Take your puppy as close as possible to eight weeks of age to puppy school.

There is conflicting advice by breeders, trainers and vets as to what is the right age to start puppy school. Owners often postpone making any decision and soon it is too late.

A medical argument from some breeders and vets is that if owners take a puppy too early to puppy school he could get a fatal disease, such as distemper or parvo virus. Therefore it is best to keep all puppies quarantined, in cotton wool and isolated and - various people still advise - not even allowed on the ground outside the house till two weeks after their last vaccination

The counter argument is from other breeders, pet stores, vets and trainers who take into consideration both the medical and behavioural risks involved. They look at the bigger picture, weigh up the pros and cons and conclude that the latter risks far outweigh the former. By the time a puppy is 16-18 weeks old he is almost a teenager and many undesired habits may have formed but, by then, it is much too late for puppy school!

8 week old puppies at C.L.E.A.R Dog Training’s Sunday puppy classes - January 20038 week old puppies at C.L.E.A.R Dog Training’s Sunday puppy classes - January 2003

Dr Lyn Upton, from Upton and Upton Veterinary Surgeons in the Brisbane Bayside suburb of Capalaba points out there is no absolute guarantee that a puppy kept in the house and/or backyard for the first four and a half months of life could not get parvo virus from the shoes of a stranger or even a family member entering the house and garden.

Due to the generally widespread use of vaccines, in most areas around Australia there are far fewer instances of diseases than in the past. At Dr Upton’s state of the art modern surgery puppies attend puppy school from eight weeks onwards. Dr Upton has not seen a case of distemper for many years and says that the medical reason to keep a puppy isolated is less valid than it may have been in years gone by.

Dr Debbie Calnon from Melbourne, a Delta accredited Canine Good Citizen Instructor, a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia and a Veterinary Behaviourist (a vet with additional qualifications in animal behaviour) says, “I strongly agree with Dr Upton that the closer the puppies can be to 8 weeks of age for puppy school the better. The only exception may be in a local area that has perhaps had an outbreak of parvovirus, etc. Even then, with proper client education I’d still be recommending 8 weeks.”

It is almost 100% guaranteed that a four and a half month old puppy that has not been appropriately socialised to people, other puppies, things (e.g. skateboards, bicycles, horses, fire engines, etc), as well as a variety of surfaces and different places is likely to grow up developmentally retarded. More importantly the puppy is likely to have poor bite inhibition to people.  Other less serious, but equally unnecessary behavioural problems, also often develop and so thousands of adorable fluffy eight week old puppies never make it to their first birthday. 

Ursula, the piglet, at C.L.E.A.R Dog Training’s Sunday morning puppy classes

Click HERE for the position statement of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour’s position statement as to why it is an owner’s "duty of care" to start puppy socialisation classes as early as seven to eight weeks of age.