Puppy Obedience Training – How to Succeed. When should you start Puppy Obedience Training? Puppies aged – 5 – 7 weeks

The age of your puppy plays an important part in deciding when you should start the training program…

5 – 7 weeks – This is the age where puppies start to act and behave like dog’s. The mother will start to wean the young puppies from around the forth week (although this can vary slightly.) From the forth week (approx) the mother dog will start to teach the puppy discipline such as the bite inhibition – this is the process of teaching the puppy how much pressure should be put on a bite (so the puppies don’t go around biting too hard on their litter mates.) The age from 5 – 7 weeks is also very important in a puppies development as it is the time when the mother dog starts to teach the puppy social skills – this will enable the puppy to learn how to interact with other puppies, dogs and humans. Important – If a puppy is removed too early during these stages of development it could have disastrous effects on the puppy and its behavior and obedience in later life.

The Importance of Housetraining early…

If puppies are properly trained at this very crucial stage 5 – 7 weeks + they will then learn the basic concepts of housetraining. Puppies (given the choice) will not natural eliminate in their crate/whelping box (if they have been taught this by their mother and not separated too early) even if it means having a quick stumble and wobble to the other side of the crate/whelping box. If for whatever reason (you may have left him to long in the crate/whelping box) your puppy eliminates in his den – he may then think that it’s ok and continue to do this.

Puppies aged 8 – 16 weeks.

This is a critical stage in the life and development of your puppy – if you get it wrong here then you are setting yourself up for major puppy obedience and puppy behavior problems in the future. At this age your puppy starts to realize whether it’s a great world to live in or a terrifying and scary world. IMPORTANT - If your puppy doesn’t meet and interact with other people, children and dog’s at this age he may become scared, and as we know a nervous and scared dog can lead to an aggressive dog. At this point if you are inconsistent with the housetraining process then your puppy will be inconsistent with housetraining in later life.

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Don’t be fooled!

You may think that your puppy is completely housetrained at this stage – he may even go towards the door when he wants to eliminate – however … This is where basic and very common mistakes happen in the training process – YOU are having unrealistic expectations… Just because your puppy THINKS that he is a big boy – he has learned the concept of the process of asking to go out – but biologically he is still a baby and may pee on the way to going outside because as a baby he still struggle with bladder control. At about 8 weeks your puppy can hold his bladder for approximately 2 hours and this will increase to about 4 hours when he reaches 16 weeks. Don’t expect your puppy to hold it – if you do you are asking your puppy to get a urinary tract infection.

Puppies aged 4 – 6 months.

This is where all your training is proven to work or fail!

If you thought everything was going well and your beautiful puppy was housetrained – don’t hold your breath as this where you could be proven wrong. At this age your puppy is very very easily distracted – just when you think he is about to pee he will go and chase a fly – this is normal. At this age puppies can hold their bladder for about 4 – 5 hours approx – without a potty break. At about 6 months your puppy should be able last about 6 7 hours.

Puppies aged 6 – 12 months.

This is when your little puppy starts to develop sexually – this brings it’s own problems.

If you own an unneutered male – because he is developing sexually he may start to raise his leg and pee on the furniture. If you own a female then she may have her first heat anywhere between 6 – 12 months. If you have been consistent in your housetraining then your puppy should be able to hold his bladder between 7 – 8 hours between potty breaks. Don’t make the common mistake of thinking that your puppy is completely house trained at this age – many people let them have the run of the House when they are out – only to find accidents around the House – This is because puppies may not associate their den’s/crate with the entire House until they are about 1 year old or more.

Puppy Behavior 8 – 11 weeks old.

Puppy behavior is important to be able to understand as when a puppy goes through certain stages in its development their behavior will also go through changes. We will look at the stages a puppy goes through between the ages of 8-11 weeks of age and how you can learn how to train a puppy during this stage.

Puppy Development 8-11 weeks old.

You have just purchased your adorable new puppy and have teaken him home. However, you must try not to get to caught up with the ‘cute puppy’ phase and should start puppy training as early as possible.

You should start basic training.
Don’t allow strangers to scare or intimidate your puppy as this can seriously affect how your puppy interacts with humans in adulthood.
Some dog trainers argue that this phase is so important that if you want your puppy to be a detection dog and you have not taught him the basics of the ‘fetch command’ between 8-11 weeks then they will never be able to become a detection dog

Your puppy will want to explore his surroundings but will have a general fear of everything.
Start socializing your puppy by introducing him to different objects.
Use positive reinforcement to reward good behavior-give your puppy a treat and lots of praise.
Do not be over protective with your puppy. If you give your puppy lots of attention when he becomes scared this will teach him that it is natural to be scared and when he shows fear he gets praise-never a good idea.

Your puppy’s personality will start to really develop so it is imporant to start puppy socialization with other humans and other animals.
Puppy parties are a good socialization tool-but don’t start introducing your puppy to walks or other dogs until your vet says it is ok.
As a new owner you should expect crying and house soiling in the night.
Your puppy will also cry when he is left alone-he is not used to being seperated and he is still a baby.
Monitor fearful behavior as you don’t want irrational fears to develop into adulthood

Your puppy may start tugging and pulling on clothes and even jumping up.
Understand that puppy chewing may happen-but do not allow it.
A puppy soon grows so don’t allow behavior such as jumping up to happen-if he does start ignore your puppy.
Remember that you are the pack leader so you need to be strong and set the House rules
Try not to let anything startle your puppy at this age-watch out for fire works parties
You really need to start introducing your puppy to other dogs as this is how they learn to behave and respond to other dogs.
Although Diarrhoea is common at this age due to changes in diet-if you have any worries at all you must consult your vet.

Yo can start basic puppy training as it is a great way to communicate with your puppy and to build a string relationship-remember these golden rules when puppy obedience training:
Be patient-remember that a puppy has a limited attention span.
Be consistent-set the rules and stick with them.
Positive reinforcement-always heap lots of praise on a puppy that behaves well.
Be rational with your puppy by understanding that you are also learning how to train a puppy so will make mistakes
Be fair at all times with your puppy and accept that their will be accidents in the House.

Start Basic Puppy Obedience Training
Keep pupy obedience training short and fun.
Have lots of treats ready to give your puppy when he behaves well.
Do not give commands in a harsh tone.
Make sure the whole family use the same commands otherwise it will confuse your puppy.
Practice training techniques everyday

Puppy Behavior 8-11 weeks old – what to expect
Fearful behavior
Play biting and chewing
Your puppy may chase other animals
Crying when seperated from you or the family
Minor destructive behavior
Jumping up

If you found this article on puppy behavior and puppy development useful-you may find our more indepth puppy behavior tips useful or visit our site on Dog Obedience Training for more general dog and puppy training advice.