We couldn’t have been happier with our experience working with Ted Terroux!  I’ve outlined some basic points in a Q&A format below, but if you have other questions please feel free to shoot me an e-mail or comment 🙂

• What age is puppy school geared towards?

Puppy school is for dogs that are 9-16 weeks old

• What will my dog and I learn in puppy school?

Most of the class was focuses on “loose lead walking”, puppy socialization, how to settle your puppy after being overly stimulated, and simple commands (sit, down, stand, come) which are very important skills if you ask me!  At the start of the class, we would all simply walk around a large room with our puppies teaching them that WE (the owners) are the most fun and exciting thing on the planet…not the 20 other puppies in the room.

After doing “loose lead walking” for several minutes, we would then socialize our puppies with each other.  The class focused on teaching us HOW to properly socialize our pups with various dogs at a variety of energy levels and what to do if things got out of control.

Ted also gave a weekly “lecture” on things such as house training, crate training, how to play fetch, and how to get your puppy to stop chewing on your hands.

• What do I do if I am training my puppy and a question comes up during the week?

Just call Ted! This was one of the most amazing things about the experience.  If Brian and I had a question (which was pretty often!) we called the puppy school and more often than not Ted would answer and give a simple suggestion to solve our problem that worked!  It was so nice to actually have Ted on the phone and to get advice that really made a difference in our training.

• Does my puppy need to be vaccinated?

Ted requires that the first series of vaccinations happen at least one week in advance of your first puppy class.  They ask that you bring your vaccination records to class with you, and they take great care to make sure that no adult dogs are in the facility 24 hours prior to class so they can clean. They are very careful about doing what needs to be done to keep all pups healthy!

• What do I need to bring?

Each week, Brian and I would bring our “treats” (which is actually just regular dog food!), a couple of toys for distraction in the car and during lecture, shot records (you really only need these the first week, but I would rather have them and be safe!), a leash and a collar, and poopy bags (these are attached to our leash so we never forget them).

• How long is each session?

1 hour for 4 weeks.

• Can I attend extra puppy school sessions after my last class?

Yes! I believe it’s $10 per extra session.

• What other courses does Ted Terroux offer?

Ted Terroux Dog Training offers puppy classes, basic obedience courses, private training, anger management classes, and good citizen courses.

Of course, these classes are only as good as you make them.  Training a puppy takes way more time than one hour a week 🙂 I found that these training sessions were an excellent tool to guide our at home training and to make sure that we were on the right track.

Brian and I had such a positive experience with puppy school, we are planning on signing up for the basic obedience course in the future! 🙂

Have a great Wednesday, friends!

Questions of the Day!

• If you have a dog, what were some of your favorite puppy training resources?
• If you don’t have a dog or pet, what kind of pet would you love to have?!