On its way

A training session
for your puppy, every day.

Six short exercises, about an hour with breaks, matched to your puppy's age. Tick off each skill as they learn it.

One email, on the day it's ready. Nothing else.

A puppy looking up attentively at a person sitting on the floor during a name-game training moment

How it works

The way a good puppy class runs, at home, on your schedule.

Today's session

Six exercises with breaks between them: four training tasks and two games. About an hour, in short bursts.

Skills you tick off

42 skills, from toilet training to spin, each in three levels with a test you can run at home. When your puppy passes it, you tick it off.

Kind by default

Treats, play and praise. We never use anything that scares or hurts a dog.

What your puppy can learn

Matched to age: 8 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, adult. Each skill has three levels and a home test.

Foundations

Marker word, taking treats gently, focus, hand target, settling in a crate or bed.

House skills

Toilet outside, sleeping through, settle on a mat, time alone, chewing the right things.

Manners

Sit, down, wait, stay, leave it, drop it, four paws for greetings, quiet on cue.

Out and about

Loose lead, recall, passing dogs, meeting people, traffic, car travel, the vet.

Tricks

Spin, paw, high five, roll over, play dead, weave, fetch, tidy toys, bow.

Brain and body

Sniff and search, food puzzles, tug with rules, impulse control, calm after play.

A look inside a session

A few of the moments the plan is built from, across the stages.

A puppy looking up attentively at a person sitting on the floor during a name-game training moment

Name means look

8-12 weeks

Sit on the floor with your puppy in a quiet room and say their name once, in a happy voice.

A puppy looking towards its owner from across a room during a name-game training moment

Name game, with distractions

3-6 months

Wait until your puppy is looking elsewhere in a quiet room, then say their name once in a happy voice.

A dog checking in with its owner while standing nearby

Name means look

Adult

Stand still with the dog nearby. Say their name once in a happy voice.

A dog sniffing around the garden lawn during a scatter-feed enrichment session

Scatter feed on the lawn

Low energy · garden

Take a handful of kibble from their daily meal allowance and scatter it through the grass.

A dog gently unrolling a towel to find treats tucked inside

Towel roll treat hunt

Low energy · indoor

Lay the towel flat and drop treats along it, then roll it up loosely for them to unroll.

A dog working out a muffin tin treat puzzle on the kitchen floor

Muffin tin puzzle

Medium energy · indoor

Put a treat in some of the muffin cups and let them work out which ones.

About

Made by Blain, who lives with Winnie, a four-year-old Labrador who taught him most of this the slow way. Questions or thoughts: Email us.