What Age To Begin Training Your Puppy

Posted by Deakster on December 3, 2008

One of the most common concerns readers ask us is at what age they should start training their puppy. Because of this we are going to take a minute to discuss the major concerns of how a puppy differs from a mature dog, and what type of training you are doing.

One generally accepted notion is that no dog is “too young” to begin learning (not sure how the “old dog, no new tricks” bad rap got started). Puppies after all will explore starting as early as they can. This is their way of learning their surroundings. The problem is, how fast they learn, or what they will learn depends entirely on what exactly you want to teach them.

Now exactly what is a puppy? Most people consider a puppy to only be the tiny, 6 week to 6 month old period of a dogs life. However this is not entirely true. Lets take a dog based on their age in relation to life expectancy. For example, larger breeds, like German Shepherds or Malamutes, will have a shortly life expectancy then smaller breeds. On average, larger breed dogs will live between 10-12 years.

So take for a moment a dog who is one year old. This is 1/10 of his life expectancy. By all means he is still pretty young. Also, puppy-dom has stages. some common stages seen in puppies are teething and chewing, digging, and even different activity levels. We as owners expect that our dogs will grow out of these stages as they “mature”. Leading to the notion that puppy-ness is still present.

The best option is to consider your dog as a puppy until they have officially stopped growing. This generally will be between 1 and 1/2 to 2 years old for most dogs. While not a puppy in the strictest common notion, as they are bigger, not always as cute and cuddly, but they are none-the-less still immature.

So what is it you are trying to teach your puppy? Some basic things, like crate training is easier to teach a young puppy, then training it to an older dog. Why? Because of what the dogs thinks they are learning. Crate training for example, teaches the dog that they have a safe den and bedding area to stay in. Since a new puppy is likely scared, having been taking from the family and its mother, the puppy will need comfort. So they learn comfort when they need it. Training that same puppy to fetch sticks will not be the same task. Sure they might like to play with the stick, but they do not yet understand your words, what a stick actually is, or what fetching means.

Like humans, puppy have to learn basic emotional responses to you and the lesson being taught long before they can learn how to react to other stimulus and training methods. The best rule of thumb then becomes that training your puppy depends both on a combination of age and desired result.

For young puppies, between the ages of 8 weeks and 6 months, most training should be centered around the emotional needs of the puppy. Training should generally consist of things that can be taught without the need for regimented training techniques. Examples of this are crating, potty training outside, and leash walking. All of these can be done easily, without duress to the dog. They are all simple, your puppy needs to learn them, and they all benefit you both in so many ways.

As your dog gets past the age of 6 months, you should notice that as they get bigger, and more mature, then you can work more on commands that are not emotionally needed, but are emotionally driven. For instance, learning to sit for a treat, is driven by the pets emotional response to getting a treat. He likes treats, wants treats, and will not learn to do work for them. Bear in mind that even at this age your pets may still have a short attention span. This does not mean they have A.D.D., but simply are still curious about the other stuff around, like the cat, the ball, or a mysterious shadow under the couch.

So remember, keep puppy training simple for young puppies, and adjust the complexity and methods of training as they grow older and more mature. Try not to confuse your young puppy. As this will only lead to a confused older dog. Train right the first time and you will not need to retrain later.