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News & Blog

Happy Handling - Our Exclusive New Course

Long-standing Puppy School Tutor for Surrey and South London, Regional Manager for London (within M25) and Originator and Teacher of Happy Handling, Louise Otter, tells us about this new and revolutionary course

Puppy trainer working with client in local puppy training class

Late last year, 22 Puppy School tutors attended the first 'Happy Handling' tutor training courses to learn how to teach their own consent-based handling courses for dogs. By providing tutors with the knowledge to coach owners through a structured, yet fun and educational 6-week course, we hope to improve communication between owners and their pets and promote a more positive and stress-free handling experience for the dogs involved.

This brand new course is the first of its kind to be launched across the UK with the aim of improving dogs’ confidence and trust in all aspects of handling whilst giving them choice and control. By improving communication between dogs and their owners, we can teach dogs to offer consent for all aspects of handling, from grooming to injections, making life happier and vet visits less stressful.

 

  • Doberman dog standing on balancing blocks in class

I developed and wrote this course after noticing my own dog Ripley moved away from the vet as he approached to do a vaccination. I knew I could train behaviours to help Ripley cope better for the next time she needed an injection so I set about training her to give a chin rest on my hand and lap, adding in handling, and working towards having a second person handling. Following on from my success with Ripley, and with other similar training successes, I began offering this as an online course for other owners who needed help with handling.

Puppy School tutors training at local course near to you
“Having run Happy Handling as an online course for the past few years, I’ve seen first-hand the impact it has on the relationship between dog and owner. Learning to understand what dogs are communicating, sometimes very subtly, should be a must for every owner. When you have an understanding with each other, trust is gained quickly and the possibities are incredible. Dogs can learn to consent to being groomed without restraint, have injections standing freely, have their claws cut without stressing and allow ear drops to be given with full consent. I’d recommend this course to every single dog owner and I can’t wait for Puppy School tutors to spread the knowledge across the country. We are planning to train more tutors in the future and we look forward to being instrumental in improving the lives of many dogs in future. ”

The tutors attending the course are experienced animal trainers already.  Even so, they are required to work with their own dog(s) to learn the techniques and practise the exercises before they begin teaching the Happy Handling course to others. They also have to train a second unknown person to handle their dog and coach someone else to work with their dog.  Once videos of their training have been assessed and passed, they are ready to begin running courses.  

Full training notes, together with additional tips and videos, are available exclusively to dog owners taking these courses through our week-by-week pages in The Puppy Club.

 

  • Golden Retriever relaxing in local training class
  • Cockapoo in local training class with chin rest on stool

To find out if your local tutor runs these classes or where your nearest one might be, click below. 

Find a Tutor

If there are no tutors local to you running the courses, there is an online course run by Louise Otter  - please see here

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Otis - Miniature Dachshund showing his lead walking skills after graduating puppy classes

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