Welcome to BIOP

the Bonding Indoor & Outdoor Puppy Course

Your start dates, times and locations can be found on the Joining Email

Hopefully these paras will give you all the info you need - directions, what to bring, what to expect and so on, but please ask if you have any questions or concerns.

Details of the Course

There are ten group sessions in all, 5 indoors on a Tuesday and 5 outdoors on a Sunday. Each session lasts for 45 minutes.

Tuesday sessions are held indoors in Hamble Village Hall

Sunday sessions are held outdoors at Bursledon Infant & Junior School

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Pups can start Tuesday indoor sessions before their 2nd inoculation, being carried to and from the clean hall. Once pup has full immunity from his/her 2nd inoculation, they can start the outdoor Sunday sessions. This may mean your Tuesday and Sunday sessions start in different weeks!

What to Expect

The Hamble Hounds’ aim is to form a strong, joyful and rewarding bond between family and pup, where the pup is confident, relaxed and fulfilled, and able to learn socially acceptable behaviour.

We provide a safe and relaxed environment to practice in. As well as the practical work, we explain how dogs’ behaviour is formed and how they learn. The family learns how to teach and motivate their pup, and how to recognise and relieve stress and other blocks to learning.

Learning is structured and progressive and will be a rewarding experience for the dog…. and humans!

The Tuesday sessions are indoors where the pups learn to connect, play & ‘work’ with their humans, instead of playing with each other. On Sundays, they will interact with each other so they learn to be confident and relaxed dog to dog communicators as well as building the vital connection with their human family.

Emailed “study notes” to read at home form an important part of the course.

Because the course is structured and progresses week on week, it is important that you come every week if at all possible so no key learning point or experience is missed. It’s helpful for lesson planning if you let us know in advance if you ever have to miss a session.

Methods (& what we don’t do!)

Our approach aims to enable the pup be open to learning and making connections. A lot is subtle connection building, and we’ll also teach tasks by showing the pup what we want, motivating him or her to repeat this behaviour by providing praise and “rewards” at the right time, thus building a clear and strong partnership between family and pup.

You will learn how to avoid ‘blocks’ that may affect a pup’s learning, and how to build calmness and confidence.

The classes are kept small so that there is ample time for learning and the family can relax, share problems and successes, and have fun!

We will never, ever use any harsh treatment (pulling, pushing, smacking, shouting, water sprays etc etc etc) …., and these will not be tolerated in class. Anyone using them will be asked to leave immediately. There are very straightforward, non-abusive ways of teaching a dog that some behaviours are not welcome, these will be demonstrated and pup will be taught useful, acceptable choices instead. Please note that we will NOT work with choke chains, head collars or slip leads or extendable leads

Where to come, what to bring

We limit to a maximum of 2 people per pup in both locations as this keeps things simple for the pup!

First session is at the TUESDAY VENUE:  Rear Room, Hamble Village Hall

There is a large car park with plenty of parking spaces. Very occasionally the car park gets busy, you’ll find extra parking in Copse Lane opposite.

WALK RIGHT ROUND TO THE BACK OF THE BUILDING  IGNORE SIDE DOORS

Please note: Windows will be open to ensure airflow, so dress warmly! Please do not attend if you have Covid or flu symptoms.

WHAT TO BRING:

 ·       Puppy!

·       Collar or harness & shortish lead  

(We recommend a well-designed harness as physically best. There are good and not so good types. Ask if you’d like some guidance).

·       Food rewards see below

·       Poo-bags just in case

When You Arrive

Note, the door is always locked once lessons start. If you are early, please wait as there will be a class before yours. The door will open a couple of minutes before your start time.

IMPORTANT GOOD PRACTICE:

! PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR PUP SAY HELLO TO THE OTHER PUPS in the car park or hall!

It’s a big deal for pups coming to school for the first time.

They can easily get overwhelmed and/or over excited.

Even if your pup is relaxed and confident, others may not be.

So find space away from the others where your pup can relax. There’s plenty of room in the car park……

(They will get to meet and interact together in a relaxed way in their outdoor sessions on Sundays)

IDEAS for FOOD REWARDS:

Please note both of our venues are PEANUT AND NUT-FREE zones, as we share space with children who may have allergies

Please inform us in advance if your pup has food allergies or intolerances

Food is a great help when training, and is worth planning well!

Food needs to be easily accessible but out of sight. It’s worth investing in food pouch which you can for instance attach to your belt, so you can swiftly access with one hand (bags that need to be held in hand(s) are really unhelpful). 

·                     Their normal food

·                     Propriety treats (but watch for colourants, sugar, salt content)

·                     Vegetables and fruit (not grapes or onion)

·                     Chicken, other meats, small pieces (no bones),

·                     ham, cheese, sausage, luncheon meat, small pieces

·                     liver or tuna cake pieces

We’ll discuss use of food in class.  Adjust to suit size and your dog’s preferences. Novel items often have more value.

Hamble Village Memorial Hall

Hamble Village Memorial Hall
4 High Street, Hamble, SO31 4JE

Long Lane, Bursledon

Long Lane, Bursledon
Southampton, SO31 8JH