Assistance Dog Training

How do Canine Partners train their dogs?

Andy Cook, CEO & Director of Operations explains the three stages of training a canine partner, from pup to fully trained working assistance dog. On this first page he focuses on stage one: puppy training.

Stage one – puppy training

Puppies are like sponges, pre-programmed to absorb information particularly quickly at a young age, learning to adapt their behaviour depending on whether an experience is pleasant or unpleasant. By and large, pleasant experiences will be repeated and unpleasant ones avoided. The beauty of starting training early (we acquire many of our pups at 7 or 8 weeks old) is that we can influence our pups’ development and maximise their chances of learning desirable habits rather than undesirable ones – that’s the theory anyway!

Of course we can’t ignore the genetic aspect too – we are all born with personality traits inherited from our parents, and dogs are no different. In order to weight things in our favour, we select pups that are likely to show qualities that we value: willingness to please, sociability, good health and an enjoyment of retrieving objects, for example. If we select the right pups in the first place the puppy training stage will progress all the more smoothly. Training rescue dogs may be a bit more of a step into the unknown, as family history is rarely available, but the rewards can be tremendous.

Puppies are placed out with volunteer puppy parents for approximately 12 months of socialisation and training. We pride ourselves on the degree of support puppy parents receive as each group is looked after by a member of staff – you can find a list of our ever-growing network of satellites local to you. Constant advice and support is provided via weekly puppy classes (which take place in different environments to ensure pups learn to behave appropriately in more than just one place) as well as home visits and phone calls. Using play, praise and reward, pups happily learn the basics, almost without being aware that they are “being trained”. For example, it will be crucial that pups learn to toilet in specific areas.

Their future partner may well have difficulty picking up after their dog if it toilets on the other side of a field, where their wheelchair can not access. So pups are rewarded like mad, from day one, when they toilet on a specific “toilet area” in the puppy parent’s garden – they learn to actively seek out this area as a result (just as a child is toilet trained) and to toilet on command. All the tasks in our “Puppy Manual” are trained in the same way – walking nicely on a lead, recalling to voice and whistle, retrieving a mobile phone, switching on a light etc. The same principles apply whether you’re training a dog or a dolphin, a parrot or a person. By the time our pups reach about 14 months of age, they will be ready to move on to the next stage of “advanced training”, always taking into account that different individuals will progress at different rates.

We are always delighted to welcome more puppy parents into our satellite groups, so do give us a call if you’re interested in taking up a rewarding new hobby which will incorporate you into a team of like-minded people. You’ll shed tears of sadness when you part with your old pup and tears of delight when your new pup arrives – and you’ll burst with pride when you attend your pup’s graduation and meet their appreciative partner. You will also have the satisfaction of having played a crucial part in creating something very special indeed.

Talk to us about being a Puppy Parent, or short-term Foster Home. Even if you can only foster a puppy occasionally or for short periods, we would like to hear from you, please contact the Puppy Department at the West Sussex Training Centre and we can put you in touch with a Puppy Training Satellite (nationwide map) near you.

If you are keen to become a Volunteer Puppy Parent and you would like to visit our puppy classes to learn more: please fill in this Puppy Training Department Form.

We appreciate all your support and if you would like information on other local Canine Partners' volunteer opportunities, please contact us.

For information on each Puppy Training Satellite utilize these links:
West Sussex; East Sussex; Essex; Hull; Bedford; Gloucester; Southampton; Isle of Wight; East Scotland; West Scotland.

Canine Partners for Independence. Registered in England No. 2516146. Charity Commission Registered No. 803680. Scottish Registered Charity No. SCO39050