Polite Greetings
About Polite Greetings
Wouldn’t it be nice if your dog could sit calmly when you have friends over instead of jumping all over them? Or meeting friends out on walks and be able to hold a conversation with your dog waiting calmly by your side?
This is where teaching your dog how to greet politely becomes important. While you may find it cute and heartwarming for a dog to run over and clamber up to you for a closer whiff, the same cannot be said for children and the elderly. Similar to how we don’t run up and jump for a hug when we meet a person, so should our dogs.
Class information
Available class @ Newton
Assigned trainer: Izzy Gärdin
For medium-sized dogs between 5-12kg
- 12 March 2024 — 11.00 AM @ Newton campus
- 19 March 2024 — 11.00 AM @ Newton campus
- 26 March 2024 — 4.00 PM @ Bishan Park
Available classes @ Namly
Assigned trainer: Ang Wei En
For mini puppies <5kg
- 6 March 2024 — 11.00 AM @ Namly campus
- 13 March 2024 — 11.00 AM @ Namly campus
- 26 March 2024 — 4.00 PM @ Bishan Park
Age eligibility
- Any age, as long as your dog knows the following foundational cues:
- Sit/down, leave it, able to come when called, and walking on a loose leash.
Class size
- Two to four dogs per class.
- One trainer is assigned to every two dogs!
Campus location
- Newton Campus — 182 Bukit Timah Road; or
- Namly Campus — 78 Namly Place
Price
- 3 one-hour lessons — S$327
More about Polite Greetings
What will your dog and you learn?
As a risk-management strategy, you will learn how to look and discern the situation around you and what could happen when you’re out with your dog.
As the intensity of each situation differs, you will be also learn how much guidance to provide your dog.
With this, you’ll be able to anticipate and manage problems with a level mind, instead of doing damage-control after.
Your dog will learn how to:
🐾 Walk towards other dogs calmly;
🐾 Sit before saying “hi”;
🐾 Calmly greet visitors or people on walks; and
🐾 Come when called after greeting other dogs or people.
Learn how to greet other dogs and people politely and calmly with other peers under a dedicated trainer's watch!
What's Polite Greetings about?
With so many interesting things in the world, it can be a challenge to keep your dog's attention on you. This class will teach you how to get their attention and manage it in polite and respectful ways.
An important skill covered in Polite Greetings for you, as the owner, is situational awareness in regards to your dog. Being able to read the situation correctly can help you make effective decisions that will keep both your dog and you safe.
You will also learn how to manage your dog’s attention to greet other dogs and people calmly. This includes calling them back after they’ve done their greeting.
As this class focuses on managing your dog’s attention and greeting others politely, it is recommended to take other topic-based classes to complement the skills they have learnt in this class. If there are other specific areas you wish to work on with your dog, you may take a look at our Puppy Life Skills or Teenage Life Skills private classes, where the training curriculum can be adjusted to meet your needs.
This class is great for owners who enjoy going out with their dog to different places and meeting other people and dogs.
Just like how we humans have different ways to engaging with strangers, so do our dogs. Some may be more outgoing, others may be more reserved. Puppies, too, can get excited and overstimulated by the environment, which can contribute to them practicing unwanted behaviours instead. Since we do not know the history of the other person or dog, it is always better to be able to read the situation before deciding your next course of action — whether you want to proceed with the greeting, and/or how to approach the meet.
As the science in canine behaviour, ethology and neuroscience continue to advance, we come to understand our canine companions better. Thus, allowing us to formulate better ways to connect with them. Whether you’re a first-time dog parent or not, our curriculums are always evolving, ensuring you have the latest knowledge on canine behaviour.
Situational awareness
Being situationally aware gives you a major advantage of the environment you’re in, because you’ll be more well-informed and able to make decisions that will keep your dog and you safe. Aside from learning how to discern the situation, you will also learn: the different ways to guide your dog, when to guide your dog, whether to increase or decrease your judgement of the situation, and how to set your dog up for success in different situations.
Sitting before saying “hi”
Meeting new people or dogs can be really exciting. Your dog may not know how to handle all that energy inside them, so this class will teach you how to manage their excitement and how a polite and calm greeting is more rewarding.
Walking towards other dogs calmly
Not all dogs are as excited to meet others. Some may be on the shy side, some may just not be interested. By teaching your dog how to approach others in a calm and safe manner, it keeps your dog and you safe.
Calmly greeting visitors or people on walks
When you teach your dog how to greet others calmly, you are teaching them the ways they can regulate and manage their energies and impulses in an acceptable manner. This will also boost their confidence level as they learn that there are many other ways they can approach the situation.
Coming when called after greeting
With a reliable recall, not only will you be able to give your dog more freedom when meeting others, it will also keep them safe. It also teaches them to remain alert to your voice (and cue) even when they’re greeting others.
The Polite Greeting group class is designed to teach owners and dogs how to meet and greet others in a calm and polite manner.
It is not designed for dogs with existing behaviour issues such as leash reactivity, over-excitement, aggression anxiety, extreme fear or other issues that is beyond the normal dog behaviour. Should there be any existing behaviour issues, please take a look at the classes offered for Behaviour Modification!
Who can enrol in Polite Greetings?
- Dogs who have completed either Puppy Life Skills or Teenage Life Skills private class.
- Dogs with an understanding of basic cues, such as: sit/down, leave it, able to come when called, and walking on a loose leash.
- Friendly dogs with updated annual core vaccination (Parvo, Distemper & Adenovirus) or annual titer test (showing immunity on Parvo, Distemper & Adenovirus).
- No serious behavioural issues or leash reactivity.
