Meet and greet social skills
CONCEPT: The principles we introduce in Puppy Class should be continued – preferably life-long. Socialisation means careful teaching of social skills and how to handle social situations and distractions in the real world. For the post-puppy age group, including mature dogs, we establish a higher level of practical control and reliability with people, other dogs, sights, sounds, environments and every-day-life activities. Your dog needs to be constantly exposed to social situations and carefully conditioned to have the appropriate response – to become Bombproof!
We set up opportunities to “meet and greet”, to recognise friend from foe, and we also teach you to understand how your dog communicates friendliness, fear, anxiety or stress. Come to our virtual coffee shop and have a latte while your dog lies at your feet, and watches other dogs being walked down the virtual boulevard, dodging shopping trollies, wheelie walkers and people of all descriptions.
Duration of class: one hour, once a week.
Time: Sat 4.15 pm to 5.15 pm
Date: to be confirmed
Course: a 10-week Term. If places are available, casual attendance will be permitted.
Cost: $270 for 10-week term, paid up-front (10% discount); casual attendance $30.
Venue: indoors at DogZone, Richmond
Who should attend? Intended for dogs beyond the puppy stage, including mature dogs, who have already completed Basic Practical Pet Dog Training.
Content
Each week, we will do some of the following activities:
- Everyday life – Sit around the table and have a coffee, while your dog lies at your feet.
- Everyday life – Physical examination of your dog along the lines of CGC test.
- Leadership and practical control – go in and out of doorways without barging.
- Leadership and practical control – get out of the car under control.
- Leadership and practical control – enter the building under control.
- Social skills – Meet and Greet a person with various levels of challenging encounters.
- Social skills – Meet a person at the door.
- Social skills – Meet and Greet a dog.
- Social skills – “Social” tricks such as high five and roll over.
- Social skills – Crowd Test (Three Levels).
- Loose lead walking – Go for a group walk around the building (or maybe outside).
- Loose lead walking – Do “The Snake”.
- Loose lead walking – Egg and spoon challenge.
- Levels of control – change from relaxed walking to closer more controlled walking.
- Levels of control – change from relaxed walking to closer more controlled walking making appropriate judgements about how to deal with “traffic” i.e. distractions.
- Review and extend the basics – sit, drop, stand – position changes.
- Review and extend the basics – sit-stay, stand-stay, creative stays, higgledy-piggledy stays, stand for examination.
- Review and extend the basics – sit at a distance; emergency sit.
- Group exercises – three rotations (participants rotate between 3 activities, walk, stay and recall, using each other as distractions).
- Group exercises – various formats of “dog-to-dog” socialisation.
Wagging School Dog Training 