Puppy School Presented by
Melbourne Dog Clinic is proud to partner with the team at Thrive Canine to bring you Puppy School. Puppy classes will run within our very own Fear Free Clinic where you and your puppy will be taught by the amazing instructors from Thrive Canine Force Free Training.
What is Force Free Training?
In line with our clinic’s Fear Free ethos, Thrive Canine does not use force, pain, discomfort, fear, stress or intimidation when training animals. This training methodology, known as ‘force free’ or ‘positive reinforcement’, is the most humane approach to animal training and prioritises your puppy’s well-being and your relationship with them.
In our classes, puppies will never be verbally reprimanded, growled at, yanked, or physically manipulated. Instead, you will learn to reward behaviour which you want to see more frequently and understand how to teach your puppy to perform alternative behaviours to those which you consider undesirable.
Physical and verbal corrections, as well as other intimidating techniques, are not necessary to train an animal, and often have adverse consequences (such as damaging the animal-human bond, and increasing aggressive responses). As force free methods address the cause of unwanted behaviour and take the animal’s needs into consideration, they also result in longer-lasting behaviour change.
Positive Learned Effects From The Socialisation Period
The puppy ‘socialisation period’ (generally to be considered from 8 to 16 weeks) is an incredibly important time in life for your puppy. This is the time period where they develop confidence and resilience and learn to bond with you so they have healthier coping mechanisms for the rest of their life. Effectively, they learn to ‘bounce back’ quicker with more confidence when they encounter a stressful situation. As dogs have to cope with living in ‘our world’ they value information more than anything so being able to bond and effectively communicate with your dog is of vital importance to their overall longterm wellbeing.
Negative Learned Effects From The Socialisation Period
The ‘socialisation period’ is also a time period when they can develop anxiety and learn fear as a response to a stressful situation. In turn, this can teach your puppy to respond less than ideally to stressful situations in the future. The result of this can be a dog with low confidence and low resilience, which can develop into aggression and other behavioural issues as they attempt to cope with stress. The effects of this are long-lasting and often remain with your dog for the rest of their life. Sadly, this can be very difficult to unteach.
What You Learn In Puppy School
Puppy classes run for five weeks (one online and four in person). Some of the things you and your pup will learn are:
- the importance of force free training
- how to change unwanted behaviours
- preventing common behaviour issues such as reactivity and resource guarding
- basic cues like name recognition, sit, drop, look, come
- conditioning a marker
- loose leash walking
- body language basics
All puppies receive a Puppy Pack valued at over $80.
We also run Senior Puppy School for pups aged between 16 weeks and 6 months of age. Please use the form below to inquire.
To find out more about Thrive Canine you can click their logo above to be taken to their website.
See below for Puppy School pricing.
Upcoming Puppy School Dates
(online class is the week before and takes approximately one hour complete)
Saturday 9th Nov 12.15
Saturday 30th November 1.15pm (please note this time reverts back to 12.15pm after Week One)
Saturday 4th Jan 12.15
Monday 6th Jan 6.15pm
Use the below form to inquire about enrolling your Pup in Puppy School
(for pups aged 10 to 16 weeks)
Meet the Thrive Canine Team
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Alli Berry
LEAD BEHAVIOUR CONSULTANT
Alli owns and operates Thrive Canine while also practising as a full-time technology lawyer.
She holds a Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training with the Delta Institute and has extensive further qualifications in aggression and reactivity. Alli has wide and varied experience: she has been running group classes since 2016 and private consults since 2021, served for many years as the secretary and committee member of one of Melbourne’s largest obedience clubs, and holds titles with her own dogs in rally and flyball.
Alli lives with three border collies, Cooper, Atlas, and Flynn. Both Cooper and Flynn have severe behavioural problems, including aggression and reactivity - you name it, she's lived it and worked through it herself.
Alli's goal is to educate families and the broader community in the "how" and "why" of behaviour concerns so that we can prevent, mitigate and overcome them together, while prioritising the health and wellbeing of our dogs.
Alli prides herself on keeping up to date with the latest scientifically proven training methods, and only uses force free, humane training techniques tailored to suit the dog and family with whom she is working. In the limited 'spare time' she has, you’ll find Alli reading a dog training book or completing yet another online course.
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Hannah Tricker
BEHAVIOUR CONSULTANT
Hannah is a behaviour consultant with Thrive Canine and also runs her own dog walking business, Hello Pup, which has been in operation since 2022. She is currently undertaking a Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training with the Delta Institute, and frequently attends workshops and seminars to ensure her knowledge evolves in alignment with thecurrent body of scientific research on animal behaviour.
Hannah has a background in animal rescue and years of experience in pound facilities, shelters and independent animal rescue groups. Eight years ago, Hannah met her sweet, scared little rescue greyhound Maggie while volunteering at an animal shelter. Driven to help her, Hannah bid farewell to her career in publishing and has been studying and working with positive, evidence-informed dog training and behaviour ever since.
Hannah’s dog training methodology considers the emotions and motivations underlying dog behaviour which facilitates effective and ethical training solutions for dog guardians.
Her goal is to work out the why, then provide clients with the how, when and where to address behaviour concerns. Her priority is helping clients meet their dogs’ needs in a manner that is safe and enriching to them.
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Sara Sanquedolce
GROUP CLASS TRAINER
Sarah holds a Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services and is currently completing her Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training with the Delta Institute. In addition to running classes with Thrive Canine, she works as a dedicated trainer for a major pet store and also regularly volunteers with an animal shelter.
Sarah's journey with animals began in childhood, but her passion for dog behaviour really kicked off in 2018 when she adopted Harley, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a challenging past. Harley's journey, and the experiences he and Sarah shared together, pushed Sarah to explore the world of training more deeply, and she quickly fell in love with it. This transformative experience solidified her commitment to helping dogs and their humans lead fulfilling lives together.
Sarah is dedicated to using compassionate, force-free training methods, and she has a particular interest in the ethical breeding of animals. She is always eager to learn more through further education, seminars, and workshops to ensure she stays up to date with the latest humane training techniques. Sarah's goal is to assist people and their dogs through curiosity and empathy, helping them thrive in their unique relationships. She's excited to share this journey with you!
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Amanda Palich
GROUP CLASS TRAINER
Amanda is currently completing her Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training with the Delta Institute. She has been running group classes since 2022 and currently volunteers with two community dog training schools. She also volunteers with Assistance Dogs Australia on an ad hoc basis.
After many years as an office manager, Amanda decided to pursue a career change after recognising her passion for helping both people and dogs, she chose to become a dog
trainer with the goal of enhancing the relationship between dogs and their owners.
Amanda is committed to ensuring her training sessions are enjoyable for all, even when challenges arise. She takes great satisfaction in witnessing the improvement in handlers’ skills and the progress of their dogs, and she has enjoyed every moment since making this decision.
Amanda is the proud guardian of Murphy, a Standard Poodle. Murphy enjoys an active lifestyle filled with playing ball, learning new tricks, going on walks, exploring, and even chasing bubbles. Amanda values his loyal companionship, and Murphy enthusiastically accompanies her wherever she goes, a tradition they’ve shared since he was an eight-week-old pup.
Amanda brings a wealth of experience from various dog sports and disciplines, including obedience, agility, rally, and flyball. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys crocheting scarves, beanies, mittens, and blankets, which she donates to charity.