Begin obedience training immediately. You don't have to wait until they're a specific age to begin teaching them; when they're old enough to go home, they're ready to learn. When new puppy owners are focused on potty training it can be easy to forget to train obedience, thinking it can be saved for later. However, some of the behaviors we find cute when dogs are babies become much less adorable when they hit adolescence, and at that point, you're having to untrain habits. Basic manners such as Sit, Stay, and Lie Down should be started on Day One.

The Importance of Positive Dog Training

Positive dog training is important: be kind and gentle rather than harsh while training. That doesn't mean you have to allow anything and forego rules or boundaries, but it's difficult to punish correctly and much more beneficial to focus on what they're doing right, instead of wrong. Rather than employing scolding or harsh punishment, distract them with noise (like a clap) when they're doing something wrong and redirect the behavior. For example, if they're going potty in the house, once you distract and they halt their behavior you can take them outside and then reward them for going in the proper place. If you don't catch them in the act, just clean the mess and improve or adjust supervision; attempting to punish after the fact will do nothing other than scare your puppy and make you seem unpredictable. Perfect timing is necessary with scolding or punishment because dogs live in the moment.