Harrisburg Puppy Academy

Getting a new puppy is an exciting time in life but also one full of new responsibilities. You want your puppy to grow up safely and develop healthy habits that will help them adapt to living with your family and serve them well for the rest of their lives. Greenlin Puppy Academy accelerates learning using consistent engagement, a comfortable routine, quality care, and experienced staff to help your pet master life-long skills.

Greenlin Puppy Training Classes Encourages Respectful Dogs

The first year in a dog’s life, particularly the first six months, is an important time in their development. The habits they learn during this time can stick with them for their whole lives, and it is the foundation for their behavior and training.

Our trained staff understands that each dog is different and has their own personality traits. Therefore, when creating your program, they strive to make sure your dog is having all of their internal needs met while redirecting their motivators towards positive ends. This approach helps them feel safe and secure in their surroundings. Feeling comfortable and confident positively impacts how receptive your dog is to learning and how well they retain the skills, so creating a positive environment is of uttermost importance to our staff.

Our Puppy Academy is offered during daycare. Owners who sign their puppy up for regular attendance usually see more-rapid results, as it ensures consistency of training and total immersion into the learning environment.

Ready to set your dog up for success? Learn more about our facilities and the amenities we offer for our training guests by contacting us online or calling our Greenlin Harrisburg location at 717-678-7326 or visiting our brand-new location at 147 N Cameron St, Harrisburg, PA 17101.

Our Top-Notch Training Methodology

Greenlin employs a 5-step training process that has proven results with various dog types and temperaments. Our approach is adaptable to best suit your pet's needs.

1. Evaluation -– This initial step will determine the areas where your dog needs the most focus so we can tailor the curriculum to meet your training goals best.
2. Behavior Shaping — This phase of the training focuses on details and small successes that build upon one another. This work builds your pet's accuracy and confidence.
3. Imprinting (Teaching the command) — This phase focuses on building retention through examples and repetition. Trainers start with verbal commands, such as “sit,” and progress to more advanced cues, such as non-verbal and situational. The goal is to instill these cues into your dog’s natural rhythm.
4. Proofing — This more-advanced stage involves solidifying what your pet has learned. Trainers will introduce complications, such as distractions or using different settings, to ensure that your dog can respond to cues reliably. By adding extra noise or distance, trainers can test if the dog has truly accepted the command into their natural rhythm.
5. Maintenance — This stage can be completed at home or in a follow-up appointment. Maintenance is particularly beneficial for animals encountering new life situations, such as a move or a new family member.

Training Time Commitment

The time it takes for your dog to master training will largely depend on the dog and their individual personality. Training is a life-long journey that requires upkeep and adjustments when life inevitably changes. For most dogs, it will take a few months for basic commands to be mastered. Consistency and repetition are the most important factors for permanently instilling life-long skills.

The Prestigious Boarding School You've Always Envisioned for Your Precious Pup

Our facilities are complete with amazing amenities so your dog can enjoy all the comforts of home while also experiencing an exciting vacation.

All of our locations include:

• Private suites: Every guest has their own private room where they can eat and rest comfortably. Your pet will have fresh water changed out multiple times a day, clean bedding each night, and some even come with viewing access to televisions!
• Daily wellness checks: Daily five-point wellness checks keep you and us informed of your pet’s daily well-being and enable us to alter care to better accommodate them where needed.
• Meals tailored to their schedule: A hungry dog is not one that is going to learn to the best of its ability. We will follow your dog’s feeding schedule down to the minute and encourage pet owners to bring a portioned supply of their usual food for the duration of their stay.
• Air filtration: To reduce dust, dander, and pet hair within the facility, we have top-of-the-line air filtration, so guests are only breathing fresh, clean air.
• Sanitization schedule: Common areas and suites are sanitized daily.
• Require immunizations: All guests must have current vaccinations for rabies, distemper, and Bordetella.

Maintaining Puppy Training at Home

We highly encourage your pet's training to continue at home. Continuing beyond the classroom is an essential part of guaranteeing your pet retains what they have learned. With our resources, such as owner training activities and literature listing habits to promote at home, you can continue to reinforce new commands and encourage appropriate behaviors.

Maintenance lessons are also available for any pet that has completed the puppy academy and may need a refresher.

Beyond Training for Good Behavior

Beyond gaining invaluable life skills, you may have loftier goals for your pet's training, such as the American Kennel Club (AKC)’s S.T.A.R. Puppy Program. This program standardizes the mannerisms of well-behaved pups and promotes wellness in puppies by ensuring all S.T.A.R. certified dogs have:

• Socialization skills
• Training
• Activity
• Responsible owners

In adulthood, dogs can also accomplish the Good Citizens Test (CGC) which is a standardized measure of good behavior for adult dogs. The 10 Canine Good Citizen test items are:

• Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger
• Test 2: Sitting politely for petting
• Test 3: Appearance and grooming
• Test 4: Out for a walk (loose lead)
• Test 5: Walking through a crowd
• Test 6: Sit and down on cue and stay in place
• Test 7: Coming when called
• Test 8: Reaction to another dog
• Test 9: Reaction to a distraction
• Test 10: Supervised separation

If you have any of these training goals, Greenlin’s puppy academy can help you accomplish and maintain these skills with ease.

Greenlin’s Puppy Academy Brings Out the Best in Your Pet

The world is an expansive and wondrous new place for a young puppy. You can equip them with the skills they need to face the world safely and confidently with training programs at our puppy academy. Boarding and training maximize learning potential and ensures that the lessons they’ve learned carry on into their everyday lives.

Call 717-678-7326 or contact us online to learn more about our puppy academy program, book a FREE evaluation, and schedule your puppy’s next learning adventure.