Paws-itively the answer is “now!” Yes, you can start training your puppy as soon as you get her home even as early as eight weeks of age. Training a young puppy can be exhausting, but incredibly rewarding at the same time. Using modern techniques like clicker training, shaping, lure, and reward are easy and fun ways to get your puppy started. You don’t have to be a professional dog trainer to get early results. It helps if you acquire your information and skills from a Force-Free Certified Professional Trainer (CPDT-KA) and not by surfing on the internet or television. There are tons of irreversible and harmful information out there.

Recently I was working with a new Day Training client, a 10-week old Chocolate Lab puppy named Harlee. Typically, I work with a young puppy three times a week for three weeks. I hate to brag but Harlee was preforming like stunt dog in the movies in a matter of a couple of weeks. Of course, the owners were working in tandem with me during those weeks to reinforce the training. How I worked with her made it easier for Harlee to grasp what was expected of her. Puppies will always thrive with lots of rewards and patience. Patience is the best gift you can give yourself and your furry student.

I like using a combination of positive reinforcement training techniques. I was making her work for her lunch, but she didn’t know it. Puppies have a very short attention span so you need to have lots of fun and play while you are training. At first, I slice all the learning behaviors (hand targeting, sit, down, stand, recall, etc.) into little slivers. By rewarding little efforts in the beginning, it makes it easier and quicker to get to the goal behavior. I made it super easy for Harlee to win a prize. For a down, I just reward Harlee for putting her nose to the floor. The next time I made her stretch a little further for the prize. Then I waited until the elbows hit the floor and made a big to-do. I broke up the work with games (find it, fetch, follow me, etc.) and play. I kept her attention by not staying on one particular behavior no more than one to three minutes before switching gears onto a different behavior. Socialization along with positive interactions at the youngest possible age will help your puppy thrive!