Puppy training

[drivin_me_nuts]

At what age should you start training a puppy.

Friends of ours have a six month Maltese Terrier. It's a sweet little thing with a cheeky disposition but it's about time it had a degree of trainng (yappy, runs out, gets under feet, 'clingy' etc) So, question for you... is there a preferable age to start training puppies and if so is puppy 'school' a more logical choice to one on one training with a puppy trainer (never knew such things existed until recently)

Any thoughts?

[Stevenj214]

The earlier the better. I started mine on day 1 (8 weeks old) with some of the basics.

[Jasandjules]

Stevenj214 said:

The earlier the better. I started mine on day 1 (8 weeks old) with some of the basics.

AS did we. The day they are brought home you start establishing the rules and hopefully begin the house training as well. And working on sit etc. though some breeders will already have done a little of this from when they are about six weeks old.

[Mobile Chicane]

It's as much about training the owners as it is about training the dog, therefore they ought to attend with the dog rather than just hand it over to someone else.

They should also read up on basic puppy training to get an idea of what behaviours to encourage before the dog even arrives. Then, start basic training: come when called, sit etc from Day One.

[waterwonder]

As above the sooner the better. I'd say at 6 months it'll be harder now than if they'd started earlier. Puppy training isn't hard just requires patience and a basic grasp of positive reinforcement.

[mugsandonna]

Apparently first 20 weeks of a puppys life are the most impressionable. Although it is not too late to go along to a training class.

[drivin_me_nuts]

Thanks for the replies. From my very limited recollections of a dog twenty five odd years ago I do recall that the earlier the better. I think the issue with this pooch will be the owners more than the dog!

[becksW]

Basic training 8 weeks gradually increasing over next few months, some train quicker than others, ideally don't move to more complicated commands until basics learned, sit, stay, down etc. and toilet5 training of course.

We didn't take on our dog until he was over 4 months old but he was still perfectly trainable by starting with the basics.

[becksW]

drivin_me_nuts said:

Thanks for the replies. From my very limited recollections of a dog twenty five odd years ago I do recall that the earlier the better. I think the issue with this pooch will be the owners more than the dog!

These breeds are easy to train but unforunately due to their look and size they are not trained appropriately, the dogs soon learn how to get their own way. They need to start from scratch (even with commands it does know) all family members need to be commoitted and it needs to be taught boundaries, they can still love and eventuslly 'spoil' the dog but it must learn these rules first.

Many people would consider our dog as spoilt but I am also very firm with him and he is certainly not allowed to misbehave.

[ben10]

We left it too late with our dog...She was a bit mental for a while! but she seems to have calmed down a lot now (about 2 and a half years later) and she actually listens to us...sometimes!

[Tow Vehicle Rqrd]

Jasandjules said:

Stevenj214 said:

The earlier the better. I started mine on day 1 (8 weeks old) with some of the basics.

AS did we. The day they are brought home you start establishing the rules and hopefully begin the house training as well. And working on sit etc. though some breeders will already have done a little of this from when they are about six weeks old.

Best way to do it as they know where they are from the start.

[oilandwater]

Training should start straight away, but obedience depends on the type of dog. Labrador's are usually very good and take instruction, but Yorkshire Terriers a bloody minded and ignore you, they please themselves. Yes... I have a Yorkie. I learnt a lot at the training school, the Yorkie leaned little, or choose to.

[philmots]

Agree. Sooner the better really.

Our Lab is coming up to 8months now, he doesn't do a lot really, just sit, wait, gets down when you say etc but the main thing is his recall, 100% every time. IMO probably one of the most important things. He can be on the fields playing with other dogs charging around, shout him back and he comes every time.

Sometimes wish he did more but he ain't a problem so happy tbh

[Jayho]

oilandwater said:

Training should start straight away, but obedience depends on the type of dog. Labrador's are usually very good and take instruction, but Yorkshire Terriers a bloody minded and ignore you, they please themselves. Yes... I have a Yorkie. I learnt a lot at the training school, the Yorkie leaned little, or choose to.

Labs get in to a bit of a rebellion stage in there teenage years.

I think its as much training the owner as well as training the dog tbh, if you take the dog to a training school you learn HOW to train your dog rather than them handing you over a finished product. My sister did that with her first dog and just used what she learned to train the dogs that followed. With patience and right method it shouldn't be too difficult.

[mattdaniels]

As others - earlier the better. We've got two collies, they are frighteningly intelligent and very quick at learning stuff.