This program is for puppies that are aged 16 weeks to 6 ½ Months

Note: Your puppy would need to have completed our puppy head start program or have the equivalent competency to do this program.

This program is 3 private lessons at your home and covers:

  • Intermediate handling exercises (mock grooming and Vet visit handling conditioning)
  • Meeting multiple people and other dogs
  • Phase 2 puppy obedience:
  • Phase 2 “sit”
  • Phase 2 “down”
  • Phase 2 “leave it”
  • Phase 2 “come”
  • Intro to “Place”
  • Intro to “stay”
  • Intro to “controlled walking in a heel position
  • Intro to long line work

Cost: $295

Frequently Asked Questions

The first lesson is an hour and fifteen minutes and lessons two and three are one hour.

Maybe. This program is largely a progression from many of the intro components in the ‘head start’ program. So, if your puppy can already do the following then you may be capable of doing this program.

Sit and down: Your puppy does sit or down 90% of the time when you say the command only once without luring help from you. Your puppy can hold that position for 15 seconds with at least one distraction being used during that time, until you release them with your ‘release command’.
Leave it: Your puppy can voluntarily turn their head and move away from anything they’re showing interest in when you say ‘leave it’ one time.

Come: Your puppy recognizes the command and turns to run towards you on leash 90% of the time

House breaking: your puppy no longer has any accidents in the house and is house trained on a schedule with a developing ability of letting you know they need to go outside to the bathroom.

Nipping and biting: Your puppy interacts with people without nipping and biting and accepts petting calmly.

Meeting people: Your puppy Meets people calmly while staying on the ground (with some help from you still) and can be called away when you determine the meeting is over.

Resource use: Your puppy drops objects on command and allows you to interrupt their use of all toys, objects, food bowls etc.
If your puppy can’t do these things yet, you’ll need to do our puppy head start program first.

We use a regular 6-foot leash and a martingale collar. We also use food as a lure and a primary reinforcer of behaviors.

Our general philosophy is more naturalistic. Meaning for dogs over 7 months old, food isn’t a primary training tool for basic training. However, since puppies have a different association with food and the rest of the “pack” when they’re young, we can take advantage of all the benefits of food-based conditioning in our puppy programs.

In this intermediate puppy program, we start to introduce the idea that a puppy “has to” do some of the exercises. While we’re still using food as a lure and reward. At this stage of training we’re gently introducing some negative feedback as we progress through to adult dog training. As our puppy gets a little older and more independent, they have to start learning that there are some things we just don’t do. They also have to realize that these tasks and obedience commands aren’t “optional requests”. As we begin to allow our growing puppy greater freedom based on their level of obedience, we have to be aware that our dog’s life may someday depend on how proficient they are at these foundational obedience skills.