About Positively Pets

“….Jenny’s teaching and advice, transformed a once very disobedient Labrador into an obedient but still rascal of a pet. (The dog) adores Jenny’s classes and every week goes into a frenzy of excitement when we pack his items to go.” Customer feedback.

 

Puppy and Dog Training in Newcastle and Northumberland

 

 

What we do and where

General

Positively Pets helps train pet dogs. We don’t do anything else. And we’ve been doing it since 1993.

Our venues are in Gosforth and Cramlington, but we think we’re worth travelling for. We’ve had students coming from the south as far away as Peterlee and the north as far as Alnwick.

“The better a trainer I’ve become over the years, the less punishment I’ve felt a need to use.” Jenny Adams

Reward based clicker training

 

We adhere to the APDT Code of Conduct, all kind methods used in class. We’ve had a complete ban on choke collars since Day One. Rewarding what you want rather than punishing what you don’t isn’t just good for your relationship with your dog, it also gets the most reliable and predicatable responses from him.

See also FAQ

About You

You might want to get your puppy started on the right track, you might be unsure of how best to deal with problems such as your dog not coming back to you in the park or he might pull on the lead, you might simply want to give him a more interesting life.

We want pet dogs to be just as good at their pet training as working dogs are at their working training. What we don’t do is promise quick fixes, we know it takes people and dogs time to learn new skills, and we’re very patient, taking the time it takes to get the partnership between you and your dog as good as it can get.

We advise everyone to visit classes before signing up their dog, our classes or anyone else’s. You want to be sure you’re happy with what you’re dog’s going to learn the moment he steps through the door. We welcome visitors to all classes except The Big Brain Bit, but please leave your dog at home when visiting because an unfamiliar dog can unsettle the group already in class.

Classes

quickbook

The Big Brain Bit

 


Dogs get bored while people learn. So, we removed most of the “people training” sections of the course and put them in a double session at the start of each course. We’ve been doing this for Positively Dogs since… well the earliest date we can find is 2003. For puppies we started handler-only training sessions January 2015.

You can concentrate much better when you’re not worrying about what the dog at your feet is doing.  He will behave much better in class because he’s kept busy most of the time. Less barking!

Web Course

 


In 2014 we switched from paper handouts to online. And it really made a difference. We can answer questions in detail without taking up class time. Students can watch videos of class demos, so much easier to remember what you’re supposed to be doing when you can see it. Audio recordings of training sessions to talk people through their recall and lead-walking practice.

More details: Web Course

Pre-puppy


You can start with us before your puppy/dog is able to come to class, even before you’ve chosen your puppy/rescue dog.

You can book your training course right away, but choose the date when you actually bring your dog once you know when he’ll be ready. This gets you online support and “How to train your dog” – The Big Brain Bit – right away.

We love when people get in touch before they have their dog, so much we can do to help you prepare.

More details:
The Big Brain Bit Calendar
The Big Brain Bit Facebook
Web Course

jake

All Starter Courses

We work through three areas of training, recall (priority 1), walking nicely on lead, and general control.

Puppy also contains exercises to socialise with people and other dogs.

Positively Dogs concentrates on increasing owner control.  Dog classes are not recommended for socialisation of dogs who aren’t good with people or other dogs.  Please contact if you think this is you.

Puppy Class – Gosforth


Maximum 10 pups, minimum 4

Infant school to train and socialise pups who’ve cleared their vaccination programme as advised by their vet and are under 18 weeks when they start class.

Puppy is our most popular class, we booked our 2,407th puppy in March 2016.

More details: Puppy Class
Calendar: Puppy Class

Puppy 2 – Gosforth


Pups still under 18 weeks when their first class is done, can repeat puppy for more practice and socialisation.

Positively Dogs – Gosforth

Our longest running course.  We started pet classes when most of the trainers in the region were training only exercises necessary for competition or working dogs.

We’re just as nice to the older pups/teens/adult dogs – if not nicer!  But our goal in this class is to increase owner control using kind methods, not to solve behaviour problems.  If you think your dog is not good with people/other dogs, please contact us.

Positively Dogs moves dogs on to the next level more quickly than in other classes and has much smaller numbers, maximum 4 dogs, minimum 2. This allows us to work a happy medium between one-to-one training and a group session and to be sure dogs are happy in class before we move them on to a larger group.  The initial Positively Dogs class is complete, we cover the same subjects as in longer courses so you will get a complete course, but moving on to the next level (College class) will start you onto more advanced exercises much more quickly than in Puppy.

More details: Positively Dogs
Calendar: Positively Dogs

Move-on Classes


Graduates can continue their training for as long as they’re enjoying what they’re doing and feel they’re getting what they want out of class.  We pride ourselves on having students who have been with us for many years, not because their dogs aren’t good at training, but because they are good at training!

We introduce new subjects such as stay, retrieve, work against distractions.

For Puppy Graduates:

  • Juniors (equivalent to junior/high school) Gosforth/Seghill
  • Advanced (college) Gosforth/Seghill
  • Super Advanced (university) Seghill
  • Masterclass (life-long learning) Seghill

For Positively Dogs Graduates:

  • College.  Mixed ability, junior school through university. Gosforth

More on Move-on Classes

Dog Training in Newcastle and Northumberland

Locations

Coxlodge Community Association


9 Jubilee Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE3 3UR

Positively Puppies, Positively Dogs, Juniors, Advanced, College

We’ve been here since the 1990s and are very grateful to the Committee for their continued support of what we do.

There’s a small room which is great for puppies and a larger room for adult dogs. There’s a big field and a smaller lawn, the small lawn is lovely for pups to have a “sniff about and greet” before class. Plenty of off-road parking. Two minutes from Gosforth High Street, next to the Fire Station on Jubilee Road, it’s central and easy to get to.

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Ramp access and the doors can be opened wider if required.

West Allotment Community Centre – Temporary Venue

Benton Rd, West Allotment, Newcastle upon Tyne NE27 0EP

Just off the roundabout between the A19 Tyne Tunnel Road and the A191 Gosforth/Whitley Bay Road. Near Cobalt Park.

https://www.westallotmentcommunitycentre.co.uk/