Training Your Puppy for the First Time

Training your puppy to have good manners is best done in the first 16 weeks. Given their short attention span, you should train your puppy in short sessions.

Five-Treat Puppy Training Session

Count out five treats and practice one or two dog behaviors until you’ve given your puppy all five treats.

Potty and play with your puppy for the next 30 minutes. Repeat this short puppy training session three times a day.

• 1 puppy training session in the morning
• 1 puppy training session in the afternoon
• 1 puppy training session in the evening

Instead of treats, you can use your puppy’s morning or evening meal as the reward. This dog training session is great because you can continue to train your dog for as long as you and your puppy like.

RELATED: How to Potty Train a Puppy

One-Minute Puppy Training Session

Unlike the first puppy training session, the one-minute puppy training session requires a timer. Set your timer for one minute and practice teaching your puppy a behavior until the timer rings. Give your puppy a break. Bring him to potty and play for 30 minutes. Repeat this short puppy training session three times a day.

When training your puppy, remember to take breaks. Training breaks are invaluable during the learning process. You’ll be surprised how much your puppy learned during your short training lesson when he’s given time to think and process the behavior he’s learned.

New Behavior

Begin your next training session by practicing a behavior your puppy does really well like “sit” or “touch.” This builds your puppy’s confidence and sets him up for success. Next, introduce a new behavior, such as “down” and break into several puppy training sessions.

If your puppy is struggling, say “down.” End the training session with something your puppy does very well, such as “sit” or “touch.” Take a break and think through your training protocol.

There is a reason your puppy became confused. Maybe your treat wasn’t valued enough or you moved too fast. Think through how you could do better. Ask your dog trainer for advice—dog trainers are invaluable for troubleshooting and problem-solving, as they have trained many dogs!

RELATED: Dog Training Treats

Touch Command

Teach your puppy to respond to a cue. Practice several known behaviors back to back.

• Example: Teach your puppy to “sit,” “down,” “sit” and “down.” This will strengthen both cues, and your puppy will learn the difference between the cues.

• Example: Teach your puppy to “sit,” “touch,” “sit” and “touch.” Asking your puppy to “touch” will lead him out of the “sit” behavior, so you can keep practicing!

Make it fun and give him the chance to succeed with some cues he knows. It’s always more fun for your puppy when he’s rewarded for performing the right behaviors in puppy training.

WATCH: Teach Your Puppy the Touch Command

Always remember these tips when training your puppy:

– Keep sessions short with lots of rewards and plenty of break time.
– When you’re stuck, reach out to your dog trainer.
– Make puppy training fun.

What was your experience like when you first trained your puppy?

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