Schnauzer Puppy Training
Prep School in PA
We train Toy and Mini Schnauzer puppies to be great dogs, beloved family pets, that love learning and helping others.
You’ll find videos showing us in the SVCC Schnauzer Training Prep School in the playlists on our YouTube channel. Our videos provide a peak into just a few of the ways we train our Toy Schnauzers to be well-trained, socialized, and happy doggies. Please see our YouTube Channel for frequent tips!
Customized Up to 8-Weeks
Schnauzer Training Program
Basic Obedience
Our puppies are able to participate in Puppy Prep School for up to 8 weeks starting when they are 8 up to 16 weeks old.
Day-to-day life in our Schnauzer Prep School looks like this:
The puppies wake up next to Shasha. Learn more about our family pack here!
We go potty on potty pads or outside. Shasha and our Mom and Doggie Aunties begin teaching us to be potty pad trained when we are just 3-6 weeks old! When we are 8 weeks old we can begin to learn to go potty outside or inside depending on what our new family wants.
We all do fun tricks together and eat our breakfast as rewards. Then we have more potty breaks.
We also watch the older doggies doing obedience and tricks in person and on our YouTube Channel just before our nap time. We sleep well because we are tired from learning so much! The whole sequence of what we learn is shared in YouTube videos you can watch along to see our progress.
This training routine repeats many times each day with different handlers as we practice the new thing we are learning that day.
The puppies get to watch the older trained puppies first and then they practice what they saw being done. We are highly motivated by both toys and food – and puppies are inspired to want to do what we do. We learn so much by watching our pack!
First we are encouraged to follow a treat as a lure, and we hear the word, “Yes!” every time we do something well. We get food and toy rewards many times every day as we learn to “sit,” “down,” “spin,” “come,” and then “stay.” Our older dogs know fun tricks like “slide,” “swing,” “dance,” “jump,” and “roll the ball!” We all enjoy watching visitors laugh when we do our fun tricks together.
Some schnauzer puppies are working on basics, like learning “sit” and “down,” and then “spin” and “stay,” while others are working on more challenging things like “let’s go” leash training or having a solid 5 minute “stay” or coming when when called while there are lots of distractions.
Once we’ve learned the basics basics inside, then our training sessions move outside so we get comfortable being outdoors when we are ready.
It always feels fun, like a Montessori kindergarten classroom where the learning is customized to each schnauzer puppy.
Socialization & Desensitization
From the time our eyes and ears open, Shawn Kent Hayashi (Shasha) introduces us to many sounds and situations we might encounter later.
Shawn plays all kinds of noises for us, and JSH introduces us to one of his favorite toys, vacuum cleaners — we have a collection of 9 different types! We experience blow dryers, grooming clippers, and anything that could be scary if we don’t encounter it as a young puppy.
We also learn to be well-socialized in many scenarios.
We have visitors — lots of people! Some big, some very little, some wearing hats, costumes, and others singing…They come to play with us or we go visit them.
In the SVCC Schnauzer Prep School we frequently go for car rides, and we are carried around shops in an outdoor mall, or a park close to where we live so we can be outside and see people and dogs who are not in our pack interacting nicely.
If we have not had our last DHPP shot we are carried or we are in a stroller when we go out in public. We are not allowed to walk on the ground until after we are have the last DHPP shot.
Happy, Healthy, Thriving Companions!
At 16 weeks old, we finish the 8-week Prep School and have gotten the final DHPP shot from the vet, then we are able to go freely out in the world! That is the best time for puppies to go to their forever homes but some stay with us to be part of our Canine Coaching program or learn to be therapy dogs.
After completing our Prep School training program, a puppy…
Will “sit, down, touch, watch me, come, finish, and stay” on request
Has basic leash training for walks
Is well socialized to interact with people of all types, ages and sizes
Has grooming experience and is comfortable on a grooming table and being combed
Has experienced household noises and sounds that can be scary to older dogs if they were not exposed to them when they were very young
Is up to date on DHPP vaccines and de-worming
Is confident learning new skills and in new environments
Sits quietly and confidently in a busy public place like an outdoor mall
Is potty trained to both outside and a potty pad
Sleeps through the night and will cuddle with you when asked to do so
Is comfortable meeting new dogs in supervised situations
Please allow your puppy to have nap times as well as alone time every day in a play pen when puppy comes to your new home. Your puppy go home with you with a manual and videos for how to work with your puppy and a one-on-one training session with you. We’ll also provide a video of YOU working with your puppy so you can share with your family members who enter act with the dog so everyone is consistent. You will need to be consistent with hand signals and commands and ensure that other people are too.
You will also be invited to join our private Facebook group, where you can stay in touch with us, watch training videos, and connect with our social group for playdates!
If you would like your puppy to take the AKC Canine Good Citizen test, please let us know that when you sign your puppy up for Prep School - we will need to help YOU prepare for the test too! We look forward to working with you!
