Puppy training begins with
choosing the right pup at the right age

• don't get a puppy under 6 weeks old
• don't get the quiet dog that stays by itself in a corner

• try not to get the runt of the litter
• try not to get a pup with extremely wild or fearful parents

puppy training

play biting
training puppies not to bite

puppies and
active behavior

puppies and their care, advice from a professional groomer

housebreaking

Join our yahoo powered newsletter/list for dog training tips, dog behavior, and puppy information, as well as updates on what we’re up in the dog world. You don’t see a lot of ads on this site and I don’t send a lot of ads in the email either, I don’t use pop ups, and I will not sell your name.

5 - 5 2001
New article on my Orange County training web site about some fun and interesting places to
train in Orange County

Puppy training, and exposing the puppy to the right learning environment at the right time can make a huge difference in adult dog behavior

You will gain the most benefits if you start a puppy training program between the ages of 7 and 12 weeks. This is because dogs are most receptive to learning as they go through the middle and last part of the critical socialization period.

The main goal of puppy training is to prevent problems before they get started. Puppy training is comparable to insurance for good adult behavior. In-home puppy training addresses the special needs of young puppies.

Getting a puppy at the right age can be a very important decision. Puppies go throught many critical stages that can effect how the puppy behaves as an adult.

The best age to acquire a puppy is between the ages of 7 and 12 weeks. Puppies go though a socialization sensitive period between the ages of approximately 21 days to 16 weeks. This period is also called The Critical Socialization Period or The Learning Period or Stage. We can see that if you get your puppy at 12 weeks, you will only have four weeks to socialize the puppy to your lifestyle and the world in which it lives.

Socialization training is one of the biggest factors in preventing behavior problems associated with many kinds of stress. This stress is often displayed as fear. A major reason for aggression in adult dogs is fear.

This combination of fear and aggression can often be prevented by properly socializing a puppy while it's going through the critical socialization period. Many of the things that a dog learns in this period will influence the rest of its life.

Seven weeks is the ideal time for a puppy to move into a new home and start bonding to new human owners. At seven weeks puppies are displaying about the same brain wave activity as an adult dog, thus indicating the capacity to learn complex behaviors by this age.

With information about critical periods, we can understand the best ages to start a training program and when to expect the development of certain behaviors.

It is suggested that a person should not get a puppy under 7 weeks. Although getting a puppy as young as 6 weeks is often acceptable, getting a puppy under 6 weeks can lead to problems. If there is no choice, such as the mother dying, then the young puppy needs extensive socialization with the new owner and will need to learn how to interact with other dogs. The biggest problems associated with separating a puppy from its mother and litter mates too early is related to insecurity, which translates to fear.