2 Class Rules. Lesson Plan Week 1. Vets No.1 choice to feed their own pets. Week 1 at a glance

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1 Hill s Puppy preschool Week 1 at a glance 1 Introductions 2 Class rules 3 Sit on cue 4 Mat training and settling techniques 5 Nutrition 6 Exercise and environmental enrichment 1 Introductions Provide some time for you and your class to get to know each other. What is your name and your puppy s name? What breed is your puppy? How old is your puppy? What are you hoping to gain from the classes? Why did you choose to get a puppy or this puppy in particular? TIP Provide owners with a name tag and ask them to write their name and their puppy s name on it. What is a fun fact about your pet, e.g. why did you call her Muffin or where did you get your puppy? 2 Class Rules Rules are set for safety reasons, to give opportunities for effective guidance and to help puppies and owners feel secure. They also help owners know what s expected of them during the classes. Sample class rules Each owner is responsible for their own puppy Keep all people bottoms on seats All puppies should be kept on a lead unless the instructor advises otherwise When asked, please place your puppy straight back on the lead Everyone should ignore puppies that jump up One person to speak at a time. Owners Handout Week 1. Give your owners their Week 1 handout and go over your class rules with owners.

2 3 Sit on cue Teaching a puppy to sit on cue is the foundation for many other training exercises like dropping and settling down. It is a basic exercise that is easy to teach and will help the puppy focus and comply with requests. Training steps: Getting a puppy to sit on cue 1 Have a puppy treat available, e.g. a Hill s Science Diet puppy kibble or treat. Treats should be very small about ¼ of the size of a 5 cent coin 2 With the puppy standing, hold the treat in front of her nose allowing her to sniff it Avoid holding the treat too high or she will jump up instead of sitting 3 In a slow, steady motion move the treat up and back over the puppy s head. As the puppy s nose points up her rear end will ease down to the floor, taking her into the sitting position 4 Reward her immediately when she sits with the treat and quiet praise 5 Only add the word sit when the puppy is reliably responding to the visual (hand) cue 6 Owners should gradually phase the food out, but continue to say good dog when their puppy sits on cue 7 With practice the puppy should sit with a visual cue such as with a sweep of the hand in an upward movement, as well as the verbal cue sit, even without treats TIPS If the puppy raises its front paws you are raising the treat too high If the puppy consistently backs away go back to just rewarding the puppy for approaching you. If the puppy continues to back away assess your body language and the puppy for fear responses Once you have established that the puppy is not fearful and you are not being overbearing you could try to teach the exercise with the puppy in a corner, but be careful not to frighten the puppy In some cases it is best for the owner to teach this to the puppy at home where there are less distractions. 8 Continue to use treats intermittently throughout the dog s life.

3 4 Mat training and settling techniques The first stage of mat training is to get the puppy to come to the mat and the second stage is to get the puppy to settle down on the mat and stay there quietly. Training steps: Getting a puppy to go to the mat 1 Place a treat on the mat so the puppy goes there to investigate or lure the puppy to the mat with a treat 2 When the puppy is on the mat ask the puppy to sit and reward him with a treat and quiet praise 3 Repeat until the puppy is happily going to the mat and sitting 4 Then teach the puppy to lie down on the mat and reward the puppy with a treat and quiet praise TIPS Use a leash with excitable puppies when teaching this exercise Use long, slow strokes while patting the puppy Puppies should be allowed to curl up, stretch out and move around on their mat. 5 If the puppy goes to the mat of his own accord reward and quietly praise immediately 6 As the puppy becomes more at ease on the mat you can start to slowly move further away and praise the puppy for staying on his mat 7 Over time you can use visual and verbal cues to indicate to the puppy to go to the mat. Training steps: Getting a puppy to settle on the mat 1 While the puppy is lying quietly whisper good dog/boy/girl 2 Do not offer treats or praise profusely as that will increase the puppy s arousal level 3 You can help the puppy be calm by sitting, taking slow deep breaths and gently stroking the puppy 4 Teach the puppy to lie on his mat and reward him with quiet praise or a tasty treat when he does.

4 5 Nutrition In this section 1 Choice of food 2 Ideal weight 3 Antioxidants 4 DHA 5 Dangerous human foods 6 Dangerous supplements 7 Hill s Science Diet Choice of food Introduce owners to the benefits of feeding premium foods Selecting the right nutrition is the cornerstone of having a healthy pet for life and is one of the most influential things an owner can do for their new puppy Puppy foods pave the way for increased and appropriate use of adult formulas. Fact Sheet Ideal Weight Poster Ideal weight Instruct owners to read the feeding guides on packaging so that they are feeding their puppy the right amount of food to meet their energy needs Using the puppies present as examples, explain how feeding amounts would vary depending on the size of the pet Feeding excessive treats compromises feeding guidelines and can lead to obesity if the puppy consumes more than his daily calorie requirements Treats should be counted as part of the daily calorie intake Demonstrate how to perform the rib cage test. Explain body condition scoring to reinforce the effects of free grazing, feeding treats and giving table scraps.

5 Antioxidants Fact Sheet Antioxidants Antioxidants help maintain cellular integrity and are an important nutritional component. DHA Fact Sheet DHA Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (FA) that is essential for proper neurological development in mammals. As DHA accumulates in the brain and retina, high levels of this nutrient are important during pregnancy and the first year of life when development in these areas is most rapid. Dangerous human foods Caution owners against feeding certain human foods. Here are some common examples: 1 Chocolate contains theobromine, which is a cardiac and nervous system stimulant. Eating chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, can lead to heart arrhythmias, tremors and seizures 2 Sweet biscuits are high in fat and sugar with low nutritional value 3 Bones (especially cooked bones) can splinter and may stick in the throat or intestine. They could also damage teeth and may cause constipation 4 Sultanas, grapes and raisins may lead to acute kidney failure in dogs 5 Onions (and to a lesser extent, garlic) can cause damage to the membranes of red blood cells that result in haemolytic anaemia. Any form (raw, cooked or powder) can lead to this severe anaemia. Signs generally develop days after ingestion and include breathlessness, weakness and a blood coloured urine 6 Avocado contains a toxin called persin which leads to gastrointestinal irritation, including vomiting and diarrhoea 7 Raw egg whites contain avidin that can interfere with the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). Chronic biotin deficiencies can lead to a poor growth, lethargy and dermatitis. Raw eggs may also contain salmonella 8 Macadamia nuts can cause locomotory problems such as weakness, tremors or paralysis in the hind legs. A toxic dose of roasted macadamia nuts may be as little as one nut per kilogram of body weight in the dog.

6 Supplements Fact Sheet Nutrition for Large Breed Dogs Fact Sheet Clinical Evidence Clear up any misconceptions about the need to feed dietary supplements to dogs. Vitamin and mineral supplements, especially those containing calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and vitamin A, should not be routinely given to growing dogs that are eating commercial foods. Caution against calcium supplementation, especially in large breed puppies and dogs. Hill s Science Diet Precise nutrition is essential, as too few or too many nutrients can both be harmful to a pet. Science Diet puppy formulas take care of all this by providing precisely balanced nutrition to meet the specific needs of your client s puppy. The top 3 reasons Hill s Science Diet puppy formulas are superior All Hill s puppy formulas include: 1 Controlled minerals including calcium 2 Effective levels of DHA 3 Clinically proven antioxidants. Fact Sheet Nutrition Education 6 Exercise and environmental enrichment Exercise Talk to owners about the benefits of regular exercise: Exercise helps prevent obesity and associated health risks as the puppy ages, including heart and joint diseases Frequent, scheduled walks help promote and maintain housetraining. Dogs not routinely walked and praised for good toilet habits can regress at any age Separation-related misbehaviour may be reduced in puppies that are ready for a long nap by the time their owners leave Puppies that have their physical, intellectual and social needs met by regular exercise and activity are less prone to misbehaviours like digging, chewing, barking and mouthing. TIPS Walking a different route will help keep pets interested and stimulated Caution owners against high intensity exercise or jumping, particularly with large breed puppies. They should seek a recommendation from the veterinary clinic about an appropriate exercise regime for their particular puppy.

7 Environmental enrichment If puppies become bored in their environment they may chew and destroy items, dig or bark constantly. By enriching a puppy s environment owners can provide enough physical exercise and mental stimulation to alleviate boredom and the associated anti-social behaviours. Owner Handout Week 1 Go over the environmental enrichment tips in this handout with owners. Mouthing Although it is normal and natural, mouthing and chewing can present a problem to owners if the puppy mouths, chews or bites unacceptable items. Puppies need help to learn which objects are acceptable or not for mouthing, biting and chewing While puppy is learning it is best to keep any valuable items out of reach If the puppy picks up an item that is not designated as a chew toy, it is best not to punish or chase after her as this can be mistaken for a game. Instead, call the puppy calmly and swap the item for something that is OK for her to play with, chew and destroy, e.g. a toy or treat Teach the puppy to leave or give items. This will make swapping items easier Always provide the puppy with suitable toys to chew and reward her for playing with these by praising and/or by playing with her Puppies should be supervised with some of these devices as they make break or splinter. Toys should be checked regularly for damage and replaced so that the puppy does not harm herself Just leaving a toy out may not be enough. The puppy may not know what to do with it and will need to be shown how to play Never use hands or fingers as toys or play things. Digging Digging up the garden is normal puppy behaviour. The best approach is not necessarily to try to stop the digging, but to contain it. Giving the puppy a digging pit of her own will most likely fulfil her need to dig and limit the damage done to the owner s back yard. A child s sand pit is ideal and can be filled with loose sand or soil to encourage digging in this area. Additionally, burying bones, toys and other treats for the puppy to discover will reward her for digging in this area rather than other places in the back yard.