When Should Dog Training Start?

Formal obedience training should not be started before a puppy is 9 or 10 weeks old, but that isn’t to say that training of any kind should be put off until a puppy is 9 or 10 weeks old. Oh, no! Puppy training should start the very first day that you bring a puppy home and make him a member of your family. You’ll have started late if you wait until day two.

Puppies begin learning the day they are born. In the early days, they learn from their mothers and they learn from their litter mates. It isn’t long before they begin learning from whatever environment they are living in. Haven’t you ever seen a puppy approach a flower for the first time or seen his reaction the first time he sees a butterfly?

Puppies, like all young creatures, learn constantly, and they learn from everything and everybody that touches their lives. Puppies are just naturally curious, but they are also born with a strong survival instinct. Puppies want to please the alpha dog in their pack. In the beginning, the alpha dog is their mother. When you adopt a puppy, you must become the alpha dog, or the puppy WILL become the alpha dog because he knows that every pack must have a leader so that the pack survives. So first you must take charge of the puppy and teach him that you are the alpha dog of the pack and that you will take care of him — provided he behaves himself and follows the rules.

From day one, do NOT let your puppy nip at your hands when you play. If he does (and he probably will), roll him over onto his back and firmly say “NO.” Do not play games with your puppy that encourages him to bark, no matter how cute he looks when he barks. Training begins at birth. Training continues the day you adopt and training continues for the life of the dog. When should you start training you dog? NOW!