Puppy Preschool (Level 1: Foundations)

A quick welcome from our head trainer, Karen Baxter.

Learn what you’ll need to be successful in this course.

Learn what reinforcement is, and how to apply it effectively to promote lifelong learning.

Putting reinforcement in action through the “Treat Toss” exercise.

A marker word is your first way of communicating with your dog. The marker ("yes" or click) is instant feedback: "That's exactly it—reinforcement is coming!"

Before introducing your marker word in practice, we need to first add value to the using the “Loading the Marker Word” exercise.

Timing when it comes to “marking” behaviours is key.

Practice your timing with your marker word using this fun take on the classis “I Spy”game.

Pair your timing with effectively tossing a treat in “The Tennis Ball Game.”

After your marker word, the next most important piece of communication is your dog responding to their name.

It is important that our dog responds to their name, and this is a perfect way to practice your timing with your marker word.

Using food or smells to influence our puppies movement. It’s an invaluable tool to have in your foundation.

Teaching your dog to touch your hand through targeting and luring.

The final piece of communication for this week. A release word ("OK," "All done," etc.) means "behaviour over, reinforcement window closed—relax."

Cuing is the final step, not the start. But talk to your puppy in the meantime!

Use full sequence: Cue or Lure depending on progress → mark → reinforce → release.

To practice the full training sequence, we will use a behaviour you have probably already done with your dog; Sit.

Continue practising the full training sequence, moving on to the Down behaviour.

Natural walks allow your puppy to sniff/explore at their own pace. Great for enrichment, mental recharge, and confidence building.

Most of us have heard that socializing our puppies is essential for raising confident, resilient, and well-adjusted dogs. But what does socialization really mean?

Park Your Pup is a foundational concept/exercise, designed to help your puppy learn how to relax on cue in a designated safe space. It serves as the starting point for teaching guided relaxation and resiliency.

Since proper socialization is about building confidence through positive, calm experiences, how can you help your dog remain calm while outdoors?

This exercise teaches your pup the art of calm companionship—how to settle quietly and trust your guidance in a variety of public or stimulating settings.

Recognizing stress signals in puppies is crucial when introducing them to new environments or people, as it helps ensure their emotional well-being and prevents escalation of fear or anxiety.

Meeting new people and other dogs can be tough on your puppy! Learn the basics while observing body language throughout.

This game teaches puppies how to politely greet new people and other dogs by either targeting or sniffing, and then disconnecting.

The world, and the things in it, are brand new to your puppy. Properly exposing them to new and novel items in vitally important.

A low-pressure, open-plan activity that encourages your dog to engage with their environment and new objects at their own pace.

Reinforcing staying close to you in new/public places is incredibly important. It makes your presence valuable and reassuring.

The Walk With Me game encourages your puppy to walk beside you willingly, without force or pressure.

Recap: Proper socialization = positive, paced exposures + relaxation skills + reading stress + proximity value.

This week’s focus is on ensuring your puppy receives enough enrichment in their daily lives to support a healthy, balanced relationship and overall well-being.

The easiest and most natural form of enrichment is play! Puppies are, by nature, curious and playful learners.

You learned how to toss a treat to your dog in Week 1, now learn how to transform that into a fun game.

Most forms of play can be grouped into two main categories: competitive and supportive games. These activities make up what we call the play cycle, which is a rotating dial of enjoyment that encompasses a wide range of behaviours.

Many dogs love to engage in this game simply for the outlet to run and chase freely.

Tug games are an absolute must for those dogs craving competitive relationship-building games.

Play does not always require toys! In fact, most puppies are more than willing to engage with their guardians directly.

Play raises excitement—great, but we need to teach settling back down for impulse control and calm transitions.

Any form of play has a high likelihood of increasing your pup’s overall arousal and excitement levels. Therefore, we need to be able to settle your puppy back down to a manageable energy level.

Each play style and activity has its own benefits and risks. You can get creative by combining more than one to create an irresistible experience for your pup, being sure to end with a calming exercise.

Let’s introduce a toy that can cover almost every dial on the play cycle: A Flirt Pole.

Trust is one of the most important elements of any relationship — and that includes the one we share with our puppies.

Resource guarding is a natural survival behaviour seen across all species.

To build and maintain trust with your dog, it’s important to avoid direct conflict while still enforcing boundaries and ensuring safety.

With so much information available online, it can be difficult to know what’s true when it comes to dog training. Unfortunately, many common “tips” can damage trust and even put you or your puppy at risk.

Proper management of the environment is one of the most important principles of raising a puppy.

This game is designed to teach your dog that you are not a rival, but a trusted partner in their exploration and learning.

Teach puppy that your presence near the bowl predicts more food, not less.

Drive-By Treating is a simple, low-effort exercise that pairs your presence with positive experiences—adding value without causing stress or distrust.

Of course, there will be times when you need to interrupt your dog’s feeding before they’re finished.

Final piece is teaching restraint and impulse control around food in your hand.

This exercise prevents food snatching and builds patience/stay.

General measure of the stressors training introduces to dogs; the 3 D’s.

Engagement warm-up preps puppy for work, shifts focus to you instead of environment.

When you encounter distractions that exceed your dog’s current leash-walking skill level, use the Heel position.

Baseline stress is present regardless of the 3 D’s. These build like layers, impacting your puppy and their ability to perform.

Adding motion to the Heel position.

For those tight spots or when your puppy is overwhelmed, put them behind you single-file.

Learning to walk on leash is one of the most challenging skills for puppies to master.

Before we can truly use the leash as a communication tool, our puppies must first understand what leash pressure means and how to respond to it.

Dog’s pull because your continue to walk when they do.

Once your puppy understands these basics, you can begin shaping structured loose-leash walking.

Ending with a safety skill that builds patience and calm during walks: Stay.

Cooperative care is a cornerstone of positive reinforcement training and relationship building, equipping puppies to handle veterinary visits and grooming with confidence and minimal stress.

Teaching the Stand position for Cooperative Care exercises.

Once your dog can reliably hold a Stand, the next step is to introduce a chin rest.

This technique ties directly to cooperative care by fostering a dog’s ability to engage willingly, enhancing their emotional resilience in new or challenging settings.

Teaching dogs to maintain attention on their guardian in distracting or stressful environments.

Desensitization and counter-conditioning builds positive associations with novel stimuli, helping dogs overcome fear or anxiety.

Veterinary clinics and grooming can be highly stressful for puppies, as they encounter unfamiliar handling and restraint, with no frame of reference for how to interact.

Veterinary/grooming tools can be scary without context. We will use gradual low-intensity exposure, paired with treats to shift fear to joy.

When caring for your dog — whether you’re removing a tick, brushing out a mat, or cleaning eye discharge — it’s important to remember that puppies experience the world primarily through scent and taste.

Muzzle conditioning is an essential component of building care, ensuring puppies can safely undergo veterinary or grooming procedures without added stress, especially in situations involving pain or fear.

Stress/pain can lead to bites, even with the most gentle dogs. Proactive muzzle conditioning builds a foundation of trust, ensuring dogs remain calm and cooperative, even in challenging situations.

Congratulations! You have successfully completed Puppy Preschool!

You have successfully completed Puppy Preschool, however, do not feel pressured to move on right away.

Your training does not stop here! Learn about what’s next.