At What Age Should You Train Your Puppy?

Training a puppy can be both rewarding and stressful at the same time. It is fulfilling to see your pooch take steps to becoming an obedient dog, but it can take a lot of patience and persistence to get to that point. Whether you are housebreaking or obedience training, you are bound to run into obstacles. The sooner you begin training your puppy, however, the sooner you will start to see results.

  1. Early Training

    • You should begin training your puppy before you even enter your house. An important aspect in training is asserting your role as the leader. Dogs will instinctively seek out a leader from which to learn and take guidance. If they do not find one, they will usually try to take command themselves, which can lead to a dog who thinks he is dominant over you and who, in turn, will not obey. Therefore, assert your dominance by walking through the door in front of your puppy. This will show him that he follows you, not the opposite. Whether your dog is 8 weeks or 8 months old, you need to assert your dominance right away.

      Begin crate-training your puppy as soon as you come home. While crate training can begin at any age and is encouraged to start on young puppies, the age of your pooch needs to be taken into consideration. According to the American Dog Trainer̵7;s Network, puppies under 4 months of age typically have little bladder or sphincter control. In fact, many do not even know that they need to eliminate until they are actually doing so. Puppies who are under 9 weeks of age usually have to use the bathroom about eight to 12 times a day. Therefore, if you are crate training your puppy at this age, remember that he cannot stay in the crate very long and you will need to have someone let him out about every hour. This may involve hiring a pet-sitter and getting up frequently during the night.

      As soon as you come home with your puppy for the first time, introduce him to the crate. Place the crate in an area in which you spend time and leave the door open. Throw a few toys or treats inside to entice him to enter. You can even feed him inside the crate with the door open. The key is to teaching your dog that the crate is a good place for him to spend time.

    Obedience Training and Socialization

    • Whether you are enrolling your puppy into obedience classes or teaching him commands yourself, the sooner you begin, the better. Even an untrained 12-week-old pup could have already learned undesirable behavior. Beginning training at 7 or 8 weeks of age is most desirable, because the puppy probably has not learned too many bad habits and can easily be broken of them if he has. It can be hard to stop a puppy who is just a few weeks older from any bad behaviors he has already learned.

      Typically, socializing your puppy should begin as early as possible, as long as it is cleared by your veterinarian. Puppies have weakened immune systems and are very susceptible to picking up illnesses from other dogs. Therefore, many vets advise against allowing puppies to interact with other dogs until they have received all of their immunizations. Puppies can contract parvovirus from infected dogs, as well as bordetella. Parvovirus can be life-threatening and difficult to treat. Consult with your puppy̵7;s doctor as to what age she recommends safe socialization with other dogs. The sooner your dog interacts with other dogs and people, the sooner he will feel more comfortable and familiar with them and will not exhibit fear and aggression towards people and other animals.

      In general, start training your puppy as soon as you get him. This will allow for early bonding with your pooch and a puppy who desires to be obedient.