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Outdoor Education is a transitional program lasting between 4-24 weeks. It's a short term learning ground that generalizes foundation skills to new settings and makes strides towards greater canine independence. 
Bamboo learns to be comfortable with noisy machines while rehearsing "stay" and other good manners. Puppy parents are encouraged to join us anytime. |
An hour of 1:1 training every day.
 Luca and horses, more relaxed just moments later.
For fully vaccinated puppies, socialization happens while training takes place everywhere - at local parks, beaches, and various neighborhoods throughout SF. Every day is a different adventure! Some outings will focus on neighborhood skills that take place on leash. On other days, learning will happen at the park or beach to develop off leash competencies. Some days include both!
Around Town Neighborhood skills involve walking on a loose leash, passing garbage by without "taste-testing", learning to stay, sit at curbs, politely visit shops without jumping on displays, and applying all the basics in novel places. People social puppies learn to sit to greet strangers instead of jump up; shy puppies build confidence with strangers. Dog social puppies learn to resist pulling to other dogs on leash, and dog shy puppies learn that they can pass others by with less trepidation. At the Park Off leash learning is focused on behaviors like coming when called, playing appropriately with others, passing others by without lunging to play, checking in with handler, leaving tempting items on the ground. Puppies begin with a held long line for safety, and gradually earn more and more freedom as their behavior warrants. When puppy is ready, we teach them to remain with a reduced size pack to prepare them for successful full pack walking after graduation. Some puppies take longer than others through this process, and we highly recommend the brief re-introduction of a long line again when puppy begins with a full size pack. Ongoing Socialization Even with appropriate exposure with you or a professional before the close of puppy's socialization window (~16 weeks), puppies often begin to show fearfulness as they mature. This is often observed in city and neighborhood settings where there can be a lot of activity and significant environmental contrasts. As we socialize throughout the training process, we watch closely for any signs of fearfulness or reactivity (and are ready to provide subsequent training to build confidence and alternate behaviors). Please remember that while heavily 'front-loaded', continued socialization (exposure), must be an ongoing, life long process. Keeping Current It takes a village to raise a canine, too! We'll be in touch with progress updates, and encourage you to update us on changes you're noticing, too. You're also welcome to join us for a session - just let us know. When we work in parallel, we maximize progress! |