New Puppy Home Visits

Welcome Home Puppy!

New Puppy Home Visits have been designed to support you in planning for your new puppy's arrival, and in learning how to understand, and successfully provide for your puppy's needs within your unique household once they have arrived.

 

Like humans, dogs have essential needs which must be satisfied on a daily basis in order for them to feel physically, psychologically and emotionally fulfilled. When a dog guardian finds themselves being presented with undesirable behaviours from their dog, it is usually because the guardian is not providing adequately and / or appropriately for one or more of their dog's core needs. By making meeting your puppy's needs your number one priority, they will be better able to relax (meaning you will see a reduction in undesirable behaviour), and better able to learn (meaning that your attempts to train your puppy to want to engage in behaviours that you prefer, are likely to be more successful).

 

Puppies have a LOT of learning to do in a VERY short space of time. A critical period for learning and development in your puppy's life starts at around 2 weeks old, then quickly tapers off after about 12 weeks of age (up to around 16 weeks of age for larger breeds), which is often before most puppies arrive at their first training class. Your puppy’s life experiences during this early window of opportunity can have long-lasting influences on their confidence and expectations, and shape their behaviour well into adulthood, therefore it is crucial that they are exposed to multiple positive experiences with a range of different people, dogs, and other animals, as well as with a variety of novel objects and environments, during this time.

 

By providing you with one-to-one advice and coaching prior to and / or soon after your puppy arrives in your home, I can help you to:

 

  • Prepare your home in advance of your puppy's arrival, for example, establishing an appropriate, safe and inviting area for your puppy to rest, sleep and spend time alone

  • Plan the 'handover' day to ensure that your puppy's transition from the breeder's / fosterer's home or rescue centre to your home is as stress-free as possible

  • Introduce your puppy successfully to other family members, including children, existing dogs in the home and any other pets

  • Create a structured routine for your puppy, and house rules for the whole family to follow, to promote clarity, calmness and confidence amongst everyone in the home

  • Implement a successful house-training plan

  • Develop your puppy's confidence when spending time alone

  • Avoid common pitfalls that can lead to your puppy developing undesirable / unsafe behaviours

  • Identify opportunities for providing your puppy with physical, psychological and social enrichment to meet their needs and ensure wellbeing

  • Understand how to protect your puppy’s body with appropriate exercise and management of their daily physical activities

  • Create opportunities for socialising and habituating your puppy

  • Put together a shopping list of things that you and your puppy are likely to need for satisfying basic needs, enrichment, management and training

  • Embark on your shared journey of developing understanding and communication through basic training

 

Thoughtful planning and implementation of activities during your puppy’s first weeks, can help to ensure that your life together starts with minimal stress and maximum opportunity for you to develop a strong, secure bond with one another, and for your puppy to develop into a relaxed, confident and adaptable adult dog.

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You can choose to receive your New Puppy Home Visit in either of the following two ways:

 

1. An in-person visit from Sara to your garden, lasting 1 hour and 15 minutes, plus an emailed copy of our New Puppy Guide reference document.

 

OR

 

2. Two 45 minute video call sessions with Sara via (typically Zoom however other platforms are available), plus an emailed copy of our New Puppy Guide reference document.

 

Price:

£50.00

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To register your interest in booking a New Puppy Home Visit, please complete the Registration Form on the Booking Information page.

What clients say

“We engaged Sara very shortly after acquiring our new puppy, Grackle. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. Having last had a puppy twelve years ago we felt we needed a refresher course as so much has changed with training methods and we were frankly sceptical about ‘treat training’. We also wanted to give our puppy the best possible start in life.

 

From the moment we met Sara it was quite obvious that she has that very special gift of connecting with dogs. Her empathy and patience were balanced by her enthusiasm for training dogs and working with humans. We thoroughly enjoyed our sessions with her and have benefited so much from the advice she happily dispensed. Most of all, we loved (and were slightly envious!) of the way Grackle responded to Sara.”

Lesley, Sandy and Grackle the Catalan Sheepdog

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