The NI Executive announcement last Thursday evening was a blow. We’ve been lucky this autumn in being able to continue to run in-person classes so far, but the latest lockdown will put a stop to that for a while.
But we have a cunning plan. We are moving planned sessions to after lockdown (assuming we are allowed to reopen then), or moving them online. Our puppy socialisation practice course will run Tuesday and Thursday this week and the next Perfect Pet Primer will run 12th and 19th December.
This year has shown us that online dog training works really well for several reasons:
- You get the chance to listen and focus on what’s being said without being distracted by the other people moving, coughing and shuffling around, or dogs barking
- Your dog is calmer and often more responsive because you are practising new things at home instead of a distracting training environment
- You can take notes in comfort, on a table or desk and even direct to your computer, rather than trying to remember everything
- You can ask questions without embarrassment – you can type questions into the chat, privately if you wish, or you can ask them directly if you’d prefer
- We have more time to answer questions than we often have at in-person classes
- It’s easy to see the slides and watch the videos in the presentation to find out what to do because you can make it full screen. And you can watch them as often as you want on our private individual course webpages
The only real downside is that it can be difficult at first to set your phone up so we can see what you’re doing when training in real time. But we can mitigate that because you can send us in any training videos for review if you wish – your choice!
So what have we got in store?
You can find details and links for all the following courses on our website home page or click the links for each individual course:
Barking dog webinar: Sunday 29th November 6.30pm – 8pm with Claire Lawrence, barking dog expert. Find out how to control your dog’s annoying barking. Includes the webinar, the recording and a free paperback copy of Claire’s book: Three Steps to Silence
Serene Separation course: Wednesday 2nd and 9th Dec 7 – 8.15pm. This two session live online course and workbook teaches you how to help your dog be comfortable with being left at home alone. No more stressed and upset dog, no more neighbour complaints and no more destroyed furnishings, fixtures and fittings.
Socialisation at a Distance: Tuesday 8th, Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th December 10-11.15am. What you do in the first 8 weeks with your puppy influences whether you end up with a confident, happy, well-socialised puppy or a fearful, reactive dog. Come along and find out how to socialise your puppy well, even in lockdown when you can’t get out.
Click the links to find out more and to book your place.
We also have an increasing range of self-study online courses ready for you to work through at your own pace when you want to – click the link to find out more.
Lockdown can be a bonus for dog training if you are stuck at home – see it as an opportunity to train your dog!
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol