You just got a new puppy, which is very exciting. I’m Aron Smith, and I am going to show 5 things to teach any puppy, and I’ve been professionally working with dogs for over a decade. And in this blog, I’m going to give you the first 5 things to teach any puppy you should do with your new puppy.
How to Build a Strong Bond with Your Puppy
The first relationship is very important. Just like kids, everything that you do will shape and mold your puppy from the get-go. Some easy things right in the beginning for your relationship are hand feeding.
If you’re feeding your dog morning and night, which most of you will, you can hand-feed your dog so you can make your dog work for their food.
You can do this especially with a puppy for 10 to 15 minute sessions and then letting your dog be a puppy running around doing all the cute stuff that puppies do but you do want to structure out your training so you don’t overwhelm the dog and make the dog frustrated 10 15 minute sessions put the dog away or end it.
How to Teach Your Puppy Basic Commands Effectively
The second must-have is the place command. This is one of my absolute favorite behaviors to teach a puppy or any dog to have people over eating dinner. They want to send your dog to a safe place.
The place command will help you do that it is also a really nice threshold. Putting your dog into an area and they can’t get off until you release them again, that really helps with your boundaries and thresholds.
So when teaching the place command, you’re going to need your leash, your motivation or your reinforcement, and of course, your dog. You can use a bed, you can use a towel. I’m using yes as a reward marker, verbally good, and what I’m doing. I have Stuart’s Pro treats, which are my favorite treats to use. Which is basically little blocks of beef liver that the dog can work on.
When you’re doing healing or you’re down, I’m using kibble. I’ll probably give them a full piece of kibble at that point, and then we’re going to work on a break. The Brak command is just as important to let the dog know that they can get off the place. Command what you don’t want to do is let the dog get off. Remember, we’re talking about thresholds, relationship building, guidance, leadership, all that stuff. If you have a dog that’s going to be moving around or wants to get off, make sure you use your leash pressure to keep them on there.
Until you verbally release the dog with your brake command, you can say whatever you want. The dog training industry can be kind of confusing. Some people say free, some people say okay, say tomato, it doesn’t matter, you just have to stay consistent. The biggest problems I see with my behavioral clients are a lack of boundaries, which is also where a lot of anxiety starts. Dogs do not really know which direction to go. So you must start off with boundaries right when you get your puppy home.
How to Teach Your Puppy the Stay Command
Now we’re going to add the stay command, which is right in line with the place. Now, some people do implied stays, which means if you tell your dog to place that they should stay there. Good job. They should be there until you release them. A lot of people and a lot of my clients out there like to do a wait or a stay. Auto sits, that’s fine, good mom and dad have probably been teaching him to sit, so he’s sitting.
Because he wants to get paid, one of the biggest things that people forget do good stay. I’m going to reward the stay as the dog is in stay, a lot of my clients will make the mistake of telling the dog to stay while they’re doing it. So the dog isn’t staying right now. I’m not going to look at him and go stay, stay, stay, it’s a terrible thing to do for the dog, it can be confusing to them.
You’re going to use positive reinforcement to teach the dog that what they’re doing is good, stay, buddy, good stay, good, so you can use the good stay throughout the training process now. Remember, all of this stuff is very temporary for a dog learning something new, so over time, when the dog is really obedient and understands everything. I’m just going to say one thing: the dog is going to do it.
How to Teach Your Dog the Crate Command Effectively
Next on the list is the crate command teaching:
Your dog in the crate will keep them out of trouble it is also tremendously valuable to help with anxiety. It’s also a safe place for them to go to. It’s really important to make sure that you have the crate command in place with your new puppy.
A lot of dogs aren’t crate trained because they don’t condition them to the crate so they get a crate they get a dog they try to throw them in the dog freaks out but what we’re going to do with we’re going to make it a very pleasant experience for puppy for the first couple days before we even shut the crate door.
Now, if you have a dog that’s super confident and doesn’t care, you can shut it in at any time, but if you’re conditioning the crate command to a new dog or a puppy, you want to take your time and make it enjoyable with lots of positive reinforcement.
We’re going to take our food crate there. We are going into the crate. This is where the thresholds are going to come into play here in a little bit, but puppy is going to go in there. We’re going to reward him good crate! Good crate! Good crate! Okay, break, good job!
We’re throwing in the reward at the same exact time we’re saying the behavior, so we’re going to throw it in and say crate at the same time. When the dog hears the crate in the future, they’re going to say Hey, I’m going to rush into there because I’m going to get paid.
What I’m going to do is I’m going to try to do it without throwing food in front of the puppy; the dog is getting paid after the fact. Crate, yes, good crate! There we go, so that was actually the dog going into the crate without chasing the food, which is exactly what we’re looking for. I’m going to rep this out a couple of times.
Remember, this is a lab puppy. I’m a professional, don’t feel bad if your dog isn’t getting this as fast as he is. Labs are one of the easiest dogs to train, and so take your time, it’s okay if it’s not going as fast for you guys. Make sure that the dog doesn’t get out on his terms and on our terms again. This will put us into the driver’s seat. This is really, really important to all dogs, not just puppies.
How to Get Your Dog to Return on Command
The fifth and final tip is going to be to recall your dog:
Your dog coming back to you on command is obviously not only a safety thing, but it’s also something that will make your life a lot easier, so if your dog is in your backyard. A lot of my clients and my personal dogs ultimately, they’re going to be off-leash at the park, in the water, on the trail, and we need to introduce the recall.
How to properly introduce and sustainably keep your recall:
Speak the dog’s name kindly, like “come little leash pop,” “ yes goo,d” and then paying the dog when they get to you, big important part, making sure you break the dog good, break now the recall session is over.
Enforcement is really important and then break and then breaking the dog away, so you could do this for the first day or two in your house, making sure it’s not distracted, and then over time.
Your dog is being aggressive because they’re holding on to something that they find of resource or high value this is something that we see develop right under the owner’s eyes or nose without even knowing it hand feeding like we talked about earlier will definitely be helpful but other things that you can do is get your food bowl out start breaking up your kibble and start really just working with your dog around this.
Dog above the age of 5 months old do not do this without a trained professional this is a small little puppy that has puppy teeth that is still working on how to figure life out so this is very safe for this puppy if you have a puppy at home similar age young younger than 6 months this is something you could do at home as well.
Final Thoughts:
Thank you so much for reading this blog. I hope this helps. I’ll talk to you next time.
Puppy Care Frequently Asked Questions
How long can I leave my puppy by themselves?
Young puppies need quick bathroom breaks based on their age. A 12-week and 1-month-old puppy typically needs to go outside every 2-3 hours during the day.
What’s the best approach to housebreaking my puppy?
Consistency is key when house training your new puppy. Choose a designated outdoor spot and bring your puppy there regularly, especially after meals, naps, and playtime. Stay with them until they eliminate, then immediately offer praise and a small treat.
Which puppy training commands are most challenging to master?
Teaching your puppy to maintain eye contact and focus can be one of the trickier skills to develop. This “watch me” or attention command requires patience since puppies are naturally curious and easily distracted by their surroundings.
What are effective ways to correct unwanted puppy behavior?
Positive redirection works better than punishment for most puppies. When you catch them doing something inappropriate, interrupt the behavior with a firm “no” and immediately guide them toward the correct action.
How frequently should I feed my growing puppy?
Puppies under 3 months old benefit from eating three meals daily to support their rapid growth and development. This helps maintain steady energy levels and prevents hypoglycemia in smaller breeds. Once your puppy reaches 6 months of age, you can transition to twice-daily feeding.
