How early can you begin to train a puppy? Even though you may not deliberately set out to train your puppy as early as seven or eight weeks, you can be guaranteed that he is learning how to best interact in your world as soon as you bring him home. He is learning from every interaction with you, and as your dogs owner, its your job to make sure that he is learning the right things!
As a dog trainer, the most common training questions that I hear from puppy owners are about house training, jumping up on people, and puppy biting. Usually the question is framed in this way: "How can I teach my puppy NOT to jump on people, bite me, or soil in the house?" These problems can definitely be solved, but we must first learn to rephrase our question: "What can I teach my puppy to do INSTEAD of jumping up, biting me, or soiling in the house?"
As you begin to identify positive behaviors that the puppy can perform that PREVENT the unwanted behaviors, you have taken the first step toward teaching your puppy to be the best family companion that he can be.
