There was no throwing of mortarboards but there was plenty of appaws for the graduates of the first ever Puppy Preschool held at the Cowra Veterinary Centre on Wednesday night.
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Puppy Preschool, the first of its kind in Cowra, involved four weeks of hard work for the six very good boys and girls, all aged from eight to 12 weeks.
Trainer Pauline Gill said there was a need for dog training of this kind in Cowra.
“There hasn't been an opportunity for a Puppy Preschool here and this facility is ideal,” she said.
“Because Cowra is so hot in summer and so cold in winter, you can’t train outside, so the opportunity came when Kellie (Seres, veterinarian) and I were talking and we talked about the possibility of doing puppy preschool.
“We pulled it together in one week and this is it.”
The six graduates were Charlie the Groodle, Ruby the Toy Poodle, Bella the German Sheppard, Bundy the Whippet and Labradors Evie and Jessica.
During the past month, all six pups have been taught to leave, watch, sit, come, drop and stand on command, as well as building a relationship with the owners.
Pauline said it was a great opportunity for owners to get in early and teach their dogs social and obedience skills.
“It’s a chance not just to teach the dog, but also dog sense, they get a hand out, not just an education thing but all of the information you want about how to raise a dog plus also the responsibilities of owning a dog in the community so worming, vaccinating, microchipping, registering with the Council, dogs on the lead, dog safe areas,” Pauline said.
“So they get all of the information they need that they don’t normally get.”
She said there has been drastic improvement during the past four weeks.
“If you saw these guys when they first came, they were… busy little puppies,” Pauline said.
“This was good focus, this was good discipline and apart from my muppet (Jessica the Labrador), none of them are older than 16 weeks. In fact, most of them are 12, 14 weeks, they are babies.”
Pauline says more classes will be held and will be based on demand.
“The interest has been quite significant, so in February and March classes are now 8 to 12 weeks and then a 13-16 week old,” she said.
“And then we will see what we do in the school holidays.”
Call 6341 3113 for more information on future classes.
