Puppy Class Welcome

 

Welcome to The Jolly Dog School - Puppy Class.

 

Your trainers look forward being of assistance to you.

 

The Jolly Dog School (JDS)

 

JDS was founded in 1958 and is affiliated to the Kennel Union of South Africa (KUSA).

The club is run by a committee, which is elected at an AGM and any club member is eligible to be on the committee.

We operate according to our constitution and the rules of KUSA.

JDS aim to be one of the most affordable schools around

The JDS school year runs from the middle of January to the end of November. In November, we have a few fun days, and our prize- giving at the end-of year lamb on the spit, which is included in your fees.

Fees are payable in advance, before your first lesson. We offer a reduce membership fee for family membership, where more then one dog is being trained. Single members get a reduce rate on their second and subsequent years fees.

We do not let children under the age of twelve (14) train a dog at the club, and we reserve the right to refuse to allow older children to train, if in our opinion they will not be able to handle the dog later on.

Remember a dog grows faster than a child and the child might be able to handle the dog currently, but not in a few months time. Also the dog will see the child as a “sibling” and not as “the boss” .

If you are not able to attend any particular class, please do not send the dog with someone else, this will only confuse the dog –as most of the training is towards the handler

We work on positive enforcement of actions, and hitting or punishing your dog will not be allowed by either KUSA or us

General training is from 15.30 to 16.30 hrs each Saturday during October to March and 14.30 to 15.30 from April to September. See below for holiday details.

Agility training is offered for those who would like to do this, which is included in your training fee, see below. Agility starts one hour before the times given above.

WHAT WE OFFER

During your training you will be amazed, how much your puppy learns and how much fun you both can have. As you progress up through the classes you will hear about people competing in Competition Shows and as soon as your trainer thinks you are ready you can be guided in the finer aspects of competing, if you wish to enter shows.

You would start at the level of Elementary Beginners and work your way up to the difficult “C” class –

And what seems impossible now, might not in a year or two.

Agility training is offered for those who would like to do this, which is included in your training fee, see below.

We will attempt to train you and your dog from knowing next to nothing up to the top class, which in shows terms means, we train from Elementary Beginners through to “C”, test as define by KUSA.

We will assist you with shows if you wish to enter them.

PUPPY CLASS

The puppy class is intended for puppies up to the age of six months, after which you will graduate to Des’s class 1, for more advanced training.

You will need a soft webbing collar and lead.

Soft treats like Vienna sausages or cooked chicken as a reward, and a toy for “fetch”.

Please remember to bring a bowl and water.

We request that you clean up after your puppy if they make a “mess”, so please bring a plastic bag or two, for this purpose.

The Puppy Class is for basic training and socialising.

At first the puppy class looks a bit chaotic as we do lots of different little things, but they are all part of an exercise and as time goes on those little exercises are put together and you will  see what your dog is achieving

We start with basic handling -- the dog on your left and lead in the right hand, food in your left hand by the dog’s nose.

You will learn the commands like heal, come in, stay, wait, sit, down, fetch and their different uses

·        Socialising and getting used to noises

·        Rewarding for doing what you have asked your dog to do

·        Using one command for one instruction.

There is also an introduction to agility work.

The dogs learn what we are showing them quicker than you will, so we also train you on handling your dog.

Different trainers and handlers find different techniques work for them, so within the limits of what we are teaching, you might find different methods are given to you from trainer to trainer. Find what works for you and use it, there is no right and wrong method, and methods do change, as people come up with new ideas that work.

Always end each exercise on a positive note, if you dog does what you wanted it to do, reward it and do not do it again at that point in time, because next time it more then likely will fail, and the failure is what the dog will remember.

If a dog runs away and comes back – reward it – you see it running away, but the dog sees it as “I came back to you - so reward!

If dog not only listens to your voice, but also to your eyes and body language.

To avoid slipping and falling we suggest you wear takkies or rubber soled shoes, not flip-flops.

Graduation from the classes above puppy class depends upon you and your dog’s achievements.

We all use the agility equipment and we request that at the end of the lesson you assist in packing the equipment away.

TRAINING TREATS

There are also dog biscuits that can be ordered from Ingrid, they are very popular.

AGILITY

Agility starts one hour before the times given above and you are welcome to come and learn Peter and Browyn will show you the way around. We do not allow dogs to jump if they are too young, this is to prevent injury to the dog’s joints. There should be no problem with dogs over 18 months. If you are interested your puppy can in the meantime learn the other apparatus –the tunnel, bending bars, “A” frame etc.

WATER

There are taps around the field for water.

NOISE

As respect to the neighbours of the ground we request that your dogs be not allowed to bark

NEWSLETTER

Unfortunately sometimes we cannot read the handwriting, therefore we ask new members to send an e-mail to us at peterdinsmore@gmail.com so that we can pick up the correct address so we can email you the newsletter, which keeps our cost down and therefore yours.

WEBSITE

Our website address is www.jollydogs.co.za where a copy of the newsletter will be found and other details about the club

 PROBLEMS

If you have a problem, first speak to your trainer. You may also speak to any other trainer, or committee member to resolve the problem. If they are unable to help, please speak to Peter Dinsmore, Chairperson, also the trainer  Class Two

If Peter cannot resolve the matter, as a KUSA affiliated club, you have the right approach them.

LIABILITY

No liability will be incurred by the Jolly Dog School in respect of any loss or damage to the dog/s, the member/s of the Jolly Dog School or any damage caused by the dog/s

HOLIDAYS

We do not train on long weekends, i.e. if Friday on Monday is a public holiday, but we do train if Saturday, Thursday or Tuesday is a holiday.

CLEANLINESS

Please keep the ground clean by using the rubbish bins that are around the field

LEADS

Please keep your dogs on their leads at all times, except where instructed by your trainer.

 

 

“The Jolly Team”