Puppy Training London: Everything You Need to Know | Kirby Dog Training
Private 1-to-1 puppy and adolescent dog training across London
Bringing home a puppy is exciting, exhausting and sometimes a little overwhelming. Suddenly you're thinking about toilet training, puppy biting, sleep, socialisation, recall, lead walking… and wondering whether you're doing it all right.
And raising a puppy in London brings its own challenges. Busy streets, traffic, cafés, parks, children, cyclists, other dogs and countless new sights and sounds can be a lot for a young puppy to take in.
At Kirby Dog Training, we provide private 1-to-1 puppy training in London, helping owners build the foundations for confident, happy dogs who can navigate real life – not just perform a list of cues.
So, where should you start?
When Should You Start Training Your Puppy?
From the moment they come home!
That doesn't mean your eight-week-old puppy needs formal training sessions or a long list of commands to master. At this age, almost everything is training.
They're learning where to toilet, how to settle, what happens when you leave the room, how humans communicate and whether this strange new world feels safe.
That's why we don't think puppy training should revolve around sit, down and paw.
Of course, teaching cues can be useful, but we'd much rather prioritise the skills your puppy will actually need throughout their life.
Puppy Socialisation Isn't About Meeting Everyone
One of the biggest misconceptions around puppy socialisation is that puppies need to meet as many dogs and people as possible.
They don't.
Good socialisation is about helping your puppy experience the world positively and at a pace they can cope with.
Sometimes that means saying hello. Other times, it means learning to watch a dog walk past without needing to interact.
This is particularly important when raising a puppy in London. Your puppy may regularly encounter busy pavements, buses, cafés, children, runners, cyclists and lots of other dogs.
We want them to learn that all of those things can simply exist around them.
A puppy who doesn't expect to greet every dog they see can find it much easier to calmly pass dogs later in life.
Sometimes one of the best things you can do with your puppy is simply sit somewhere together and watch the world go by.
Teach the Skills You'll Actually Need
Think about the adult dog you'd love to live with.
Would you like them to come back when called? Walk comfortably with you? Relax in a pub? Settle while you work? Ignore another dog passing on the pavement?
Those are the skills we'd start building now.
For the puppies we work with in London, some of our priorities often include:
Recall and voluntary check-ins
Loose-lead walking
Settling and switching off
Confidence in new environments
Calmness around dogs and people
Handling and grooming
Learning to spend time alone
Disengaging from distractions
And don't underestimate the importance of teaching your puppy to do nothing.
There's so much pressure to constantly entertain puppies with training, enrichment, walks and new experiences. But learning to switch off is a skill too.
If you'd eventually love a dog who can snooze underneath the table while you have lunch in a London pub, that training can start at home.
Don't Wait to Start Recall Training
Recall is understandably a big priority for many of the London puppy owners we work with – particularly if you're dreaming of relaxed walks through London's parks and green spaces.
But don't wait until your puppy is halfway across a park chasing something exciting before practising it!
Build recall while things are easy.
Reward your puppy for choosing to come towards you. Reinforce those spontaneous moments when they turn around and check where you are. Call them at times when you don't desperately need them back.
And try not to make every recall mean the fun is over.
We want coming back to you to have a long history of being worthwhile before the distractions get harder.
Because eventually…
Your Puppy Is Going to Become a Teenager
You might spend months building a beautiful recall, lovely engagement and a puppy who follows you everywhere.
Then one day, the squirrel across the park becomes considerably more interesting than you are.
Welcome to adolescence!
Teenage dogs can become more distracted and independent, and you may notice changes in recall, lead walking, settling or their responses to the world around them.
It doesn't necessarily mean your puppy training has failed.
Your dog is developing, and the support they need may change with them.
This is why we're not trying to create the “perfect puppy”. We're building strong foundations that you can continue developing as your dog grows.
Looking for a Puppy Trainer in London?
At Kirby Dog Training, we offer positive, force-free 1-to-1 puppy training across London, including Chelsea, Kensington, Fulham, Battersea, Clapham, Wimbledon, Putney, Barnes, Richmond, Chiswick and surrounding areas.
Both of our trainers are ABTC accredited, and we've worked with thousands of dogs and their families.
Most importantly, we don't give every puppy the same programme.
One puppy might need help building confidence outside. Another might be desperate to greet every dog they see. Another might need help with biting, settling or learning to be alone.
We'll get to know your puppy, understand what's important to you and create a practical training plan for your everyday life.
Someone who actually knows YOUR dog. That's the difference.
If you'd like help getting your puppy off to the best possible start, get in touch with Kirby Dog Training to find out more about our private puppy training in London.