A Paws-On Approach to Training Puppies at Vale Park

What’s better than a cute puppy? Many cute puppies. What’s better than many cute puppies? Many cute puppies being trained in a fun and safe setting like Vale Park Animal Hospital.

Did you know that Vale Park offers training classes for young pups? Yup, you can bring in your young dog to learn important information like basic puppy care, potty training, integration, socialization, feeding, food and diet choice, basic commands, and much more.

Hayley Nichols, Veterinarian Assistant at Vale Park leads the classes. She is taking over for the original founder of the classes, Terri  Sajdera, who is a Registered Veterinary Technician at Vale Park and Certified Dog Trainer. Another trainer for the puppy class is Kristen Jeffrey, Registered Veterinary Technician at Vale Park.

“I’ve been here for 17 years and when I first started here I brought up the concept of a puppy training class,” Sajdera said. “I gave the owners an outline for the class and they said okay. Two months later we had the makings of our first class and it has gone nonstop since.”

Nichols began volunteering for hours with Sajdera a few years ago and plans to go to veterinary school. She attended seminars and shadowed other trainers so that she could learn about what they do and to become more familiar with dogs. She took the class herself with her puppy two years ago as she wanted her dog to be a service dog in hospitals and with children and the elderly.

This five-week course brings a maximum of eight puppies together in the Vale Park lobby with their owners to engage in fun and informative sessions. It is designed for puppies 8-16 weeks old which is the prime learning time for a puppy. Each class is different and may include video instruction, puppy playtime, demonstrations, individual and group instruction, written material, and Q and A time.

“We help owners get through basic puppy behaviors like barking, chewing, potty training… and we help them set up their puppies for success,” Sajdera said.

“Each week we focus on a new topic,” Nichols said. “Things are taken slow to ensure that the puppies aren’t overwhelmed with too many things at once. And we’re not only training the puppy but we’re helping the family members that attend to learn to work with these puppies in the same way so that they don’t get confused.”

Below is the breakdown of what takes place each week:

• Week 1 – Welcome and getting puppies accustomed to classes and sit command.
• Week 2 – Recalls and off commands. Getting your puppy to come to you when you call and teaching them that negative behavior won’t be rewarded.
• Week 3 – Working off leash with only bite-sized treats. Recall relays take place during this class where two owners call to their puppies at the same time. Who ever gets their pup to come to them first using only voice commands wins and/or treats.
• Week 4 – Working on leash and stay command. Leashes are introduced and owners are taught how to correctly handle their puppies without getting tangled up in the leash. The stay command is gradually introduced.
• Week 5 – Graduation. Gift certificates are given out and graduation tricks are performed. These tricks are practiced throughout the 5-week series and performed in front of everyone that night.

There is so much that happens at these classes and everyone learns so much. It’s extremely beneficial to not only the dogs, but their owners as well. 

“It’s amazing to see how the puppies grow and change during this time,” Sajdera said. “This class became so popular that I even teach a continuing class at my training facility. It’s called Camp Sunshine. This way we can expand on everything we taught at puppy class.”

Want to be part of the next puppy class? Call Vale Park Animal Hospital at 219-462-5785!