FAQs

Currently both our Preschool and High School courses are held at the Masonic Hall in central Armadale, very close to Foothills Animal Hospital. We have exciting plans to extend our services to a new area, watch this space more information on this is coming soon.

For puppies and dogs aged 6mths plus we offer a group training course called League Levels, there is no upper age limit.

No, this is a common misconception. Puppies only need to have had ONE vaccination to attend our Preschool course. We run our puppy classes from indoor locations which allows for through cleaning before puppies enter the hall. Each puppy is at a similar stage and will be limited in their ability to go out and about, reducing risk of infectious disease transfer. Classes are designed and approved by Dr Rachel White, a veterinarian and the risk of any transfer of disease is very very small. By not exposing our puppies to new experiences during this critical development period of their lives, the risks of behavioural issues as they mature are far greater. Puppies aged 8wks to 15wks can attend Preschool. Older puppies who are fully vaccinated should attend our High School course.

Currently we offer Preschool on Tuesday evenings at 6pm. Located in central Armadale. Watch this space new classes are coming soon!

Currently our preschool course runs for four weeks, held on Tuesday evenings at 6pm.

Preschool is designed to help our puppies confidence grow, we offer them new experiences and guide you to help your puppy explore, be brave and have fun. We also offer some fundamental training. Each week offers a new ‘experience’ and its wonderful to see people learn about their puppies preferences and how to help them be brave in the face of new experiences. We offer sound and up to date advice for families who are welcoming their new family member into the home and we offer an encouraging safe space to share your experiences with each other. Our classes are run by two experienced and IMDT qualified dog trainers who are there to guide and support you through these early weeks. We limit our class sizes to ensure that each family who joins us has a great experience and your puppies are not overwhelmed.

The cost for the Preschool School course is $230.

Currently we offer High School on Tuesday evenings at 7.15pm. Located in central Armadale. Watch this space new classes are coming soon!

Currently our High School runs for four weeks, held on Tuesday evenings at 7.15pm.

High School offers the opportunity to introduce some training fundamentals for puppies aged 16wks - 6mths. Puppies should be fully vaccinated to attend. This class is lots of fun, learning how to teach new life skills to your puppy. We use a games methadology based in positive reinforcement training. Puppies learn faster when they are having a great time learning, training should be like a day at the fun fair not boot camp! One of the most important skills puppies start to learn at High School is working around the distractions of other dogs and people. Some puppies find this easier than others but it is an essential skill to dedicate some time to, helping to shape our puppies response to other dogs to be neutral is one of the most under rated skills we can help them develop. The classes are run by two experienced and qualified IMDT dog trainers, who are dedicated to making this a great experience for every family. The course is also supported by a private Facebook group where we share training videos to support you through the week between classes.

The cost for the High School course is $230

In this course we teach useful life skills that include marker word, loose lead walking, emergency stop, send to bed as well as much more. All skills are taught with positive reinforcement and are a way to really connect and bond with your dog. In addition the challenge of working in an environment that is busy with other dogs and people is a skill that a lot of dogs can struggle with at first but is one worth spending lots of time building. The only prerequisite to this course is that your dog is comfortable in the company of other dogs, there is no direct socialisation but they need to be comfortable enough in the environment to learn.

The League Level classes are held at the members only Dogs West grounds located in Southern River.

League level 1 runs for 10 weeks.

The cost of this 10 week course is $370.

Whatever class you are attending with Dogs United Training Academy we strongly encourage you to bring treats that your dog finds the most motivating. We recommend small meaty based treats that are easy for your dog to eat, not too big - the size of your small finger nail and that don’t crumble to easily - some of our training games require you to throw a treat so using something that doesn’t break apart helps to reduce how much your dog focuses on the ground. Prime dog roll, cheese, sausage, chicken are some good options. If you would like more advice on this topic please speak to one of your trainers during your class. We also ask that you don’t feed dinner before attending class, this will create more motivation for your treats and feeding during training is a great way to provide a meal.

At Dogs United we encourage family members to be involved in raising and training your dog, however we request that an adult is in charge of the lead and performs exercises with the dogs as this can be difficult for children to do in class environments. If you would like your children to be more involved we can offer one on one training consults to help them with how to effectively communicate and train with their dog.

If you have a very specific training request or skill you wish to teach your dog a One-on-One training consult would be the best option to help address these specific requests. One-on-One consults provide the opportunity to have a trainer attend your house to work on specific skills. See our website page One-on-One consults for more information.

If your dog struggles with the sight of unfamiliar dogs a class environment is not recommended at first. Often people think that by attending classes they will some how ‘get over’ the reactive response, such as barking/lunging/growling. In fact it is likely to make the behaviour worse. We would recommend booking a One-on-One training consult to assess what is happening emotionally for your dog during these episodes of reactivity and working on skills in the home or a low stress environment before considering classes.

If your dog struggles with the sight of unfamiliar people, a class environment is not recommended. Often people think that by attending classes they will some how ‘get over’ the reactive response, such as barking/lunging/growling. In fact it is likely to make the behaviour worse. We would recommend booking a One-on-One training consult to assess what is happening emotionally for your dog during these episodes of reactivity and working on skills in the home or a low stress environment before considering classes.

If you are concerned that your dog is very anxious, unable to settle, easily startled and scared of the world we recommend booking a veterinary behavioural consultation with Dr Rachel White to discuss how we can help your dog feel more comfortable. See our page on Behavioural Consultations.