Adolescent Puppy Manners – Ages between 4 months and 8 months old. The perfect older puppy class! Young puppies often seem to regress in their newly learned skills as they enter adolescence. It is the chief reason so many young dogs are relinquished to shelters. While this can be a trying time in a young dog’s life, you can help them get past this to grow into wonderful adults while you develop your own skills to help them. We use the positive reinforcement training method known as marker training, using a mechanical clicker or the word “yes” to signal correct choices and the arrival of a reward. As the pup becomes more adept at the behaviors they are learning, the marker is faded out. Instruction includes introduction and practice of basic obedience skills (attention to handler, sit, down, stand, stay, come, heel/polite leash walking and leave it) to build a strong foundation. Each week class time is spent on polishing heeling/polite leash walking (a difficult skill for many pups to master) and you will learn how to change reactive barking and excitement on walks, jumping, impolite greetings, stay/lack of impulse control and poor door manners to more acceptable behaviors. Please bring your dog, wearing a buckle collar, limited slip martingale, head halter or harness, a 6’ leather or fabric lead, and plenty of small, tasty treats (string cheese highly recommended!). You will be provided with a clicker to keep. Course includes handouts.