There’s only one chance to give your puppy the best possible start — and the early weeks matter more than most people realise.
Even before you bring your puppy home, How to Train a Dog can help.
What’s involved
Puppy sessions are tailored to your puppy’s breed, age, and situation — and to your household. Whether you’re just getting started or finding things harder than expected, I’ll work with you using reward-based methods that are fun for your puppy and easy to maintain. Sessions are available in your home, out and about in your local area, or online — and can be combined to suit you.
1.5hr sessions include a personalised training plan, a follow-up phone call at around two weeks, and an email check-in at four weeks. You’re welcome to get in touch for support at any point in between.
If you’re outside my service area I’m happy to refer you to a qualified trainer near you.
In-home puppy training — 1.5 hours
I come to your home and help set up your environment for successful toilet and bite inhibition training, run through the basics of reward-based cues, and show you how to teach the life skills and manners that make everything easier from the start — including how to move away from food lures as quickly as possible.
This is great for guardians who:
• Need help setting up the home for easy toilet training
• Are feeling challenged by puppy mouthing/bitey behaviour
• Want to get into good habits right from the start
• Are struggling with teaching their puppy to cope when alone
• Have a puppy showing uncertainty around new people, dogs, or environments
• Need extra support before, during, or after puppy classes
• Are wondering whether two puppies are a good fit for their family
• Are training a puppy in a household with children
• Would like advice on keeping their puppy occupied while they’re out
• Want an experienced, objective opinion on their puppy’s behaviour
• Are thinking about getting a puppy and want help choosing the right breed for their lifestyle
• Want to prepare their home before the puppy even arrives
Out-of-home puppy training — 1 hour
Sometimes the best classroom is the real world. Out-of-home sessions take place at the park, on street walks, at the beach — wherever your puppy needs practice. We work on focus under distraction, calm behaviour and general socialisation. It’s also a great way to assess your puppy’s overall confidence.
This is great for guardians who:
• Find their puppy isn’t listening to them outside the home
• Are having problems with on or off-lead walking
• Need help with coming when called
• Need help getting their puppy in the car
• Are worried their puppy is boisterous or timid around other dogs or people
Training packages
Single sessions and multi-session packages are available, and in-home and out-of-home sessions can be combined to suit you. Get in touch for details on fees and packages.
Puppy class referrals — no charge
How to Train a Dog strongly encourages all puppy guardians to enrol in a puppy class run by someone with up to date qualifications and experience specifically in working with puppies, using current best practice methods.
When choosing a class, always ask about qualifications and training methods. If you hear “dominance,” “alpha,” “leader of the pack,” or “balanced training,” you are not hearing modern, science-based methods — and puppies deserve better than that.
Get in touch for a referral.
Areas covered
Sessions are available across Melbourne’s southern, northern, and inner suburbs: Abbotsford, Albert Park, Alphington, Armadale, Balaclava, Beacon Cove, Brighton, Burnley, Carlton, Caulfield, CBD, Collingwood, Cremorne, East Melbourne, Elsternwick, Elwood, Fairfield, Fitzroy, Glen Huntly, Hawthorn, Kew, Malvern, Middle Park, Northcote, North Melbourne, Parkville, Port Melbourne, Prahran, Richmond, Ripponlea, Southbank, South Melbourne, South Yarra, St Kilda, Thornbury, Toorak, West Melbourne, Windsor.