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From 3 – 14 weeks of age your dog is in what canine Behaviourists refer to as ‘The Critical Period for Socialisation’. This is the time in your young dogs’ life when it needs to experience as many and as varied situations, stimulus, distractions and environments as possible, in order for it to learn how to accept things. Experiences during this time should be as positive as possible with the aim to show your puppy what it will encounter throughout its life in the human world.

ADT starts puppy training from 8 weeks of age onwards provided the puppy is 7 days clear of its first vaccination (by this stage it should be 14 days clear). Our highly qualified puppy trainers will focus on the early development of your dogs’ temperament by introducing it to many different situations, distractions and stimulus in a controlled environment. Puppy interaction is an important part of this development and so we spend a lot of time allowing the pups to explore each other and learn how to behave appropriately with other dogs. Simply socialising your puppy to mum and dad or the next door neighbour’s dog is not enough. Your puppy needs to meet many different dogs to learn what is right from wrong in much the same way the kids attend crèche and Pre School.

Not only will your puppy develop social skills to assist it with interacting with other dogs and people but we will also begin the process of introducing your dog to machinery, loud noises, unusually dressed people, slippery surfaces, vet checks and so on and so on. This helps to develop a sound temperament in your dog, one that isn’t spooked but is rather calm and confident.

We introduce the pups to low level obedience training which at this level is primarily aimed at teaching the dog to respond to you rather than a dog that has reliable obedience training. Skills like the sit, recall and loose lead walking are all introduced during this time.

Finally the puppy classes will help you deal with the many common puppy issues that arise during this time. Whilst having a young dog in your home is an exciting time, it can also be quite frustrating when the ‘house’ (toilet) training goes bad, or the pup starts jumping up on you and the kids, mouthing and biting will generally kick in a week or two after moving in and barking can become a problem. Your puppy instructor has seen and heard it all before so rest assured they will have a solution for you. Now is a good time to introduce you to one of the 10 commandments of dog training:

YOUR PERSISTENCE NEEDS TO OVERCOME THE DOGS RESISTANCE

If that is the only thing you ever remember about training your dog then you will be ahead of the game and have a happy and healthy relationship with your dog. Give into your puppies will early on and you are creating significant ramifications for yourself down the track.

The puppy program at ADT is available for dogs between 2 – 5 months of age.

Bronze

At this level your dog will be trained to obey the basic commands in obedience, whilst on lead. This level is designed to develop, 'word association' to a command, not to develop reliability, as they are learning how to do the exercise. The classes also include the introduction to basic concepts of socialisation and confidence development training.

This time in your dogs training can be compared to ‘Primary School’ for kids. This is where concepts are introduced but with no expectation of consistent and reliable performance. During this time dogs require firm leadership and direction from the leader in order to understand their place. Essentially they are ‘learning how to learn’ and what the ‘rules of the game’ are.

In this level of training you will participate in:

Teaching your dog ‘manners on the lead i.e. Social Walking;
Teaching your dog to “Sit” on command without guidance;
Introducing your dog to “Stand” and “Drop” with guidance;
Introduction to Focus i.e. “Look”;
Teaching your dog to recall ‘on lead’ when called for i.e. “Come”;
Teaching your dog manners with other dogs and people;
Introduction to unfamiliar surfaces, confined spaces, heights and obstacles;
Introduction to dealing with machinery, loud noises, unusually dressed people, etc.;
Teaching your dog the concept of ‘Relaxed Compliance’;
Teaching your dog the concept of the ‘Work & Release Modes’.

The Bronze program is divided into Level 3 for dogs aged 5 – 7 months and Level 4 for dogs over 7 months of age. This course includes free lifetime maintenance sessions.

Silver

At this level your dog has started responding to your commands with less need for guidance and with more enthusiasm however reliability and consistency is still being developed. The exercises being taught are still ‘on lead’ as you aim to develop good ‘control’ of your dog. The overall level of intensity in your training has increased as this part of the training program can be likened to the early years of high school for kids. An overall higher expectation has now been implemented. The socialisation and confidence development training continues with your dog learning ‘not to take food from a stranger’ and how to ‘negotiate an Agility obstacle’ course.

Dogs in this level will continue to work on the skills developed in the Bronze program but will also perform a number of additional skills:

Loose lead walking;
Return when called for (on lead) with Automatic sit at front i.e. “Come”;
Focus on Command i.e. “Look”;
Sit on Command;
Drop on Command;
Stand with guidance;
A dog in this level will have good general social skills with other dogs or people;
Introduction to return to the ‘Heel’ position i.e. by handlers LHS;
Introduction to ‘Heeling’ by your side;
Introduction to not taking food from the hand of a stranger;
Introduction to the negotiation of an Agility obstacle course (confidence development).

The Silver program is suitable for dogs aged 7 months of age and over who have passed through Level 3 or 4. This course includes free lifetime maintenance sessions.

Gold

The GOLD program is by far the most popular training course selected by our members.

At this level you dog has started responding to your commands with reliability and consistency even under distractions and in various environments/conditions. We are now introducing your dog to ‘off lead’ control as well as basic ‘hand signals’. By now the training is significantly more intensive with the instructors applying more pressure to you and your dog. We now liken this phase to the completion of latter years at high school.

The socialisation and confidence development training continues with your dog ‘actively refusing food offered by a stranger’ and ‘not picking food up off the ground’. Your dog is now confidently negotiating an Agility circuit and is learning ‘not to obey commands from a stranger’.

Dogs in this level will continue to work on the skills developed in the Silver program but will also perform a number of additional skills:

Formal ‘Heeling’ patterns i.e. dog walking by your side on loose lead including turns;
Return from 10 – 20 metres when called for with Automatic sit at front i.e. “Come”;
Consistent Focus when performing all exercises;
Sit Stay whilst handler moves away;
Drop Stay whilst handler moves away;
Drop on the move whilst heeling;
Stand on Command;
Respond to Hand Signals i.e. Sit, Drop & Heel signal;
Good social skills with little or no aggression towards other dogs or people;
Actively refuse food offered by a stranger and not pick food up off the ground;
Competent negotiation of an Agility circuit on lead;
In the presence of the handler the dog will not respond to commands from a stranger.

The Gold program is suitable for dogs aged 9 months of age and over who have passed through Level 5 and meet the entry requirements for Level 6 training. This course includes free lifetime maintenance sessions.

Platinum

The PLATINUM program is designed for those people who are looking for a much higher level of overall consistency and reliability as well as ‘OFF LEAD’ control for all exercises trained. It is particularly beneficial for those people who have a very busy ‘on the go’ lifestyle that includes their dogs or for people with ‘working’ breeds.

The aim of the Platinum course is to have a dog that responds well under all conditions be it on or off the lead, both by your side or at a distance. This is now likened to participating in tertiary level education such as University or Tafe courses where the overall level of detail and expectation is much higher whilst focusing on improving very specific elements.

The socialisation and confidence development training continues with your dog ‘actively refusing food offered by a stranger in your absence’. Your dog is now confidently negotiating an Agility circuit ‘off lead’ and will ‘not to obey commands from a stranger in your absence’.

Dogs in this level will continue to work on the skills developed in the Gold program but will also perform a number of additional skills:

The Platinum program is suitable for dogs aged 12 months of age and over who have passed through Level 6 and meet the entry requirements for Level 7 training. This course includes free lifetime maintenance sessions.

All our trainers are fully qualified and have been accredited by the National Dog Training Federation; Australia’s premier behaviour and training course. We boast humane training methods that compliment our highly effective and highly successful training techniques for all breeds.

TRAINING COURSES - Group Classes

Puppy

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Platinum