Dog Training Courses

At Walkies & Waggietails we offer a wide range of positive, fun and force-free dog training classes at all levels, capabilities and sports.

These include Puppy Schools, Junior/Intermediate level courses, Walkies in the Park - for Recall and lead walking trouble shooting, Advanced Obedience and Tricks in our Progressive classes and the Kennel Club Good Citizens Dog Scheme (official regulated bronze, silver and gold awards).  We also offer Dog Parkour Fusion and UK Sniffer Dog courses for fun enrichment, bonding and learning together with your dog as well as Puppy Prep and Puppy Play Group.

Why Train your dog?

Good training will ensure your puppy or dog is well socialised, well-mannered and a good citizen in all real-life situations both on walks and around the home.  We believe that all training should be positive and fun with a focus on connection and communication to get you working together as a team.  All our classes are officially regulated with Kennel Club listed status to gold standard and are complimented by our science based approach to dog behaviour and training.  We aim to help you better understand your dog’s behaviour,  the basic principles of psychology and how dogs learn, read body language and communicate effectively with your dog so that you can encourage their good behaviour throughout life.

A variety of dog training methods

Each dog is wonderfully unique and motivated by different rewards, games and praise.  To ensure every breed is encouraged to learn, we use the full range of positive reinforcement training methods available.  This includes eight different training techniques including lure and reward, games, clicker training, capturing, stimulating, free shaping, targeting, Premack principle and three hundred peck to name a few. 

Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme

Walkies & Waggietails is part of the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme, which is an official regulated and recognised qualification for your dog as a ‘good citizen’.  Bronze, Silver and Gold awards are part of the Progressive/Advanced level training clubs held on Monday and Tuesday’s evenings.

Dog Training Class Location

We have both indoor and outdoor training venues for our courses. The locations are clearly marked under each course date and is easily accessible from Kew, Richmond, Twickenham, Isleworth, St Margaret’s, Mortlake, Sheen, Barnes, Chiswick, Brentford and Hammersmith.

Kew Pavillion , North Sheen Rec, Darrell Road, Richmond, TW9 4LB We hold our indoor puppy schools here for safety between vaccinations. We also hold our Junior, intermediate level courses, and advanced training classes inlcuding the Kennel Club Good Citizens at the Kew Venue. There are no parking restrictions here in the evenings when we host our classes.

Chiswick House, Private Walled Gardens and Cherry Orchard    All of our classes suited to outdoor training, such as ‘Walkies in the Park’ courses, our Dog Parkour Fusion all levels, agility and UK Sniffer dogs courses are all held in this secure outdoor venue. There is a car park for this venue available.

St John’s Hall, St John’s Road, Isleworth, TW7 6NY In the Isleworth Venue we host our puppy schools and Junior, intermediate level training courses. These classes are held on Wednesday evenings and the venue has its own car park.

 

Puppy Prep School

Puppy schools can help provide positive socialisation experiences and encourage good behaviour while your pup is in the key learning stages of their development.

This seven-week course will focus on providing you with the knowledge and ability to teach your puppy basic life skills that will ensure they grow into the happy, well- balanced and mannered dog you have always wanted.

During the course, you and your puppy will learn the following:

  • Basic positions such as sit, lie-down, stand-up, stay and settle.

  • Basic food and toy manners encouraging cooperative behaviour and preventing gaurding, including ‘leave’ and ‘drop’.

  • Good ‘meet & greet’ manners that prevent jumping up and mouthing.

  • Good lead manners and loose lead walking.

  • Socialisation with people and playmates.

  • Guiding appropriate play with other dogs.  

  • Toilet and crate training

  • Safe handling, grooming and health inspections.

  • Learning to communicate with your dog and reading their body language.

  • Health and Nutrition

  • Learn about the ten key development stages that affect your pups learning and behaviour.

Course Details

Age requirement 8-20 weeks at the course start date (must have vaccination certificate)

Course Length 7 weeks

Price per course  £206.00

Kew Location Kew Pavilion Hall, Darrell Road, Kew, TW9 4LB or the Marquee at Chiswick House.

Isleworth Location: St Johns Hall, St Johns Road, Isleworth, TW7 6NY

Course Dates

March - Mon 18th March @ 5.30pm - Fully Booked

April in Kew - Tues 30th April @ 6pm (closed 28 May) - Fully Booked

May in Kew - Mon 20th May @ 5.30pm (closed may bank hol) - Booking open

June in Isleworth - Wed 5th June @ 6.30pm @ 6.30pm booking open

 
 

Junior/Intermediate classes

The aim of our junior and intermediate course is to build upon and improve your basic skills, adapting them to real-life situations and advancing your dog’s response in any place, any time.  

At this stage, we also introduce the use of clicker training and aspire to help you further understand the basic principles behind canine learning theory so that you can positively and effectively communicate with your dog.  

All dogs are welcome to join this class from five months of age with no upper age limit. We advise that your dog has some basic level training before -hand. However, if your dog has no prior training, we may advise a one-to-one preperation session before the course commences.  

The junior/intermediate 7 week course includes:

  • Understanding the basic principles of canine psychology and learning theory

  • Development of basic skills such as sit, stay, down and heel to advance response times in any given circumstance and ‘real-life’ situations.  

  • Introducing clicker training

  • Teaching and progressing retrieve, drop, and give

  • Achieving good loose lead walking and heel throughout your walks.  

  • Improving impulse control such as leaving food, preventing jumping up and giving up toys.  

  • Learning door and car door manners.  

  • Improving meet and greet on walks and visitors arriving at home.   

  • Generalising all the above behaviours to many different locations and situations and distractions

  • Reducing the dependency on food for behaviours.

  • Encouraging different types of play and games for training, rewards and bonding

Course Details

Age requirement Minimum 5 months with no upper age limit

Course Length 7 weeks

Price per course  £206.00 

Location Kew Pavillion Hall, Darrell Road, Kew, TW9 4LB

Course Dates

March: Mon 4th March @ 6.40pm (Closed Easter Monday and 6th May bank holiday ) Fully booked.

March Kew: Tuesday 19th March @ 7.10pm Kew (Closed 2nd April for Easter) Fully Booked

May in Kew: Tues 14th May @ 7.10pm (closed 28 May) Booking open

 

Walkies in the Park

These dog training courses are designed to help improve enjoyable dog walks in the park. We aim to increase responsiveness with reliable recalls, enhance your fun together in social settings and environments, minimise potential risks and enrich your bonding time with your dog in real life contexts and situations. 

This course is exclusively held at Chiswick House in our private 2 acre walled gardens and cherry Orchard. This course may not be suitable for reactive dogs as some training is done off-lead and in free play.  

All dogs are welcome to join this class from 5 months of age with no upper age limit. We advise that your dog has some basic level training before -hand. However, if your dog has no prior training, we may advise a one-to-one preperation session before the course commences.  

The ‘walkies in the park’ 5 week course includes:

  • Increased responsiveness and reliable recalls.

  • Focus and connection to you, even around the distraction of other dogs and people.

  • Whistle training for long distance, high distraction recalls.

  • Working through prey-drive to manage ‘squirrell urges’.

  • Achieving good loose lead walking and heel throughout your walks and around distractions.

  • Teaching a strong ‘leave’ to prevent picking up rubbish, stealing from picnic’s and other dogs balls.

  • Calm ‘meet and greets’ with other dogs.

  • Guiding appropriate play with other dogs.

  • Preventing Jumping up at people in the park.

  • Using scent games and Parkour on walks for the additional fun factor!

Course Details

Age requirement Minimum 5 months with no upper age limit

Course Length 5 weeks

Price per course  £154.50 

Location Chiswick House, Walled Garden and Cherry Orchard.

Course Dates

February - starts Wed 21st Feb @ 11.30 Fully Booked

February - starts Sun 25th Feb @ 09.00. Fully Booked

April - starts Wed 17th April @ 11.30 Fully Booked

April - starts Sun 14th April @ 9am Fully booked

Please get in touch if you would like to be notified when the next classes are scheduled.

 
 

Progressive/Advanced Dog Club

Our Progressive dog clubs are for those dogs and owners who want to keep learning new things and progressing their repertoire of skills.   

The weekly clubs are for advanced level obedience skills with the aim of completing your Kennel Club Good Citizens Bronze, Silver and Gold tests.   The classes also include Kennel Club Rally Obedience and a variety of fun learning such as trick training and free shaping.    

The Progressive dog club classes include:

  • Kennel Club Good Citizen Awards – Bronze/Silver/Gold

  • Progression to more advanced obedience skills

  • Kennel Club Rally Obedience

  • Fun tricks

  • Scent Detection

  • Advanced clicker training with free-shaping

Course Dates

Weekly ongoing  class held at:

8.15pm on a Tuesday evening — Fully booked (waiting list available)

7.30pm on a Monday evening — Fully booked (waiting list available)

Places do become available after people have successfully taken their KC tests and we offer a place to those on our list.

Course Details

Members of the dog club must have completed our Junior/ Intermediate training course or achieved a Bronze level Kennel Club Good Citizens award.

 
 
 

Dog Parkour Fusion

Dog Parkour Fusion blends elements of human parkour like balancing, climbing and crawling with other dog training disciplines such as obedience, tricks, hoopers and Tellington-touch to form a fun fusion of quirky urban style agility.

We’ve developed a series of fifteen challenge levels, both indoor and outdoor in built, urban and natural environments that take you and your dog through an exciting new journey of ‘discovery‘ and ‘adventure‘ together.   You can find out more information at our official site  www.dogparkourfusion.com

The first  ‘Foundation Course’  (Level 1) is a short course learning the basic core positions, postures, and skills needed to start and progress your journey throughout the levels.    Graduation of this course then opens doors to both the Discover and Adventure ‘levels and our Parkour Fusion Challenge events.

Course Details

Monday evenings
Kew Pavilion, Darrell Road, Kew

Course Dates

Please visit the official website for registration directly onto these courses www.dogparkourfusion.com

 

UK Sniffer Dogs Bronze & Silver Level Scent Detection

A Five-week scent detection course for domestic dogs as a fun learning and bonding experience, while providing life enrichment.

We all know that sniffing is an activity our dogs love. A huge part of their brain is focussed on sniffing and 70% of their communication with each other is olfactory. The act of sniffing and detection is hugely self-rewarding for dogs. Why not help your dog use their nose and enjoy playing games in detection and problem solving to improve mental stimulation and provide enrichment in their lives?

The Bronze Level Scent detection 5-week course includes: 

  • Teach your dog to search and indicate a chosen scent

  • Carry out pipe and bag searches

  • Learn to detect one scent in the Bronze and a further 2 different scents in the Silver Level

  • Able to search, detect and retrieve found objects and scents

  • Great mental stimulation and enrichment for your dog

  • Learn all about your dog’s amazing nose and how to use it

  • Build a stronger bond between you and your dog as you work closely together on their favourite activity

  • Bronze & Silver level UK Sniffer Dogs certificate

  • Taught by UK Sniffer Dogs Instructor Louise Bretton

  • Graduation into the Super Sniffers Club - UK Sniffer Dogs Progression Programme, designed to guide you through the levels at your own pace, building upon skills and having fun with your dog at your own pace. It is an ongoing weekly club.

     

Course Details

Age Requirment Minimum 8 weeks with no maximum age limit

Course Length Bronze: 5 weeks

Price £154.50

Super Sniffers club: 5 week blocks Price: £125

Location Kew Pavilion, Darrell Road, Kew, TW9 4LB or the Walled Garden at Chiswick House

Course Dates

UK Sniffer Dogs Bronze level course 5 weeks

Bronze Level - Sun 14th Jan @ 12.00 - Fully Booked

Bronze Level - Sun 25th Feb @ 12.00 - Fully Booked

Bronze Level - Sun 14th April @ 12.00 (closed 5th May)- Fully Booked

Super Sniffer’s Club - Sun 14th April @ 10.30 (Closed 5th May) - Fully Booked