A proven training program that works for you and your puppy!
At Wagging Heart Kennels we understand that many of our clients live very busy lives. Due to this and the many requests from our clients such as: “I would love a puppy but I simply don’t have the time it takes to train it” or “I don’t really want to go through the eight week old puppy stage, could you train it for me?” With these requests and many others we have established our extensive Imprint Training Program.
Level 1: 6 Week Imprint training Program
Cost: $995 / week (+ price of puppy)
We do basic training by the week. In this training period your puppy will be placed into the home of one of our certified trainers where it will live 24/7 with the trainer! Your puppy will learn the basics of house training which means we take them out every hour to do their business, and with this we will teach your puppy to ring the bells when it has to go outside to do its business. Being consistent with this, the puppy will have these basics in 4-6 weeks. We will also start working on things like sit, stay, come, leave it, walking on the leash, and whatever else it picks up. Your puppy will also be crate trained, and sleep all night long, if you do your part. Keep in mind if you choose the “Level 1” training program we don’t have as much time with your puppy to reinforce the things it will learn in the “Level 2” program. It will require dedication, consistency and commitment on your part to make sure you adequately reinforce these rules for your puppy.
Level 2: Extensive 3 Month Imprint Training Program
Cost: $16,000 (Puppy Included)
Outline of Wagging Heart’s Imprint Training Program:
In this 3 month Imprint Training period your puppy will go through our rigorous training program designed to get your puppy off to the best start possible and to teach it the basic life necessities, to function in a well behaved manner in your home.
MONTH ONE: LIFESTYLE (Learning to be in the crate/house. Socialization with people and other dogs. Using the washroom outside/What the bells are. BASIC obedience)
MONTH TWO: LEARNING (Repetition everyday of all obedience, including: “Come”, “sit”, “down”, “stay”, “leave it”, “drop it”, etc. etc. Proper play styles. Solidifying everything they have learned in MONTH ONE.)
MONTH THREE: PROOFING (Intermediate obedience, loose leash walking, field trips, duration and distraction work, tricks *if applicable* and brush ups.)
GO HOME DAY: A private lesson to make sure everything is known, and everyone feels confident.
In this 3 month imprint training period your puppy will be placed into the home of one of our certified trainers where it will live 24/7 with the trainer! This will mimic the environment it will encounter when you move your puppy to your home! This is 24/7 Imprint Training includes - house training, leash trained, sit, stay, down, come, leave it, shake a paw, and what ever else they pick up while they are in the trainers home.
Your puppy will be incorporated into the daily routine of the household, and be an active member of the family! This routine will include positive relationships with the crate, as well as an introduction to house training.
The crate is an important training tool to us, and is meant to be a safe place for the puppy to retreat to. This in the long term significantly decreases separation anxiety and restlessness. The crate will never, under ANY circumstances, be used as a punishment!
The puppy will have a frequent routine of being taken outside to do its business, to set them up for success. The increment of time will be increased from week to week while the puppy establishes better bladder control. We teach with bells, so they will then associate that with telling us they need to go out to do their business. The puppy will be taught the proper bathroom environment, and will always be thrown big parties when he is successful. Lots of praise!
Our introduction to obedience will be taught in 3 stages: starting with luring, graduating to voice and hand signals as we progress. The commands taught in these 12 weeks will consist of:
Sit
Sit is an important command for a dog to learn and learn well, as it helps them to calm down, relax and control themselves in exciting situations.
Stay
Stay is also a very important command for your puppy to learn. This builds their self control, even when you aren’t nearby to watch over them.
Down
You may wonder why we teach this command? nothing is more frustrating then when your well dressed friends show up unannounced at the door, you welcome them in and your dog is just as excited to see them as you are! But your dog doesn’t know the command “down” so it’s way of saying hello is to jump up all over your friends. Making for an awkward situation. This is why we teach this command so they know what to do in these types of situations.
Come (reliable recall)
Having a reliable recall is especially important if you want to allow your dog to run off-leash outside of a fenced yard or dog park. Even if your dog doesn’t go off-leash, reliable recall is an important skill for any dog in the event of an emergency. Dogs are not robots, so there is never any guarantee that they will listen to your cue. But with a lifesaving skill like recall, we are working towards them being as consistent as possible.
Loose leash walking
All of the training dogs enjoy daily walks and understand the concept of loose leash walking.
leave it
We will also be teaching loose leash walking and polite leash manners.
Desensitization is very important to us: meaning the puppy will participate in confidence building games and activities on a daily basis.
Experiences such as: Reliable Recall, Car rides, scent games, interactions with new people and dogs, physical handling (relaxation while being pet, having his pads, ears and legs touched for future grooming experiences) and baths
The puppy will also have frequent sound association sessions in a relaxing and controlled environment. This will build confidence with noises such as: thunder, fireworks, the vacuum, the blow dryer, garbage trucks and other various noises he may encounter.
All of this information will be relayed and shown to you when you pick up the puppy - If you would like us to add anything specific, please let us know! We will also take videos of most of these activities for daily/weekly check ins with you. Our Imprint Training Program is designed to benefit you and your puppy for many happy years! We are confident you will be proud to walk on with a well behaved dog from Wagging Heart Kennels!