Puppy Training: How to Get It Right From Day One

The first few weeks you spend with a puppy are a crucial period for both of you. The relationship you establish during this time can set the tone for the rest of your lives together. Puppies grow up very fast in the first months after they enter a new home, so getting their early training right will help them become calm well-behaved adult dogs. Here are a few of our top puppy training tips.

Modern methods

For quite a few years, philosophy in puppy training was based on the “dominance” theory. The notion behind this theory was that in the wild, wolves respect an “alpha” and are submissive to it. It assumes that when your dog or puppy misbehaves, it’s trying to be the dominant animal. So the key to dog obedience was asserting the owner’s dominance over the pet.

However, more recent research has largely discredited this theory. Dr. Sophia Yin suggests that animals like dogs only behave in certain ways if that behavior has been rewarded. So the key to stopping bad behavior isn’t “asserting dominance”, but rather cutting out rewards for behaviors you don’t like in your puppy, and making sure you do reward the behaviors that you want to see more often. Verbal or physical punishment will only make your puppy learn that they ought to be scared of people, which could make them aggressive as an adolescent and/or adult dog.

So, when training your puppy, ensure you reinforce (with treats, praise, petting) any and all behavior you want to encourage, and ignore or redirect (get the pup focused on something more appropriate in the moment) the behaviors you don't like. Remember that any kind of attention is a reward! Even saying ‘no’.

Principles

Set your puppy up for success from the moment she arrives in your home. Especially for the first few days, your puppy will be feeling quite uncertain. So establishing a good, consistent routine is crucial from the start. Make sure you always wake up, feed, and put your puppy to bed at the same time every day.

And when you’re working on training with your puppy it’s very important that the whole family follow the same rules. Puppies learn based on repetition and consistency. So if the same thing happens over and over again while you’re teaching them something (no matter who is working with them), they will catch on quickly. But if one member of the family doesn’t follow along with the training routine, or gives her treats when it’s not appropriate, your puppy will end up confused and all your hard work can quickly be undone.

So, before puppy even arrives, everyone needs to know exactly what the rules and boundaries are and stick to them. These will differ from house to house – so decide as a family what you’re comfortable with. This is especially important with smaller children who will want the puppy to be their best friend – and willing to use treats to make it happen! Regular training sessions where you supervise both puppy and child will make sure everyone is doing the same training.

I recommend that you pop a piece of paper with the routine on the fridge so all the family can see it as a reminder and can support each other.

A final thing to remember is that your puppy needs to know their own name. Make sure you say it to them frequently to get their attention and offer a treat when they respond.

House training

This will be one of the very first things you’ll want to work on after bringing your puppy home.

The easiest way to toilet train your dog is to take them outside, on a leash, often to give them ample opportunities to eliminate in the correct place. While they’re urinating or defecating, make a point of saying “wee wees” or whatever word you’d like to use to remind your dog to toilet, and praise them when they are finished. It's also helpful to give a tiny treat when they've finished and even give them an opportunity to play a bit as added reinforcement for a "job well done."

Puppies normally need to go to the toilet as soon as they’ve woken up, soon after eating and/or drinking and after a little play session. Young dogs have small bladders and not much control over them, so they will need to be taken outside every 20-30 minutes to start with. This period of time can be increased slowly by 5 minutes each day as you help them learn how to hold their bladder for a little longer. Don’t assume they will tell you when they need to go – take them out anyway. Set a timer on your phone. You will be surprised how quickly they can progress if you stick to a strict (for yourself) schedule.

If any accidents do happen and your puppy makes a mess indoors, it’s important not to punish them, or they may end up being scared to relieve themselves in front of you, whether they’re outside or not. Just clean it up (ideally, with an enzymatic cleaner) and commit to doing a better job with your schedule and supervision in the future.

Socializing

From a very early stage with your pup you need to make sure get used to having other people - and other dogs – around. This means introducing them to lots of different people and animals and pairing those new experiences with something they love, like yummy treats. It’s especially important to make sure your puppy meets as many different kinds of people and dogs as possible – children and adults of both sexes, wearing hats, holding umbrella, cycling, jogging as well as dogs of all different sizes and breeds. See if your local vet or positive puppy trainer organizes small puppy parties as they are a great opportunity for your puppy to meet other dogs and other people in a controlled manner that won't overwhelm your pup.

The Kennel Club also recommends that you take your puppy to the vet in the first couple of days after you bring them home with you – not for any vaccinations which they may need later but to make sure their first experience at the vet is a positive one. Simply bring them to the clinic, have them meet a few of the staff members and feed some yummy treats, then leave. This will help to begin creating a positive association for your puppy with this place she'll need to go in the future.

The crucial thing with any new experience in this period is that they all have to be positive. That means keeping a stash of treats handy at all times!

Early cues

Puppies’ brains grow in size hugely over the first few months of their life. Teaching them basic cues is a great way for you to bond with your pup, and it’s a very good time for them to learn such things. When training a new puppy, some cues you can teach are those like sitting, staying and lying down. Luckily, puppies will pick this up very quickly if there are treats involved! As with everything else, consistency and repetition are important to make sure they get the cues right.

A really important early cue to learn is “Leave it!” – to encourage your puppy to bring his attention back to you, away from something you don’t want them to be sniffing at.

Remember that your puppy won’t get everything right straight away. They are coming into a big new world with a lot of unfamiliar experiences, so it won’t be a flawless transition from excitable puppy to mature dog.

The first few weeks you spend with your puppy lay the foundation for the rest of your life together, so it’s very important to do everything you can to get this time right. With consistency, patience and dedication, there’s no reason why puppy training should be the nightmare it’s often made out to be.