Puppy Training 101: Your Guide to Mastering Basic Puppy Training

The best way to train a puppy is to conduct lessons when they are well-rested. Make sure they are ready to go but not too excited, as it might be tougher for them to focus. Before you begin, take your pup outside for a potty trip, and make sure to take them out right after you finish as well.

You’ll need a pocket full of high-value puppy treats. Puppy training requires lots of rewards, so opt for something like Wellness Soft Puppy Bites, which are small but also tasty enough to keep your puppy engaged in the training game.

Basic training lessons should take place in a familiar, distraction-free environment. You and your puppy will eventually transition to working outside and in new spaces, but the training initial stages should be happening in a low-key spot so that it’s easy for your pup to focus on you.

It’s also helpful to have a few puppy toys ready to go so you and your puppy can take play breaks. A tug toy, like the Charming Pet Magic Mats Unicorn plush dog toy, or ball for fetching are great options that allow your dog to burn through some puppy excitement before it’s time to focus again.

Puppy Training Tips for Success

Choosing the right dog crate for your puppy is critical. The size should be big enough so that your puppy can stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably but not so big that they can potty in one corner and sleep in the other. Keep the crate in a common room in your house, not the basement or garage, so your puppy doesn’t view going into the crate as banishment.

To begin crate training your puppy, introduce the crate by leaving the door open and putting treats inside for your puppy to discover. Let your dog examine the crate without shutting the door and give them a few more treats for remaining inside. Continue this introductory process in a few short sessions until your puppy goes into their crate without hesitating.

Once your puppy is happily going into the crate, begin to feed meals inside of it. Close the door while your puppy eats, then wait a few minutes after they finish before you open the door. (Don’t forget to take them right outside for a potty break!)

Another way to speed the acclimation process is to leave the crate door open and use a sturdy rope that your puppy can’t destroy to tie a puppy-safe interactive toys inside the crate. Giving your pup a treat-stuffed activity toy like the KONG Puppy Toy inside will help your dog learn that good things happen in the crate!

Over time, work up to giving your puppy a busy toy in the crate and shutting the door for 15 minutes. Stay close to where your dog is crated initially, but gradually work up to leaving your dog alone while they’re crated. Gradually add more duration to your dog’s crated periods until they’re happy to hang out inside while you’re not around.

 Remember that over-crating your puppy can backfire and cause your puppy to soil it, which will derail your progress. You can calculate your puppy’s safe “hold time” by translating her age in months to hours; this means that a 10-week old puppy can be crated for roughly two hours and possibly a little longer at night.

It helps to keep your puppy on a daily schedule that includes mealtimes, potty trips, playtime and crating. Dogs crave predictability, so sticking to a schedule that includes everything from meals to play sessions will help your puppy anticipate what happens next. Your pup’s daily schedule should include potty trips outside about 10–15 minutes after meals, potty trips after play sessions (and for young pups, during play sessions), after meeting new friends, after waking from a nap, and before and after crating.

Accidents can happen when pups wander around the house unattended, so plan to crate your puppy when you can’t watch them and use pet gates, like the Pet Parade pet gate, when you hang out together inside. You can slowly begin to give your puppy more household access once they’re regularly alerting you when they need to go out and they’ve been accident-free for at least a month. (Keep in mind that it can take your dog up to six months to be fully housetrained.)

An important but often overlooked step in the potty training process is learning your pup’s early “gotta go” signals. By the time your puppy is circling and sniffing—a sign most pet parents recognize as a potty indicator—it’s probably too late to get your pup outside before an accident happens. Every puppy will have body language that indicates the need to go before it gets critical, like trying to leave the room and acting distracted. Picking up on those cues will allow you to get your pup outside well before it’s go-time.

Once outside with your pup, take them to a familiar location and wait for them to find the perfect potty spot. When they’re finished, immediately follow up with a small treat (don’t wait until you’re back inside!) and praise them for a job well done. You can also teach your puppy a potty phrase that will eventually act as a potty “trigger;” simply say something like “hurry up” as your puppy eliminates. With enough repetitions your puppy will associate the phrase with the act of eliminating, which can help you cue them during inclement weather.

Finally, remember that accidents happen. Never punish your puppy for making a mistake in the house, as it doesn’t teach your puppy what they should do and can damage your growing bond. Instead, try to interrupt your pup and get them outside to finish the job. If it’s too late, use a good odor eliminator and vow to be a better supervisor in the future!

To start the process, hold a small treat like Zukes Puppy Naturals right at your puppy’s nose level and slowly move it back between your puppy’s eyes and over your pup’s forehead. As the treat travels up and over, your pup’s heard will rise up to follow it and their rump will go down. The minute their rump hits the ground, mark the action by saying “yup!” or “good!” and then give your puppy the treat. If your puppy opts to jump up rather than sit it’s likely you’re holding the treat too high, so try to keep it anchored to their nose so that it’s easy for them to reach with all four paws planted on the ground.

Repeat this process a few times until your puppy is quickly moving into position.

The key to a perfect “sit” is getting your puppy to do it without using a treat to lure them into position. After a few successful repetitions, just stand still and wait for your puppy to offer you a sit. It might take a few seconds, but because your pup has had several successful repetitions of getting rewarded for sitting, it’s likely they’ll move into position without needing a hint from you.

As your pup starts to move into position say “sit” (you’re attaching the word to the behavior), then mark it with a “yup” and give them the treat. It usually takes pups about 15 to 20 repetitions before they associate the word with the behavior, at which point you can begin to ask for the position by saying the word “sit.” Simply say “sit” and give your pup a few seconds to process (try not to repeat the word!), then give them a goody when they do it!

Practice sitting in a variety of environments and with different types of distractions to master the command.