Hi, I am a new dog owner and also new to these boards so I hope you won't mind me asking a question that may have already been asked.

My Border Terrier pup can go out and about on Friday and I am thinking of taking her to a local puppy class (an hour long class), my first question is do you think this is too much for a 13 week old dog? And secondly and this may be harder to answer, what should I expect from a good class? I don't want to do more harm than good.

Thanks very much, I'm sure that I'll have lots more questions for you all at some point...!

Moo

It's an excellent idea to get your puppy to the right type of class as soon as possible. If it is a puppy class then it shold take into account the fact that some may be very very young and concentrate on socialisation and some basic commands, sit stay, but not too much as your baby will probably fall asleep :D

She'll be fine - enjoy:D

Pam n the boys

Hi Moo,

Welcome to the board. I would go and visit the class first without taking your puppy. You can then decide if you like their methods. I inquired about a puppy class for Harvey and I went along to watch first. I am sooo glad I did as it was not a class I would have wanted him to be in. The dogs ranged from very young to about 12 months old, if not older and they were packed into a tiny hall. At one point, one of the trainers threw some keys down to distract a dog that was whimpering with excitement. The dog next to it, was terrified. Suffice to say, I didn't go back.

Helen

At our puppy class there's a maximum of 8 dogs allowed. Most of it is socialisation while the trainer goes through stuff with the owners, like toilet training, poisons and things you need to watch out for, what to do if you dog gets bitten by a bee, snake, eats snail pellets etc.. , how to deal with certain behavioural problems, feeding and much more. If a pup is too hyper or attacking another pup, we usually pick the dog up and lie it down on its back on our lap until it calms down. If it tries to struggle or bite we're taught to hold the dog firmly and grab the fatty part of the cheek to keep it still. When it calms down, then it's allowed to play again. At the end she gives us all a small handful of liver treats and we go through some basic training like sit, drop, stay. She'll suggest different ways of achieving these commands since training isn't an exact science and every dog is different. All the pups in our class are young, under 4 months old.

Hope this helps!