Truffle Puppy Preschool – Tiny & Mighty Hunters- DIY Training

Instructor: Victoria Gideon

KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA, CNWI, TAGteach, Fear Free Certified Professional Trainer, Behavior Works LLA designation, Family Dog, Dogs and Storks, Dogs and Toddlers Graduate, AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy – AKC Canine Good Citizen – AKC Temperament Tester – AKC Urban Dog – AKC Evaluator , Puppy Start Right Instructor

Get your puppy off on the right paw and join us in this class to learn the basics of puppyhood and truffle hunting. This class is specifically designed for puppies under 6 months of age.

Our goal is to get you started on your way to having a happy, well-adjusted puppy, who can handle all life has to offer, as well as foundational skills for truffle hunting, other scent work sports, and more.

This is a DIY class. It consists of 2 sections: Tiny Hunters (Week 1 to Week 3) and Mighty Hunters (Week 4 to Week 6), as well as your puppy exercise guide, your online class recordings, materials, and access to our private Tiny & Mighty Hunters Facebook Page where you can post homework questions and more. AND two private half hour ZOOM meetings with your instructor to discuss ALL things puppy!

In this class we touch on the following:

• • Begin to learn how to speak puppy!
  • How to set your puppy up for success
  • What is safe for a puppy to do at what age, and the stages of development
  • How puppies learn
  • The importance of socializing your puppy to all novel items, how to do it, and why it’s important with Truffle Hunting
  • Clicker mechanics
  • Working a recall – one of your most important skills!
  • Playing finding games- get that nose working!
  • Bend and stretch – how to keep your puppy in shape, but not overdo it
  • Creating confidence and bravery with novel items in the forest
  • Begin teaching your puppy impulse control & focus
  • Meet other puppy owners and connect on Facebook and create future hunting friends!

If run as intended, this course lasts 6 weeks. The first 3 weeks are the Tiny Hunters course, and then the next 3 weeks we build on your success and bond with Mighty Hunters. After this, you’re both ready to sign up for our Foundations 1 courses for Truffle Hunting,  we advise you to schedule a puppy check-in, two half hour private lessons are included in your class to go over any concerns you have from the course. These are scheduled directly with our Puppy Instructor, Victoria Gideon, and expire 4 months from your registration of class. 

*After passing Tiny & Mighty Hunters you can progress into Foundations 1 with a head start, where your puppy, now a teenager, will have all the basics installed to begin working on learning odor and how to locate it setting yourself up for great success in our truffle training program. You will be well set up and on your way to truffle hunting.  If you continue with training, within 12 weeks you’ll have completed Foundations 1, Foundations 2, and intermediate truffle hunting, when then, your puppy should be ready for our pre-hunt course where instructors will take you into the forest and hide real truffles for you to find and work on moving you into an actual truffle field.

In our Advanced field classes, held during truffle season, our instructors will take you to Wild Truffle sites that you will be working in to find your first truffles!

We look forward to meeting you and helping you raise the next generation of FABULOUS positively reinforced Truffle Dogs!

*After purchase, you will receive a link to access your Online materials. The link and access to the online support materials are valid for 3 months from the date you actually start your class. We will also be emailing you your Puppy exercise workbook to follow along with the online lessons.

the fine print:

*If you have any questions on if this class is right for you, please contact us directly, we are happy to chat.

** If you are a breeder interested in early headstart for your pups and their families- please reach out to us as we have some resources just for you!