Lomond Hills Puppy School

Lomond Hills Puppy School is a unique service that we offer exclusively to buyers of our Australian Labradoodle puppies. For the most part, Lomond Hills puppies move to their forever homes on the scheduled puppy collection day, typically a Friday between 8 and 9 weeks old – but if you prefer – you can enrol your puppy in our Puppy School for 1 – 5 weeks of professional training and socialisation. This is a key stage in your puppy’s development, often known as the “sensitive” or “imprint” period, when big leaps in training and socialisation are possible in a relatively short period of time.

Perhaps you are a first-time dog owner and would like your puppy to be professionally trained before you welcome them into the family? Or maybe you are keen to train your puppy yourself, but would like them to have a head-start on crate and toilet training before they come home? Maybe you have the time to dedicate to dog ownership, but are just not able to commit to the several weeks of intensive training that goes along with bringing home an untrained 8-week old puppy? We have four options across our Puppy School which are designed to meet the varying needs of our customers. It's important to remember that training is ongoing, so even with 5 weeks of professional training here, you can't expect to have a perfectly trained puppy. Your puppy will have a good grasp of the basics and you will find the following stages a lot easier, but there is still work to be done by yourselves at home.

Puppy School Programmes
1.
A Paw Up
1 week at LHL
2.
One Paw Forward
2 weeks at LHL
3.
Paws on Track
1 week at LHL
2 weeks with trainer
4.
Paws For Perfection
1 week at LHL
4 weeks with trainer
30" crate, small vet bed, paw blanket, Marvin Monkey cuddly toy, rubber puppy chew bone, 2 x bowls
30" crate, small vet bed, paw blanket, Marvin Monkey cuddly toy, rubber puppy chew bone, 2 x bowls, collar & lead
Free Puppy
Supplies
Crate Training
Crate Training - ★
Introduction to sleeping in crate overnight
★★
Crate Training - ★★
Quite comfortable sleeping in crate overnight
★★★
Crate Training - ★★★
Comfortable in crate overnight & short daytime periods
★★★
Crate Training - ★★★
Comfortable in crate overnight & short daytime periods
Toilet Training
Toilet Training - ★
Introduction to toileting outside
★★
Toilet Training - ★★
More hits than misses
★★★
Toilet Training - ★★★
Only a rare accident if not allowed outside often enough
★★★
Toilet Training - ★★★
Only a rare accident if not allowed outside often enough
Mealtimes
Mealtimes - ★
Eat meals inside crate
Mealtimes - ★
Eat meals inside crate
★★
Mealtimes - ★★
Sit for meals inside crate - assisted
★★★
Mealtimes - ★★★
Sit nicely for meals inside crate
Socialisation with
other people & dogs
Socialisation - ★
Socialisation with people and other Australian Labradoodles
★★
Socialisation - ★★
Lots of socialisation with people and other Australian Labradoodles
★★★
Socialisation - ★★★
Socialisation with new people and various dog breeds
★★★
Socialisation - ★★★
Socialisation with new people and various dog breeds
Alone time
Alone time - ★
Introduction to short periods of alone time
Alone time - ★
Introduction to short periods of alone time
★★
Alone time - ★★
Spends up to 1 or 2 hours alone
★★
Alone time - ★★
Spends up to 1 or 2 hours alone
Handling
Handling - ★
Handling with LHL team
Handling - ★
Handling with LHL team
★★
Handling - ★★
Handling with trainer and some new people
★★★
Handling - ★★★
Comfortable being handled by new people
Grooming
Grooming - ★
Introduction to brushing and ear plucking
Grooming - ★
Introduction to brushing and ear plucking
★★
Grooming - ★★
Comfortable with brushing
★★★
Grooming - ★★★
Comfortable with brushing and introduction to bathing
Name recognition
Name Recognition - ★
Name used regularly, but don't expect much, it takes time!
Name Recognition - ★
Name used regularly, but don't expect much, it takes time!
★★★
Name Recognition - ★★★
Responds to name
★★★
Name Recognition - ★★★
Responds to name
Basic manners
Basic manners - ★
Introduction to basic manners, e.g. no jumping on people, no mouthing
★★
Basic manners - ★★
Basic manners generally good but can forget when excited
Basic commands
Basic commands - ★
Learns to 'sit', introduction to 'down'
★★
Basic commands - ★★
Learns to 'sit' and 'lie down', introduction to 'stay'
Lead walking
Lead walking - ★
Introduction to collar & lead in enclosed garden
★★
Lead walking - ★★
Walks nicely on lead, a little resistance occasionally
Recall
Recall - ★
Introduction to recall in enclosed garden with no distractions
★★
Recall - ★★
Min. 2 weeks of recall practise in open spaces
Final Puppy
vaccination
✓*
Vaccination - ✓*
Final puppy vaccination administered at 10 weeks old
* Subject to vet availability
Vaccination - ✓
Final puppy vaccination administered at 10 weeks old
Vaccination - ✓
Final puppy vaccination administered at 10 weeks old
Socialisation in
the 'big bad world'
Socialisation - ★
Not allowed on ground in public areas, carried around for experience
★★
Socialisation - ★★
Trips into town, getting familiar with new places and experiences
Car travel
Car travel - ★
Introduction to car travel, at least 10 short journeys per week
★★
Car travel - ★★
Quite comfortable with car travel, at least 10 short journeys per week
Photo/video
progress updates
0
Photo/video progress updates
We'll send you a short update with either a photo or video of your puppy
1
Photo/video progress updates
We'll send you a short update with either a photo or video of your puppy
2
Photo/video progress updates
We'll send you a short update with either a photo or video of your puppy
4
Photo/video progress updates
We'll send you a short update with either a photo or video of your puppy
Handover
30 mins with breeder
Handover
We'll discuss (& demonstrate where appropriate) what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to be effective and recommendations for the future
30 mins with breeder
Handover
We'll discuss (& demonstrate where appropriate) what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to be effective and recommendations for the future
20 mins with breeder & 20 mins with trainer
Handover
We'll discuss (& demonstrate where appropriate) what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to be effective and recommendations for the future
20 mins with breeder & 30 mins with trainer
Handover
We'll discuss (& demonstrate where appropriate) what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to be effective and recommendations for the future
Documentation
Brief progress report
Documentation
The progress report details what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to effective and recommendations for the future
Brief progress report
Documentation
The progress report details what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to effective and recommendations for the future
Progress report with tailored advice
Documentation
The progress report details what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to effective and recommendations for the future
Detailed progress report with tailored advice
Documentation
The progress report details what your puppy has learned so far, the methods we've found to effective and recommendations for the future

Download a PDF version of the Puppy School table

Download PDF

Lomond Hills Puppy School Programmes

Lomond Hills Puppy School Programmes

Your puppy will spend an extra week or two with us at Lomond Hills beyond the litter collection date.

He’ll get started with important early training where the primary focus will be on getting familiar with the crate and doing the toilet outside! During the daytime, your puppy’s crate door will be open so that he can come and go as he pleases and start to get comfortable with it. He will have access to the outdoor turf toileting area via our ‘doggie door’ during the daytime which fast-tracks toilet training.

He’ll learn to eat meals inside his crate without the competition of his brothers and sisters (which has been driving his appetite until now) and this will reinforce the crate as a positive place to spend time. At bedtime, he will be put inside his crate and settled down for the night.

Initially, he will have the company of other dogs/puppies to help him settle and this will be gradually withdrawn. Your puppy will benefit from lots of socialisation and handling with people and other Australian Labradoodle puppies and dogs. We’ll use his name every time we speak to him so that he can get started with name recognition and we’ll introduce him to grooming and short periods of alone time, both of which are important to start early. We will teach him 'sit' and if he's with us for two weeks we will start work on 'down' too. The vet bed, blanket, toys and bowls he uses will be his to take home and the familiarity of these items will aid with the transition period.

After completion of this programme and a brief transition period, you can expect your puppy to rapidly achieve crate and toilet training in your home.

If your puppy is enrolled for two weeks, we’ll send you a progress update and photo after his first week with us.

When you come to collect your puppy at the end of the training, we’ll provide a written progress report and a comprehensive verbal handover. This will allow you to start building on his early training as smoothly as possible.

Paws ON Track / Paws For Perfection / Clever Paws

Your puppy will spend an extra week with us at Lomond Hills beyond the litter collection date and will follow the A Paw Up training programme during this time.

Then, your puppy will spend either 2 or 4 weeks with one of our trainers in their home.

He’ll build on everything he has learned so far – getting more comfortable with crate training and improving reliability in toilet training. He’ll also learn to sit in his crate at mealtimes. Socialisation with people and other dogs will continue – the longer he is enrolled for, the more people and dogs of different breeds and sizes he’ll meet. Your puppy will gradually get used to spending a little more time alone so that he will be ready to adjust to busy family life when you will need to leave him home-alone for short periods of time here and there.

The trainer will continue to work on brushing and ear-plucking and if he’s with us for 4 weeks, he’ll be introduced to bathing. He’ll learn to recognise and respond to his name. The trainer will dedicate a lot of time to working on basic manners and commands, such as not jumping up and not mouthing, ‘sit’, ‘down’ and ‘stay’.

He will commence lead walking training and will learn to come when called. If he is with us at 10 weeks old, he’ll get his final puppy vaccination and from 11 weeks old, he’ll be able to explore public places on the ground which will be great for his continued socialisation in the “big bad world”. Prior to 11 weeks, this will be limited to being in the trainer’s arms.

Your puppy will experience lots of short car journeys and will become increasingly comfortable with car travel. The longer he is enrolled in puppy school for, the more he will achieve and the more reliable each element of his training will be.

At the end of each week, we’ll send you a progress update and photo or video.

When you come to collect your puppy at the end of the training, we’ll provide a written progress report and a comprehensive handover which will include time with the breeder and the trainer. This will allow you to build on and reinforce his training.