How to Train Puppies Edited by Keith Taylor, Josh W., Imperatrix, Brigitta M.

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d 28 others 8 Article Edit Discuss Puppies aren't born knowing how to play nicel
y, relieve themselves in a designat ed place in the yard and walk proudly beside
you on a leash. It takes several mo nths of focused attention to teach a puppy
how to coexist in your home. Use a fi rm but gentle training style to guide your
puppy through the lessons she needs t o learn, and before you know it she will
grow into a mature, well-behaved dog wi th a special place in your family. Here'
s how to get started. Edit Steps House Training a Puppy 1 Start a routine. Puppi
es need a consistent routine in order to learn where t hey are supposed to relie
ve themselves. It's important to start teaching the pup py to go outside when sh
e feels the urge as soon as you bring her home. Plan to take her outside on a se
t schedule every day: first thing in the morning, after every meal, after playti
me, and right before bed.[1] Watch your puppy for signs she has to go to the bat
hroom. As you get to know her better, you should be able to tell when she's abou
t to go; take her out side immediately. Feed your puppy at the same time every d
ay so you can predict when she'l l need to go outside. Very young puppies have t
o go to the bathroom as often as once an hour.[ 2] That means you or a family me
mber will need to be available to take your pupp y outside that often. If you ar
en't available to house train your puppy during the day, it's i mportant to hire
someone else to do it. If you don't start early, it may take yo ur dog a long t
ime to learn not to go to the bathroom in the house. 2 Confine your puppy to a c
ertain area in the house. For the first few months you will need to keep a caref
ul eye on your puppy so that you can take her outsi de as soon as she has to go
to the bathroom. If you give her too much freedom ar ound the house at first, sh
e'll learn to go to the bathroom wherever she wants, and you won't always be abl
e to catch it in time.[3] Keep her in a crate at night and while you're away. Th
e crate should be a small, comfortable place where the puppy feels safe - never
use it as a source of punishment. Puppies don't like to go to the bathroom in th
eir crates, so mak e sure you take your puppy outside before putting her in the
crate and as soon a s you take her out of the crate so she isn't forced to soil
her little home. Puppies should be able to sleep for about 7 hours before they w
ake up an d need to go to the bathroom, but you should line the crate with towel
s in case she has an accident in the middle of the night. If your puppy wakes yo
u up by barking in the night, quietly take her out side to do her business and t
hen put her back in her bed. 3 Pick a designated bathroom spot outside. Having a
place that the puppy assoc iates with going to the bathroom will help her learn
not to go in the house. She 'll start wanting to go to that spot to relieve her
self, and eventually she'll l earn to wait until you take her there instead of g
oing to the bathroom inside. Use language to strengthen the puppy's association
with the spot. Say "g o potty" or just "potty" when you set her down. Don't use
the word anywhere but

in that spot. Many people choose a far corner of the yard, sometimes a place tha
t is f enced off, as the spot where their dog goes to the bathroom. If you don't
have a yard, choose a spot close to your home or apartment. It doesn't matter w
here th e location is as long as you take your puppy to the same spot every time
. 4 Praise your puppy for a job well done. When the puppy successfully goes to t
he bathroom in her designated spot, praise her, pet her and give her a treat.[4
] The promise of a reward will encourage her to perform the same good behavior a
g ain. The praise and treat should be given to your puppy immediately after she
goes to the bathroom, while she's still in her bathroom spot. If you wait, she'
ll associate the praise with something else. If you praise your puppy before she
has gone to the bathroom, she may ge t confused. 5 Know how to handle accidents
. When your puppy has an accident inside the hou se - and she certainly will - d
on't overreact by yelling at her or scaring her. Interrupt her while she's doing
her business by picking her up and taking her im mediately to her bathroom spot
. When finishes going to the bathroom there, rewar d her.[5] If you find a mess
behind the sofa or somewhere else in your house, it's too late to discipline the
puppy. Don't rub her nose in it; she'll just get con fused and scared, and she
won't understand what you're trying to teach her. Clean messes up thoroughly, si
nce if the area still smells like urine pu ppies will instinctually want to go t
o the bathroom there again. Training a Puppy to Play Nicely 1 Let your puppy pla
y with other puppies. Puppies naturally learn how to socia lize by playing with
other puppies. Very young puppies don't know that they can hurt others with thei
r teeth. They learn by playing; when one puppy bites anothe r puppy too hard, th
e puppy yelps and stops playing. In this way, puppies learn to control how hard
they bite.[6] 2 Discourage your puppy from biting you. Play with your puppy the
way another puppy would; by tickling her and wrestling with her until she starts
to nip at y ou. When she bites your hand, let out a high-pitched yelp, just the
way another puppy would. Let your hand go limp and stop playing. Your puppy wil
l learn that when she bites, she doesn't get attention anymore. Your puppy will
probably try to making up for the bite by nuzzling and l icking your hand. Prais
e her in a sweet voice and reward her with a treat, then keep playing with her.
She'll learn that playing nicely gets rewarded.[7] Never spank a puppy to cause
her pain in return. Using physical punishme nt against a puppy will only make he
r afraid of you. 3 Give your puppy chew toys. Puppies love to use their teeth, a
nd they have to be taught that human skin is not for chewing. Provide plenty of
puppy-safe chew toys for your puppy to gnaw on during play time. When your puppy
starts nipping at your skin, put a chew toy in her mouth . This will teach her
that she should be chewing on the toy instead of your hand . Do the same thing i
f your puppy nips at your heels and ankles when you w alk around. Stop walking a
nd give her a chew toy. If you don't have a toy handy, just stop. When she start
s playing nicely, praise her.[8]

If she grabs something of yours, distract her and and swap the item for one of h
er own toys in its place. 4 Employ a time-out area. If your puppy is having trou
ble learning not to bite , you may need to create a time-out area, a place where
you take her to teach he r that if she can't play nice, she doesn't get to play
. Cordon off a corner of h er play room and take her there immediately when she
bites. Don't use the puppy's crate as a time-out area. She should never associa
te being crated with punishment. After your puppy has been in time out for a few
minutes, bring her back to play with the family. Reward her when she plays nice
ly. If she bites again, g ive a high-pitched yelp and take her right back to tim
e out. Eventually she will learn not to bite. 5 Teach your puppy to play well wi
th children. Children move quickly, make hig h-pitched noises and are often on f
ace level with puppies. Puppies and children can have a lot of fun together, but
they have to be taught to play properly. If your puppy gets rough with a child,
put her in time out immediately. Make sure y our kids know how to place nicely,
too. Tell your children not to provoke the puppy. Tell them that puppies are fr
agile, and they don't like having things stuck in their face. The puppy should n
ever be threatened or made to feel unsafe. Teach your children how to deal with
the puppy when she nips. Tell them never to spank her, but to give her a time ou
t instead. Puppies should be taught to at least tolerate and ignore other househ
old pets, too. Teach your puppy that you are more interesting than the pet rabbi
t/c at/chickens, and never give him the opportunity to chase or harass other pet
s. Teaching a Puppy to Sit, Stay and Come 1 Start by teaching your puppy her nam
e. In order to train your puppy effectiv ely, make sure she knows her name. Say
her name clearly. When she looks at you, give her a treat. Continue doing so unt
il she learns that when you say her name, she should look at you. Now you can us
e her name before issuing other commands. 2 Teach your puppy to sit. This is one
of the easiest behaviors to teach a pup py, and almost any puppy can learn how
to do it. The trick is to get your puppy to associate the act of placing her bot
tom on the floor with the sound of your v oice saying "sit." Tell her to "sit" i
n a clear, firm but friendly voice. When s he does, give her a treat.[9] Practic
e often. Sitting can be practiced inside, outside, and anywhere y ou take your p
uppy. Carry treats with you so you can turn any moment into a trai ning session.
Eventually phase out the treats so that your puppy can sit on command wi thout
a reward. 3 Teach your puppy to stay. Now that she can sit, teach her to stay se
ated. It 's a slightly more complicated process, but the same command and reward
system i s used. Tell your dog to sit, and when she does, say "stay" and wait a
few secon ds. If she moves, tell her to "sit," then try again. When she success
fully stays , reward her with treats and praise. After she has learned how to st
ay in one place for about 10 seconds, sta rt walking away after you tell her to
stay. If she follows you, turn around and tell her to "sit." Say stay and walk a
way again. Be sure to reward her when she gets it right. Some puppies respond we
ll to a hand signal with the "stay" command. Hold

up your hand each time you say "stay." Eventually your puppy may be able to sta
y without hearing the verbal command. 4 Teach your puppy to come. It's easiest t
o do this with a partner. Have someo ne hold your puppy across the room or yard.
Look at your puppy and say her name. When she looks at you, say "come" in a cle
ar voice, and have your partner relea se her. Say her name again if she doesn't
seem to know what to do at first. When she makes her way to you, reward her with
praise and treats. Repeat this until she knows that "come" means she should run
to you.[10] Make it fun for your puppy to come to you by clapping, smiling, and
acti ng excited when she does. Teach her that coming to you is the best thing s
he can do. Practice the "come" command often in a variety of situations. It's im
por tant that your puppy knows to come when she's called, so that when she's in
a da ngerous situation she doesn't end up getting lost or hurt. Teaching a Puppy
to Walk on a Leash 1 Let your puppy get tired before the walk. Puppies tend to
pull on their leas hes because they're full of extra energy and excited to be ou
tside. If possible, tire your puppy out by playing with her before you put her o
n a leash for the d ay. 2 Teach her to stand still while you put the leash on. P
uppies often get excit ed when it's time to go outside, jumping up on their owne
rs and barking in antic ipation of going on a walk. This problem can go on for y
ears if you don't resolv e it while your puppy is still young. If she barks and
jumps on you when you pic k up a leash, wait until she is completely calm before
putting it on. Do this ov er and over until she learns that she won't get to go
outside until she behaves. 3 Use the red light, green light method. Start walki
ng with your puppy outside . When she runs ahead and pulls on the leash, halt. W
ait for her to turn around, say "come," and when she's at your side, tell her to
"sit." Reward her with a t reat, then continue walking. Repeat the process unti
l she learns to walk alongsi de you instead of pulling on the leash.[11] When yo
ur puppy walks beside you, reward her frequently so she knows tha t's where she'
s supposed to walk. Continue using the red light, green light method for a few w
eeks. It may take awhile before your dog learns not to pull you down the street.
Edit Tips Use the tone of your voice to tell her how you're feeling. Use a deep
voice when you want the puppy to stop what she is doing, and a firm voice when
trainin g or commanding. Keep your rules and boundaries consistent at all times.
If she's not allowed on the sofa, then she's never allowed on the sofa. Mean wh
at you say, give her motivation to comply (treats, rewards), and be firm and be
fair. Your puppy will feel confident and know exactly what to expect from you.