Puppy training in Dublin that starts with understanding your puppy
Puppies are hard work, even when you’re doing everything right
As I often tell my clients, puppies are like newborn babies with the mobility of toddlers and the teeth of small sharks.
There is a lot of pressure to start training immediately and get everything right. But puppyhood is about much more than teaching commands. Your puppy is learning about you, other dogs, new people and the world around them, while going through an important stage of their development.
My approach is puppy-centred. I’ll help you with the practical things making everyday life difficult, while also helping you understand what your puppy needs to feel secure, develop confidence and build strong social connections.
As I often tell my clients, puppies are like newborn babies with the mobility of toddlers and the teeth of small sharks.
My puppy classes take place outdoors in St Anne’s Park, where puppies have the space to move, sniff, explore, interact and take a break when they need one.
Rather than spending an hour asking young puppies to concentrate on exercises, we mix short, useful training activities with appropriate play, calm walking, scent games and opportunities to experience the world around them.
Your puppy doesn’t need to be the best behaved puppy in the group. They don’t need to perform on cue or keep up with anybody else. If they’re distracted, excited or would rather watch for a while, that’s useful information too.
The classes are as much about teaching you as training your puppy. I want you to leave understanding your puppy better and feeling more confident about what they need from you as they grow.
Full dates, suitability information and booking details are available on the puppy training page.
What’s included
🐾 Four weekly outdoor classes in a small group of no more than five puppies
🐶 Real-life puppy skills, including recall and loose lead walking, alongside play, scent work and social experiences
🧠 Pre-recorded theory sessions covering puppy development and common worries such as biting, sleep and toilet training
💬 Time to ask questions about what is happening with your own puppy
📱 A private WhatsApp group for questions and support between classes
🌿 A puppy-centred approach with room for choice, rest, exploration and individual differences
Who are the classes for?
Classes are for puppies under 20 weeks at the start of the course and the people who want to understand them.
You don’t need any previous training experience, and your puppy doesn’t need to know anything before they arrive. Shy puppies, lively puppies and puppies who find it difficult to concentrate are all welcome.
What matters most is that you’re willing to learn about the puppy in front of you and give them the time and support they need.
Puppy class details
Location: St Anne’s Park, Raheny, Dublin
Course: Four weekly outdoor classes
Class size: Maximum five puppies
Cost: €185
Really great puppy classes – highly recommend for anyone with a new puppy
“We adopted a Lurcher puppy and were going through a phase of being overwhelmed and clueless.
Steph’s training and advice was really outstanding not only during the classes but also the information provided via notes, recorded information, answering follow up questions and even providing a lend of harness and leads to try out to get best fit for our pup.”
Need help before class starts?
Sometimes you don’t need a whole training programme. You need someone experienced to answer the questions going around your head now.
Perhaps your puppy is biting constantly, nobody is sleeping, toilet training feels like it’s going backwards, or you’re simply overwhelmed by conflicting advice and no longer know what you should be doing.
A Puppy SOS is a focused 45-minute Zoom call where we can talk through what’s happening, work out what needs attention first and put some practical steps in place.
You can book an SOS call on its own or add one to your puppy class booking if you’d like individual support alongside the course.
45 minutes on Zoom
€75 booked separately
€60 when added to puppy classes
Would 1:1 puppy support suit you better?
Not every puppy or household needs the same kind of support.
If there’s more going on than we can properly cover during an SOS call, or you would prefer to work with me individually, you can book a longer puppy consultation.
We’ll look at what is happening in the context of your puppy’s everyday life, consider what may be contributing to the problem and agree on practical changes and next steps that suit your puppy and your household.
Initial consultations are available in person in selected local areas or online by Zoom.
Initial consultation: €150 in person / €130 Zoom
Follow-up sessions: €120 in person / €100 Zoom
What happens after puppy classes?
Puppyhood doesn’t suddenly end when your four-week course does.
Houndy Hangouts give suitable dogs and their people the chance to continue meeting in a relaxed social setting, with a group walk followed by coffee at a local dog-friendly spot.
They’re an opportunity to keep giving your dog positive experiences around other dogs and people without turning every outing into another training class.
Houndy Hangouts: €10 per session
My approach is puppy-centred. I’ll help you with the practical things making everyday life difficult, while also helping you understand what your puppy needs to feel secure, develop confidence and build strong social connections.
You don’t have to get puppyhood perfect
I’d rather help you understand the puppy you actually have.
Whether you join a class, book an SOS call or need some individual support, we can work out what your puppy needs and help make life together feel a little easier.
