11 MarEpisode 196 | Private training for puppies: What it’s like to work one-on-one with an SFTD puppy trainer (Also: Special offer on virtual training)
Every day, School For The Dogs trainers meet one-on-one with puppy owners in private sessions designed to help pave a path of success for all the species in that unique, particular household. Annie attempts to take an unbiased peak at what happens in these sessions by cold calling two clients who recently attended private ninety-minute sessions with a School For The Dogs trainer. She speaks to Dana, whose family has worked with SFTD's Erin Whelan with her dog, Goldie, and she speaks to Rachel, who saw SFTD's Shaina Norton. She discusses the experience of attending these sessions, their expectations, and their takeaways. Annie also chats with these owners about the benefits of walking with a leash attached to your waist, and throwing "desensitization picnics" for your puppy.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Want to work with a School For The Dogs trainer? You don't have to be in NYC!
Through the end of March 2022, take advantage of a special offer: Two of our on-demand courses plus a ninety-minute virtual private session with a School For The Dogs trainer for just $297 (a $591 value). Learn more at schoolforthedogs.com/virtualbundle
Book a private session with us
Learn more about Shaina and Erin
The Found My Animal hands-free leash
Follow us on Instagram to see photos and videos of the puppies mentioned in today's episode! @schoolforthedogs
Related Episodes:
Episode 93 | School For The Dogs' trainer Erin Whelan on how dog training changed her life
Episode 60 | The Most Important Behavior You’ll Ever Train
Episode 152 | 10 products that new dog owners need (and probably don’t know about)
Transcript:
Hi podcast listeners. So it occurs to me that there might be some people who are listening, who see this as called School For The Dogs podcast, but might not realize that School For The Dogs is not just the podcast name. It is an actual place in New York City. We are located in the East Village in Manhattan, 92 E 7th street. It is a two story storefront location with a big red awning and a little yard out back. And we train dogs.
Now I say we train dogs, but of course I believe we are always training dogs. Dogs are always learning. So dog training is kind of, you know, this, this amorphous thing that has no start and no end the way I see it. But we specifically work with dogs and they're human best friends in our location, doing group lessons, doing private lessons, doing what we call off-leash services which are essentially play groups that are monitored by trainers. We separate by puppies and adult dogs, and if they're adult dogs, we sometimes separate them by size or temperament.
We have Drop-Off services. Those are services where people bring their dogs for part of the day to work in some cases one-on-one with a trainer, in some cases in group sessions with a trainer. We call that Day School. And we also do loads of private lessons where people come with their dogs, be it a puppy or a dog who has “issues,” as we say, behavior issues.
And we do group classes. We have tons of different group classes, Puppy Kindergarten, Prep School is kind of like our basic manners class. One of our most popular classes for the urban dog and dog owner is Sidewalk Psychos, which is a group class for dogs who are dealing, especially with leash reactivity. We have a class called Stranger Danger, tons of classes.
But I was thinking to myself, if someone really has never been to School For The Dogs and hasn't worked with one of our trainers, they might not know what it even looks like to work with a dog trainer, whether that's privately or virtually, with a group class, with a puppy, an adult dog. So I wanted to try and give you, dear listener, kind of like a peek inside what our trainers actually do from the perspective of a client.
So I picked a service, kind of randomly, I picked our private sessions specifically. I wanted to see if I could get an insider's view of our private puppy sessions. So kind of at random, honestly, I called up a couple puppy owners who have recently worked with our trainers, and fortunately they both had really great experiences. It does not surprise me at all. Our trainers are pretty fabulous and I think we provide some top notch help to puppy owners.
So what you're gonna hear, they're kind of testimonials, really. Now the clients you are about to hear are in New York City and work in person with our trainers, but we also offer these sessions virtually. And it works really well virtually, because so much of what happens in a private session, actually with a puppy, someone who might be new to having a puppy or having a puppy in New York City. So much of that first session really is talking, so it can work well virtually. And I think it works especially virtually with dog owners who have done some homework beforehand.
So for that reason, for listeners of this episode, I've put together a special bundle that we're gonna offer through the end of this month that I think will help you with a new puppy both with private assistance, via a virtual session with one of our trainers. But also with the benefit of having the on demand courses which can be done at your own pace. Some of them are mostly videos, some of it’s stuff to read.
And the two things really compliment each other. It is so valuable of course to have the undivided attention for an hour and a half of a certified trainer who can address your specific needs and goals. But also, it sure is helpful to have something that you can watch while you're laying in bed at night, puppy cuddled at your feet.
So if you're interested in this bundle where you can get the 90 minute session, plus these virtual on demand courses altogether through the end of the month, it's $297. You can check it out at schoolforthedogs.com/virtualbundle. And if you're one of the first 10 purchasers, you will get a special little gift in the mail from me. Without further ado, here are these clients talking about what it was like to work with one of our trainers with their puppies.
[music]
Dana:
My name is Dana Mayo, and I have a 15 week old puppy, cavapoo puppy, Goldie. And she's a pistol.
[laughing]
Annie:
So how did Goldie come to be enrolled as a student at School For The Dogs?
Dana:
Just Googled. I was getting a new puppy and I had some experience because my daughter just got a puppy recently in another state. And she had such great luck with training and had never even used a trainer before for any previous dog. So I thought, oh, I'm gonna get training for my new puppy. And so I put into the search.
And I think I narrowed it down to School For The Dogs based on all the different options. There were so many different – there were classes, there was one on one. There were just lots of things that appealed to me that I thought would be beneficial. And then Puppy Playtime, I thought was gonna be really super important because Goldie couldn't go outside and play with other dogs yet.
So walking outside and exposure to so many different animals and so many different people, so many different sounds, I thought I definitely needed reinforcement with that with a puppy. It's not just like you can just go out in the yard and throw a ball.
Annie:
What were your expectations of doing a private session? And then can you kind of walk me through the experience of having one of our trainers come and work with you?
Dana:
Yeah, it was fabulous. I think we were supposed to come in and do the one-on-one, but it ended up being that Goldie tested positive for a parasite, so we couldn't come in.
Annie:
You couldn't come to our facility, you mean?
Dana:
Correct. So Erin said, well, I can come out. And I thought that was just like, I couldn't even believe. I thought that was so great.
Annie:
You mean to have to have a trainer come to your home?
Dana:
Yes. And it was better to have her come to the house so she could see the environment that we were raising Goldie in. So she could see where Goldie slept and went to the bathroom and everything instead of just explaining it. And I actually have a very different circumstance, cause I have a daughter that uses a wheelchair, and it's a power chair. And when we first got Goldie, she didn't have any fear of it or anything. And she would jump on and ride around, which was great.
But at the same time, she didn't know to stay away from it. So my daughter really couldn't go anywhere. Goldie was like under her wheels the entire time. So we needed help with that. So it was great that Erin could see that and offer suggestions and help us with that.
Annie:
I guess, what does the session look like? I mean, to someone who has no idea what a private session with a dog trainer…
Dana:
I didn't know what to expect when she came. I really thought it was gonna be more, “Hi, this is the services that we can provide for you. Do you want to sign up for more,” kind of thing. But she came in, she sat down and from the minute she sat down, she was training. Or, you know, introducing new concepts to Goldie and us. I mean, we needed to be trained along with the dog, so we knew what to do and how to do things.
So simple, just, she didn't know her name at that point, you know? So just the little tricks that she did all while she was explaining to us what we should be doing, she was showing us and she was doing it, and Goldie was responding like a superstar.
And everything that she taught us during her session of explaining things– and instead of just telling us, oh, this is what we can do, and this is what you should do, she was showing us. And that made it all the more memorable and relevant. I could see that what she was saying was working. I could see that when I did it after she did it, that Goldie responded and it was so that made it so worth it.
I knew dogs can be trained, but like sit and that's pretty much the extent of the training that I ever did, was sit and stay and you know, paw and shake or something like that. But she showed us Touch. And so Goldie, I mean in seconds was touching, and it's helped me immensely when we're around other people and I need to get her attention or anything, and I just do the touch and I still do it just about every day when I need to get her attention. And so she taught us that in that first session.
She made me understand that it's like a child. They want to learn, they want to have rules, they want to have structure. And, oh, she told me that it was okay to put her in the crate, cause I didn't want Goldie to think that the crate was punishment, because she was really a good crate sleeper and I didn't wanna abuse it and use it during the day. And that's honestly been a lifesaver just to take a shower and just to, you know, have a minute, it's okay to put her in the crate and she's perfectly happy. It's not a punishment. And so that was reassuring.
You forget how much work a puppy is.
Annie:
You've also been doing day school with her.
Dana:
And puppy playtime. I was doing puppy playtimes twice a week, and I go again on Friday. Yes. And everything is reaffirming everything that I'm doing. They do things and then I do them at home.
Annie:
What's her energy level like after puppy playtime or day school versus –
Dana:
She crashes. She crashes, yeah. And the first time it was hilarious because she has like this little bed on the floor and her head was on the floor and her body was on the bed. So she was like hanging off. Like she couldn't even lift her head. She was so tired. But she's rambunctious and goes full speed ahead, and then stops, you know, she's done.
Annie:
Aww. Goldie!
Dana:
Yeah. I actually just contacted Erin. I think I'm gonna get some more, not one-on-one, cause I'm not gonna be there.
Annie:
Day training, we call it.
Dana:
What is it?
Annie:
We call it day training.
Dana:
Day training. I really think that Goldie needs someone else that's not me cause, I don't know. I think she probably looks at me as being a little bit of a pushover. Like she can get away with more. So I'm hoping that Erin can be the person that she'll actually walk on the street with and not just sit down. She likes to just sit on the street, on the sidewalk, and not walk.
Annie:
Well, I'm sure it'll help to have someone reinforcing good walking, but also I think Erin can help you help her figure out that the walking nicely game works with both of you.
Dana:
Right. I'm very much looking forward to it.
Annie:
Do you have a hands free leash?
Dana:
No.
Annie:
I was speaking to another puppy owner the other day, and he said that – actually my recommendation, which he saw on Instagram cause I did this like funny reels of me wearing a hands free leash changed his experience outside with his dog. Because it really frees up both of your hands to be able to give treats.
And I also think that the fixed length of a hands free leash rather than if something's in your arm, you extend your arm, you bring your arm back. Like it's not like a perfect fixed radius. But when something's attached to your waist, I think your dog can start to learn what is more precisely like where – anyway, glad that it's going well, thank you for your patronage.
Dana:
Yeah, no problem. Thanks for reaching out.
[music]
Rachel:
So my name is Rachel and my puppy is Hudson, and we had a private training session a couple weeks ago now. And it was just a really great experience to have Shaina be able to meet Hudson in his home environment where most comfortable, but also see how he interacts in the space.
Was really helpful for her to be able to give us some pointers on how we should be working with him to train him. Rather than just saying, Oh, he likes to chew on things, she can actually kind of see where are those spots that he's always going, and what are the best ways for us to draw his attention elsewhere.
And also she was able to see that we have a really long hallway in our entryway and come up with a game that we could play with him to work on name recall using the space. So that's been really great just in terms of it's something we can easily do on our own in our home anytime we have a few minutes, and it gives Hudson some practice with name recall. But also, he's running back and forth up and down a long hallway and he's getting some energy out. So, that was really great.
So I think just, you know, kind of being able to see the environment that he's in and give us some pointers before going into puppy kindergarten with little things we could start working on was incredibly helpful.
Annie:
It helped you come into puppy kindergarten being a little bit more savvy?
Rachel:
Yes, I think so. We really didn't know a whole lot before Shaina came over. And so now, she was also able to kind of give us an overview of what the courses are going to be like and what we can expect. And also just working a little bit with some of the commands, I feel like we are going in knowing a little bit more than we had before she came out.
I had heard that the first four months of a puppy's life are really critical, but Shaina was explaining to us that even the two week period after we met with her was even more critical. And so I hadn't realized how much those two weeks meant even in that scheme of the first four months.
And she just talked to us about, you know, how do you make every experience a positive experience? So that was, I mean, obviously we want everything to be positive for him, but sometimes we were like, how do we do that?
You know, if we have to put him in his crate, if he's being too rambunctious and he needs to calm down, and she did a great job of explaining that it's like being sent to your room as a kid. You're in a room with all of your stuff. So making sure that he has toys and maybe some treats and that he's not just being locked in an empty crate. That even as we're giving him some time to calm down, it's a really positive experience.
Annie:
Interesting. I wanted to just read from the report that it looks like Shaina sent afterwards. Shaina wrote:
Hudson is a 12 week old Labrador golden retriever mix brought home by his guardians about two weeks ago. This is their first puppy. And he has adjusted well to living in the city. His guardians are beginning crate training and he is being leash-walked for potty breaks every two to three hours.
Hudson greeted me readily at the door and was confident and outgoing. He lacked mouth control and would chew on hands, clothes, and items in the house like tables and legs, and would also frequently jump up to grab treats from my hand. His guardians report he will also chew on the wire crate and hasn't been left alone yet for very long. He appeared eager to learn and trained well and was already very responsive to his name. Hudson remained engaged throughout the session and enjoyed being close to his guardians, and also sought out affection and attention from me.
And she broke down some goals: increase time between potty breaks, and she wrote out a plan for that. Reduce attention seeking behaviors and build impulse control, she wrote out a plan for that. And teach basic cues and manners. And she suggested a plan for that, starting with working on clicker training.
It looks like she's suggested a few different exercises, impulse games, like the elevator game. Wait at the doorway, say please. But then I see she talked about desensitization picnics. Can you talk a little bit about what a desensitization picnic is?
Rachel:
Yes. The city, I mean, as I'm sure you're well aware, it's just, it's a lot. There's so much going on at all hours of the day and night. I think the first night that we got Hudson home, I had to take him out to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. And it was like 2:30 in the morning in the middle of the week. And there was just still so much activity on the street, and that was so distracting for him.
We could be outside for over an hour and he just would not have gone to the bathroom because he's so distracted by all the people and the cars and the noises. So going on those desensitization picnics and helping him really get used to this environment has been super helpful.
Annie:
How would you describe what a desensitization picnic is?
Rachel:
So we've just been bringing him to maybe not the noisiest areas, but just kind of some different areas, different stoops, where we can kind of sit with him in the neighborhood, and he can sit there and be very calm and feel comfortable cause he's with us. But just kind of watch things happen. Watch people walk by, watch cars walk by, maybe hear some construction noises down the block, and just get used to all of the sounds and the sites of the city so that it's not so overwhelming for him.
Annie:
How did you first find School For The Dogs?
Rachel:
We found it just doing a quick internet search. You know, there were lots of testimonials and things that had come up. and then I also just asked at our vet if she had heard of you guys, if she recommended you, if she had someone else she recommended. And she had said she had had a lot of clients who had used you and had been very happy with their experience.
Annie:
Oh, who's your vet?
Rachel:
Dr. Kushner at the Washington Square Animal Hospital.
Annie:
Oh great. You know, our services are not inexpensive, but I think that they can be transformative. Do you know what I mean? So it's not like you're just paying for the time that you're sitting there.
Rachel:
Yes, no. I mean, I think it goes beyond that, right. Shaina gave us exercises and things that we can do with Hudson when she's not here, which was really helpful, because I did grow up with dogs. I was a little bit younger when they kind of went through their training. So I remember some things but not everything. And so we were kind of able to teach him to sit and kind of little things.
But it was sort of those larger things with how do we train him in the right way and be doing the things that are making it the best experience for him, and also going to make sure that the training sticks with him. So it's great that she's given us some things that we can do on our own.
And really. She did a great job of kind of explaining to us, this is what we do and this is why, so we really understand what we're doing when we're teaching Hudson things. And yeah, just to be able to practice outside of puppy kindergarten, outside of the private training sessions is great. Cause we're obviously paying for the time that we're with her, but then we can also take those learnings and practice with him outside of that and feel really confident in being able to do this and to work with him on our own.
We’re very excited for puppy play time on Sunday and also for puppy kindergarten to start.
Annie:
Great. Well, I can't wait to meet him.
[music]
You can do a session with a School For The Dogs trainer plus get some of our on demand courses at a special price when you go to SchoolForTheDogs.com/virtualbundle. Of course, if you are in New York City, you could also work with us virtually, but you're also welcome to join us for training at our E 7th Street location. We also do in-home sessions in select parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram @SchoolForTheDogs where we have posted some videos of these cute puppies we talked about today. As always, if you have any questions or wanna send me a picture of your cute puppy, I'm at annie@schoolforthedogs.com.
