Puppy Classes

GOOD BEHAVIOR STARTS HERE

Ric Sommons hosts the training classes at Dolittle’s. Ric has had pets all of his life and has found great success in raising them with positive reinforcement. Back in 2015 Ric began studying dog training in earnest. He gained several certifications from respected training organizations including The Ian Dunbar Academy, Karen Pryor Academy, and Jean Donaldson Training School. In 2017 Ric began to implement these training concepts into classes at Dolittle’s. Today he is a member of the APDT and continues to keep up on the very latest in positive training methods and ideology.

One of my biggest takeaways from studying dog training is that if you allow a dog to make a choice then you will get a more confident dog with reliable behavior. Our job is to guide our dogs into making the right choice.

- Ric Sommons

All classes are taught off-leash in the Dolittle’s of Charleston training room. Classes focus on puppyhood from 10 weeks to 9 months. Each class focuses on achieving desired behavior with positive reinforcement. You will learn how to achieve results without using fear, pain, or force. You will learn the importance of saying yes instead of no, and much more.

Start puppyhood off right with early socialization. Dolittle’s offers a safe, monitored, and clean environment for young puppies to meet other young puppies. Our registration process asks for shot records so that we know all the pups are on the same track. Class size is limited so that no experience is too overwhelming. We encourage pet parents to start puppy socialization as early as 10 weeks (just after the second round of immunizations). We consider early socialization to be another kind of vaccination. A vaccination for social problems down the road. Read what the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has to say about early socialization. Feel free to share the AVSAB document with your veterinarian. Puppies can learn more from other puppies than they can learn from humans in the early stages. As the puppies interact Ric will point out certain behaviors to help you understand your puppy better.

Dolittle’s offers Puppy 101 and 201. Puppy 101 is about understanding the development of puppies and their behavior. In Puppy 201 we begin to implement the concepts from 101 in an effort to achieve compliant behavior. While 101 is not a prerequisite for 201 your pups behavior and your ability to work with it is enhanced by attending both sessions.

Puppies develop quickly and the window to successfully socialize them is short. They can be socialized later but it becomes more of a challenge. Do you and your puppy a favor and enroll them as soon as possible. It’s great fun and you will both learn some valuable lessons.