- Stratford Clinic
- Whitfield Clinic
Bringing home a new puppy is exciting, hilarious, exhausting – and sometimes a little overwhelming! Our Puppy School is designed to help you understand your new puppy, build a great relationship from the beginning, and give them the skills they need to grow into a happy, confident and well-adjusted dog.
Run by our veterinarian with a special interest in animal behaviour, our small-group classes go beyond basic obedience. We focus on how puppies learn, communicate and experience the world, helping you understand why your puppy behaves the way they do and how you can guide them using kind, practical and evidence-based training.
Early puppyhood is an incredibly important developmental period. We’ll show you how to create safe, positive experiences with people, dogs, handling and the wider world – while learning to recognise when your puppy is comfortable, uncertain or needs a little more space.
And because no two puppies – or families – are quite the same, our classes are flexible. Whether this is your first puppy or your fifth, you have children at home, other dogs to introduce, or a particular challenge you’d like help with, we adapt our teaching to make the course useful and relevant to your life with your puppy.
Of course, we teach puppy skills too! You and your puppy will practise sit, drop, settle on a mat, look at me, heel, walk with me and recall, with an emphasis on understanding how to teach these skills so you can continue training confidently at home.
Along the way, you’ll learn how to read canine body language, use reward-based training effectively, understand normal puppy behaviours such as biting, chewing and jumping, and work through common puppy challenges.
We’ll also explore appropriate socialisation, confidence building, interactions with people and other dogs, handling and cooperative veterinary care, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions about the things that matter to your individual puppy and household.
Our goal isn’t simply a puppy who can sit on cue. It’s to help you raise a dog who feels safe in their world, trusts you, and knows how to learn with you – while giving you the knowledge and confidence to enjoy raising them. 
© Ulysses Veterinary Clinic Cairns 2026
