When Should You Start Training Your Dog?
You have just brought home the newest member of your family– an adorable little puppy. You want to get started on training your dog as soon as possible, but while old dogs can always learn new tricks, you might be worried that your puppy is too young to be trained.
That begs the question: when should you start training your dog?
There’s no wrong or right time to start training your dog. Even senior dogs can learn new skills as well as young puppies. In fact, a puppy can start their training as young as 8 weeks old, which is about the time you would be allowed to bring a new puppy home for the first time anyway.
While training is great enrichment that can stave off boredom and keep your dog intellectually engaged, too much training all at once can be frustrating for your puppy. When a dog is very young, you should keep any training session to small spurts of about 5 to 10 minutes long. Like always, you should also focus on reinforcing good behavoir with treats and attention.
Keep the type of training simple too with basic commends of sitting, laying down, or shaking your paw. This would also be a good time to potty train them and teach them how to go through a pet door.
No matter your dog’s age, remember to be patient with your dog as they learn a new skill.
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DOG PERSON🐶
Pets: I have a fluffy, 14 year old chow-collie mix with red fur named Rosso. He's very stubborn and has the standoffish personality of a cat.
Fun stuff: I am a hot chocolate connoisseur.
