darwin-dogtraining.co.uk

FAQs

FAQs

You can book and pay for classes online - simply scroll down to the calendar on the class page, select the start date and time of your chosen course, then click "next" to fill in your details and pay.

All classes are held at Dan's Meadow in Martlesham.

Full address:

Dan's Meadow,

Bealings Road, Martlesham,

Woodbridge, Suffolk,

IP12 4RW

We train in all weathers, so we don't typically cancel due to the rain. However, we may cancel if we deem it unsafe or unsuitable. This is rare, but if we are forced to cancel due to the weather we will do our best to rearrange the session for another date.

Make sure you bring:

  • poo bags

  • lots of treats!

  • a normal 4-6ft lead

  • a longline (6-10m)

  • a mat for your dog

  • suitable clothing and footwear for outdoor training

  • suitable jumper/coat for your dog if it is cold

We recommend using soft treats which you can pre-chop or easily break up into very small pieces. Fresh options like training pate, hotdog sausages or chicken are often really popular with dogs. If you're unsure what your dog will like best, bring a selection with you to your first few classes to see what they respond best to.

However many treats you think you should bring, bring 3x that!

Being too hungry can negatively impact training, so you should feed your dog when you normally would on training days. However, you may want to feed them a slightly reduced portion to ensure they are not too full and to ensure they aren't being overfed.

Group classes are suitable for all puppies and dogs learning new skills or improving existing ones. However, if your dog is fearful or aggressive towards strange dogs or people, classes might not be right for them. If you're unsure about whether classes are right for your dog, please get in touch via the "contact us" page.

Our Origin Puppy classes are suitable for all puppies up to around 6 months, as long as they have had their second vaccination.

All our other courses are suitable for vaccinated puppies and dogs of all ages.

 
 

We use positive reinforcement based training methods, which means we focus on setting dogs up for success and rewarding them for the things we like. This doesn't mean simply ignoring unwanted behaviours - it means assessing why these behaviours are happening and implementing training that prevents it from being rehearsed and makes the desirable behaviour easy and rewarding for our dogs!

Positive reinforcement training is based on the latest research into how our dogs think, feel and learn and is recommended by leading industry and welfare organisations such as the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, the Animal Behaviour and Training Council, the RSPCA and the Blue Cross.

Throughout your training, you'll learn how to use food, toys and other real-world reinforcers such as praise and the environment to reinforce the behaviours and responses you want to see from your dog. Alongside these training skills, you'll learn to understand how your dog sees and experiences the world around them, so you can understand why they do the things they do and set them up to be successful - ensuring training is fun for both you and your dog.

 
 

Seasons can be hard to predict, especially in our young dogs. We ask that you contact us to let us know if your dog has come into season. Whether or not they can attend will be decided on a case-by-case basis dependent upon the other attendees in your class, their ages etc. as this could become a stressful environment for both your dog and others. You are always encouraged to attend class without your dog if they are not able to attend, so you can still see the training in action to implement at home.

We love seeing the whole family get ​involved with training! However, we do ask that you let us know if you'd like to attend with more than two people so that we know how many people to accommodate.

Children are welcome to attend, however under 16s must be accompanied by an adult and supervised throughout. Children under 4 years can attend only with prior approval. Please see our T&Cs for more information.