At what age should I start training my puppies? They are getting use to their new surroundings now. They just play play everytime we let them out of their crates. Thanks for any info! Bob

Seriously consider taking them to puppy obedience classes after they've had all the puppy vaccinations. I'd say try training them as soon as they recognize their names.

The earlier the better! And puppy classes are great. You learn how to train them, the puppies get socialization, and you get to play with a bunch of puppies!

I taught Kale to sit at 7 weeks. Start as soon as you can!

Also forgot to mention, train your puppies separate from one another every now and then. Two puppies growing up together can form an extreme bond and get separation anexiety later on in life if they are apart from one another. It can become a real issue. The best time for them to learn to be apart from one another is before 16 weeks old, but do keep it up even afterward.

For me, I wanted to make sure Elara didn't get too reliant on Siku my older sibe when she was a puppy. Taking her to puppy class and conformation class and Siku to obedience and agility class on different days helped a lot I think. They still love one another, but they don't totally freak out when I take one off someplace and leave the other one home alone.

I got my pup at 8 weeks and started teaching her basic commands (sit, shake, stay, & her name) as soon as i got her. I've been trying to teach her come since i got her, but she is so stubborn with that one! I'm going to take her to petsmart as soon as she gets all her shots to work on come and leave it.

I started teaching Kota "sit" and "down" when he was 7 weeks they're quick learners so start as soon as you can cause they can grow to be so stubborn! haha

Sit, lay down, come, and stay can all be achieved by 10 weeks. Consistency, and praising/treating at the proper time is key. If done correctly, a husky can pick up the concept of a command within 10 minutes, and constant, almost random training sessions keep it exciting for the pup.

It's not necessary for Keeonah and I now, but clicker training, at least for the "purposeful" commands(sit, lay down, back up, come etc.) is very helpful, but it can really help the tricks like shake, bang, and speak. Just study it on Youtube. They actually enjoy learning. When I introduce a new command for Keeonah, I can see her thinking, working out what to do so she can earn her treats. not to mention the bond it will build between you!

I find it astonishing, My pup is 4 1/2 months, we have had him almost two weeks now, he learned Sit,Stay,Leave it, and drop it within a week, I STILL CAN NOT GET HIM TO PEE OUTSIDE 100% of the time lmao. For such an intelegent pup he sure is stubborn...

I got Cally at 6 1/2 weeks and by 7 weeks she knew sit, paw, other paw, lay down and roll over. As the others have said, start as early as possible

Balon knew sit, shake, down by 9 weeks! He now knows high five, roll over, play dead, spin (going around in circles lol). They are very fast learners. I started with sit at 8 weeks when we got him!

How did you teach balon to play dead an roll over?? I have tried no success yet.

Sit, down, shake, and roll over were easy, only took a couple tries with the roll over. still working on stay. come is a hit or miss. she understands "Crate" 90% of the time, the other 10 is the selective hearing kicking in because she looks at me like I'm a crazy person and plops down on the floor in place.

Roll over tips: grab a treat and hold in front of their nose and move your hand around to the tail in a circular motion. worked pretty good for me, now when I say roll over she'll go halfway for a belly rub and the rest when done lol

theredofshaw wrote:

Roll over tips: grab a treat and hold in front of their nose and move your hand around to the tail in a circular motion. worked pretty good for me, now when I say roll over she'll go halfway for a belly rub and the rest when done lol

This is how we started to teach Onyx rollover when our trainer at Petsmart was teaching "settle." We would take the treat and move it towards their side, at nose level, when in a "down" or "lay" then when he rolled onto his side we would keep going til he would roll to the other side. But stick with it, Onyx got smart and started moving his head to the other side to meet the treat there....he doesn't get it though

Everyone's pretty much covered it. Just find out what works for your pup. And don't feel bad if your pup doesn't know everything by 10 weeks. They all learn at different paces. Callie's very smart but very stubborn. At 4 1/2 months, I've only just started being able to get her into a down position without having to push her down (gently of course but still). She's had sit since two days after I brought her home. She knows her name, "no" and "come" but it's a matter of whether or not she chooses to listen to them. Same with "drop it." She knows "go to your bed" because it usually means she just got into trouble. So while I don't have my down or stay at 4 months, I've got a few other things and we're still working. It gets harder to teach them as they get older but there's no cut off day when your dog just won't learn anymore. Teach your commands as fast or as slow as you need to, but I would definitely start while it's still easy. That way, it's not as frustrating.

I started training with Yukon when he was 10 weeks old. I take him by myself to training so he can focus and learn to be away from Nikko. It has been really difficult trying to do training at home with Nikko around because they will be more interested in playing. I found that Nikko caught on much faster with his training that Yukon has, but that is because I was able to work with Nikko more than I am able to with the little one.

We are having a tough time with down, and he does not take treats easy, he seems to nip a lot. I am not real happy about the trainer though, it is not as hands on as the PetSmart classes were.

jschrader wrote:

We are having a tough time with down, and he does not take treats easy, he seems to nip a lot. I am not real happy about the trainer though, it is not as hands on as the PetSmart classes were.

With down, I've found that Callie cooperates a lot more when she's tired. She also nips a lot less. For the nipping I tried putting the treat on my palm and she takes it a little nicer. Other than that I close the treat in a fist and withstand the brutal beating of puppy teeth until she stops trying to get it. I think it's something they grow out of because she doesn't really nip so much anymore.

I never had the issue with down with Nikko. He caught on to most of basics within a few weeks. Probably because of the trainer and also I was able to focus on his training more during the week as well. With Yukon I haven’t been able to work as much as I would like.

He is getting better with the nipping, I also started putting the treat in my palm and he takes it easier than if I give it to him with my fingers. Nikko is VERY good about taking treats, and will even leave and he won’t take it until you tell him to.

Onyx doesn't nip but boy is he mouthy . When I tell him to sit and I have a treat in my hand he will let me have letting me know that he wants that treat, so I usually make him do other tricks..lol. I love it though, It took him too long to start talking to me.

The best advice I got, and it works, is if your dog jumps on you, do not say a word or push them down, turn you back to them and ignore them 100%, even negative attention is still attention to them(It takes a few days for them to get it) it works though. Once they sit or lay down then give them attention.

Ashleymarie9807 wrote:

The best advice I got, and it works, is if your dog jumps on you, do not say a word or push them down, turn you back to them and ignore them 100%, even negative attention is still attention to them(It takes a few days for them to get it) it works though. Once they sit or lay down then give them attention.

.

Unless your dog is like my Kale and he'll just jump on your back and knock you over lol. The only thing that works for him is making him focus on something else, like a command.

Yeah, my mom's lab shows no mercy. He's jumping on you whether your back is to him, your hands are full, you're off balance, etc. He just doesn't care. With him, you've got to catch him before he gets in the jumping stance and say "NO!" and then try a sit or something but he usually "forgets" how to listen at these times.