The Benefits of a Group Setting for Puppies

Guest Blogger – Kevin Duggan, CPDT-KA 

A group class is a wonderful place to bring your puppy for multiples reasons. The biggest reason is socialization. Second on the list is learning in an environment that has distractions. Third up is the development of your pup’s play skills. Last, but definitely not least is bite inhibition.

Let’s take a look at each of these.

Socialization – Puppies go through what is referred to as the critical socialization period between the ages of 8-16 weeks. During this time it’s crucial to get them out to help them build positive associations with the things that they will encounter in every day life.

To build positive associations all you need to do is give your pup some treats a second or two after something new appears. Give those treats the entire time the new thing is there and once the new thing is gone, stop treating. It won’t take long for him to realize that people, dogs, surfaces, loud trucks, going into buildings, being handled and examined all predict awesome stuff. Once that clicks, your pup will enjoy all of those things.

It is important to socialize in as many places as possible. Dogs are poor generalizers. (Except they generalize fear well.) They can discriminate that a certain place is awesome and they may enjoy all the people in that place, but they may be fearful of other places and be nervous of people in those places.

Use the location of the group class you join as one place. From there, utilizes pet friendly places like certain hardware stores and ice cream parlors. (You’ll even want to do lots of happy visits at your vet’s office and at your groomer’s.) This will set him up to be a behaviorally sound adult dog.

IMG_2093Distractions- Life is full of distractions. In reality, these distractions are what we refer to as “competing motivators.” These are just other things in the environment that your pup wants to interact with. If you want him to be able to do behaviors while out and about, it’s important to practice out and about.

The main issue that people have when they’re out in public with their pup is that he has trouble staying focused. If he sees something that he wants it’s naturally going to motivate him to do a behavior in hopes to get to interact with it. That’s often where barking, pulling on leash and not coming when called come from.

One of the best places to start is a group setting. In the group setting he will be around lots of other people and puppies. You will get lots of practice and coaching from your trainer on how to get him to do the behaviors. This can and will translate to out into the real world, making life easier.

Play skills- These can be developed quite easily at this young age. In a group setting that allows puppy play (look for one that does) your pup will get to learn what is and isn’t appropriate to do to the other pups. If his play gets to look a little questionable then a “consent check” can be done to see whether or not the other pup is enjoying what is happening. This is how he can be coached because if he is removed from play for doing a certain behavior, that behavior should decrease. This is because with consistency he learns that doing that behavior results in the removal of what he wants and enjoys.

Since play is a part of developing play skills, he will be getting a lot of physical exercise. This exercise will come from chasing, being chased, barking, biting, humping, wrestling and rolling around. These are all normal play behaviors.

Bite inhibition- This is something that not everyone knows about. This means your pup learns to control the amount of force/pressure applied during a bite. During a group class he can learn from other pups if he is biting too hard. Usually they learn that they’re biting too hard by an alert that comes in the form of a loud “yelp!” Most puppies hear that yelp and back off.

Puppies play bite. This is beyond normal. A group setting gives them an outlet to play bite and helps teach bite inhibition. This is a win-win.

Searching for the right group class

Now that you have all of that information it’s time to start researching places near you. When searching for a group class you want to ask some questions to ensure you’re going to the right place. Here is a list.

  • Do the puppies get to interact off leash with one another?
  • What happens when my puppy does the right behavior?
  • What happens when my puppy does the wrong behavior?
  • What type of equipment do you utilize in class? (Avoid any trainers that are recommend the use of choke, prong or shock collars as these types of collars can lead to aggression.)
  • Do you check vaccination records?

You’re looking for a place that does have off leash puppy play. You want to find a place that focuses on rewarding the pups when they do the right behavior. You want to find a place that doesn’t give any sort of physical correction when the pups do the wrong behavior. You want to find a place that recommends body harnesses or head halters. And lastly, you want to ensure that they do indeed check vaccination records.

Now that you have this list you’re ready to start having some fun training your pup in a group setting. Have fun!

Kevin Duggan is the owner of All Dogs Go To Kevin, which services Northeast Ohio and Eastern Tennessee.