When to start training your dog - The answer may surprise you!
Short answer = right away!
Every moment that you are with your dog, you are training your dog. So! It is important that once you get done reading this article you start to make changes to improve your and your dog’s life. Regardless of whether you have a brand new puppy, a bouncy adolescent who can’t seem to keep themselves together, or a dog with behavioral issues, now is the time to start training!
Your dog’s age and maturity level is a huge factor in your training focus:
With young puppies, especially under 4 months, it’s important to keep training super easy and fun. Starting marker training (particularly teaching Yes), name recognition games, crate games, engagement games, recall, and simply experiencing the world are super important. Keep your play and training sessions short. Like 5-10 minutes short. You’ll also want to make sure your puppy is getting plenty of quality rest in between your sessions! Puppies need up to 20 hours of sleep every day! Cranky puppies are no fun, so give them a calm, quiet spot to relax and recharge!
With adolescent dogs, you’ll still want to keep your sessions short at first, but they generally can go a bit longer than wee puppies. They need less sleep than little, little puppies too, but they still need quite a bit, so don’t neglect their naptime! Once your dog hits 16 weeks and is fully vaccinated, you can get a bit more nit-picky about their leash skills. Instead of using a harness, you may switch to a collar at this point to give yourself a bit more control and your pup a bit more clarity. Harnesses disperse the pressure, which is good when your pup is small and exploring, but depending on the breed of your pup, they may quickly outmatch you in strength. Using a collar gives you the ability to direct their head with less force, therefore making the experience much more pleasant and less confusing for everyone involved.
At this stage, it’s also appropriate to really dig into marker training and get a bit more strict about basic obedience (if you’re into that kind of thing). Not every dog needs perfect obedience, but teaching your dog a handful of simple commands like sit, down, and especially recall will make your life wayy easier. What we believe every dog should have a firm understanding of is marker training. Markers are short sounds that let the dog know if they are doing well or not. We teach four to start: “Yes”, “Good”, “Ah-ah”, & “No”. “Yes” you made the right choice come get your reward. “No” that was the wrong choice, a consequence may be incoming. “Goood” I like what you’re doing, keep doing it. “Ah-ah” is the warning, you haven’t crossed the line and you still have a chance to fix it. These sounds, we call the Communication, allow us to guide our dogs and give them feedback no matter the situation. We can use them in obedience training or just in life. Some examples! They auto sat at the door when we go to leave for our daily walk, “Yes!”. They attempt to jump up on the counter to snag that Thanksgiving turkey, “No”. They settle on their bed while the fam is sitting down for dinner, “Goood”. They start creepin ahead on a walk tracking a squirrel, “Ah-ah”. We use these sounds like a super simple language to influence our dogs behavior and guide them to the best possible choice.
And finally, for adult dogs, whether you just adopted an adult dog or you’ve been managing behavioral problems for a while, the sooner you start the better as well! You may need to make changes like adding crate training or putting a hold on your normal walks so you can build up your own and your pup’s basic skills before venturing out once more. Sometimes you have to take a couple steps backward before you can move forward again!
If you’re ready to start today, but are unsure how, we have resources for you!
If you're the DIY Type, our Basics Course Bundle is the way to go: www.dogseyeviewtraining.com/devonline
For folks who want some one on one time, but are not local, virtual coaching is an excellent option!
Or if you live near Oxford, Michigan and want to work with us in person, we can get you started with that too! For virtual coaching and in person programs, visit our website here: www.dogseyeviewtraining.com/start
And of course if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out:
Call/text - 248-515-6093
Email - [email protected]
Hope to hear from you soon! <3
