One of the most common questions I’ve heard in two decades of training dogs is “What is the best age to begin training a dog”? The answer may surprise you…
The best age to begin training a dog to appropriate behavior is as soon as you get her. I mean as soon as that puppy comes home. Train? You mean put a choke collar or pinch collar on an 8 week old puppy? Nope.. The training I’m referring to is behavioral training and its simple.
Behavioral training start
Before you begin training, actually before you even get the dog its very important to decide on what the rules of the house will be for your dog. So often folks put off making decisions about whats acceptable behavior and what’s not. Instead choosing a ” Make up the rules as you go” approach. The issue I have with that is the puppy gets mixed (read: confusing) messages. For example do you want your dog to come onto the furniture? Really? If so, that’s your call. Just be sure that will be OK with the other members of the family. Now if you do allow your dog on the couch for example, will he be the one to decide when he gets on, or will he only be allowed when he’s given an explicit, “OK, UP” command/directive. Now, what about if he puts his paws on the couch. Is this acceptable way of ‘asking’ to come up? or do you want him to lie or sit patiently without asking and have THAT be the cue that gets you to invite him up on the couch?
What about nipping.. aka biting? what mouthing behavior is acceptable, if any? I spoke for years about a binary, or yes/ no model.. teeth on human NO. Its no no matter how hard the dog is biting. This way its the behavior that censured and we don’t have to be concerned with levels of biting intensity.
Training. Proper training is best when started early. Actual dog training begins as soon as the dog comes home. However deciding on what’s acceptable behavior as well as where the dog will sleep and stay when he’s not out of the crate should be decided beforehand if possible. Also, I strongly encourage the use of a regular leash for the dog to drag around IN THE HOUSE… or preferably keeping the leash attached to a person while in the house helps tremendously when first house-training the dog to go to the bathroom outside.
The notion of training many have is of putting a leash and choke collar type device on a dog an forcing him to sit or to stay or come.. Training begins as soon as you get the dog. As soon as your dog is in the house or with you you’ll shape his future behavior by what you reinforce or correct. There is no ‘warm up the dog to the house’.. training happens immediately. The question is do you want to shape your dogs behavior to get acceptable behavior right away or do you want to wait and try to correct problem behaviors when the dog is older, bigger and stronger?
Steve Schwartz is a behavioral dog trainer in the New England Area. He has been training dogs professionally since 1991. He began training owners to successfully train dogs shortly after.