We’re big fans of training dogs. At Doug’s Dogs we run a year round programme of classes and 121s, training hundreds of dogs over the years.

Training (whether in a class or at home), is really important process to ensure that you and your dog have a good, long lasting bond. Simply put, training helps you to communicate with your pup, so you have a better understanding of each other. With better understanding ‘mistakes’ and problems are avoided !

We use ‘positive reinforcement’ or ‘force free’ methods for training. What does that mean? Simply put, we praise good and ignore bad. The more we praise good, with rewards/treats and love, the more our dog wants to do the good things; and they’ll do less of the ‘bad’ things.

If you’ve got a puppy and are thinking about signing up to a good quality class - do it ! It will be the best investment in your dog that you’ll make. Here are some tips to get the most from the classes:

• Sign up to a class for when your puppy is fully vaccinated and around 3 months old

• Buy a good treat pouch so that you can deliver rewards to your dog quickly

• Use a fixed length lead rather than an extending lead, for clear and simple handling of your dog

• Buy high value training treats - it’s worth spending a bit more for high fish or meat content products

• Check out Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy for lots of good training advice from Steve Mann, founder of IMDT (Institute of Modern Dog Trainers)

Don’t forget, training is for life :-)