How Soon Should You Start Training with Your New Pup?

One of the most common questions we get asked is:

"How soon should I start training with my puppy?"

The answer is always…now. Yesterday, really.

Whether you're working with a professional or training on your own, training should begin the day you bring your new dog or puppy home.

Consider this:

1) Puppies have a primary social development window that closes around 16 weeks of age.

Before then, they need to be exposed to all of the people, animals, objects, and environments that they will need to be comfortable with long-term.

Put simply, later is too late.

Take advantage of your puppy's most formative weeks by making interactions safe and fun; the goal is for your pup to come away from each interaction feeling good. More on that here.

2) Many newly adopted dogs (and certainly new puppies) have no knowledge of the strange expectations we have in our domestic human world.

Don't chew that.

Don't eat this.

Don't go there.

It's our job to help set fair rules and expectations from day one, and stick to them. It's also our job to let our dogs know what they CAN do.

We're good at telling our dogs "no" and correcting things we don't like, but we're a bit less apt to let them know when they're doing something we like.

Be sure to catch your dog doing the right thing, and you'll find that focusing on the good eliminates much of the behavior you don't want.

By the way, it's never too late to start this, even with an older dog.

3) Training shouldn't be scary or painful for your dog.

No dog training should be so unpleasant that it requires your pup to be of a certain age to get started.

While good puppy (and adult dog) training involves setting firm rules and boundaries, punishment should never be painful or frightening. This can lead to the development of additional unwanted behaviors, including fear or aggression.

The vast majority of "bad" behavior we see in our practice involves a dog that either doesn't know what's expected of him, or doesn't yet have the impulse control to do it.

Teach your dog the correct behavior, practice until your dog is fluent in multiple situations, rinse, repeat, and enjoy the results.

4) Your dog's adolescence can be a reflection of their early learning.

Adolescence is a tough age that isn't talked about enough.

If you wait until 6-8 months of age to begin training, chances are your cute little puppy will ave turned into a bull in a china shop.

Adolescent dogs can be impulsive, poor listeners, and downright annoying.

But if you put real work into the first several months of your pup's life, you can actually mitigate many of the issues that come with adolescence.

We teach our puppy clients impulse control and early learning skills that carry them through adolescence and beyond – and that's an investment worth making in your pup!

One thought on “How Soon Should You Start Training with Your New Pup?”

I am currently fostering a 5 1/2 mo old puppy with Angels. He had a 4 week puppy obedience class with the family that adopted him and now needs an adolescent class with us (he was returned because of family dynamics). Would love info on classes and costs.

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Puppy Level 1: September 2023 (Peachtree Corners) (1 SPOT REMAINING)

Sunday, September 10, 2023 - Sunday, October 22, 2023
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Spalding Animal Hospital, Peachtree Corners

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Sunday, September 10, 2023 - Sunday, October 22, 2023
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Praise

We had an outstanding experience with Peach on a Leash largely due to our trainer, Taylor. She was amazing. She was not only professional, well trained but kind, prompt and accomplished all the goals we had set forth. We highly recommend the company who obviously hire and maintain well trained, professional staff. Loki, our Golden Retriever LOVED her.

—Becky, client

Highly recommend Peach on a Leash! My dog, Archie, and I worked with Kailin for a few months and she was fantastic. She was very patient with Archie and took the time to show me how to replicate her training with him myself. She always provided post session notes with everything we discussed. She also brought a birthday cookie for Archie's birthday and a graduation cap when he finished his training, which made my heart so full.
The company's scheduling process for sessions is also seamless and allows for very easy re-scheduling. Thank you Peach on a Leash!

—Amanda, client

We had an excellent experience working with Peach on a Leash and would highly recommend them for your pup training needs! Our trainer Frankie was wonderful at working with us and our pup to target a few specific behaviors in a way that was positive, easy to understand and, importantly, sustainable for us to implement after our training program wrapped up.
After every session, she would follow up with the notes and exercises we discussed and worked through that are so helpful to refer back to. We are grateful for her guidance, and our pup will surely miss meeting with her!

—Catherine, client

We do the in-house training and it has been and wonderful experience so far. They have amazing training techniques, all are working very well. We had a puppy who could not go potty outside and now she is, and is learning new commands every training visit.
Amelia Cosmas is our trainer and she is superb, she makes you feel very comfortable and has lots of great information not just with training but with other things like socializing, enrichment and day to day puppy and dog care. We would recommend Peach on a Leash to anyone looking for a positive training expierience that helps you bond with your new puppy or dog and also most important wonderful trainers that you look forward to seeing and working with.

—Monica, client

We were SO sad when our 6 training sessions with our (then) 9 week old golden retriever Dolly came to an end. Courtney was so amazing. She listened, cared, and was very invested in Dolly's progress. Not only that, but she successfully handled a last minute inclusion of our 5 year old for the first session, which isn't for the faint of heart.
Courtney accomplished what we were hoping for, which was a great foundation for our puppy (but mostly for us!) to make her a great dog for life. Within one session, Dolly was rolling with 4-5 commands. By the end of our 6 weeks, we were confident we all had the tools we needed. We'll miss Courtney's visits!

—Kim, client

My puppy, Libby, just completed the puppy training program and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Our trainer, Mandy, was simply amazing. She taught us so much but was also so caring and invested in our progress. Libby and I both looked forward to each of our six sessions and I’m absolutely amazed at the progress made in such a short period of time. We miss Mandy already!
Peach on a Leash offers the best training available and has the best customer experience commitment I’ve encountered. You will not be disappointed if you trust them with your pup!

—Allie, client

I would highly recommend Peach on a Leash and Jackie Audette! I felt so comfortable having my Springer Spaniel at Jackie's house, and she kept me very involved with updates and progress reports.
Usually an in home training program would make me uneasy, but the process from start to finish was very comfortable and Jackie was reassuring to me as a
somewhat helicopter dog mom. As for the training, my dog came back with impeccable manners and her demeanor was very respectful.

—Hannah, client

“Alex is absolutely AMAZING! She is an erudite trainer, dedicated, caring and implements positive behavioral techniques that our sweet Fisher responds to almost immediately. She communicates clearly and efficiently during our sessions and follows up with a written recap and plan of action. Would recommend her in a heartbeat!”

—Ellie, client

I cannot say enough about our experience with Julia. Our dog shows more obedience and trust with me after our five sessions with her. She is knowledgeable, confident and fun! I feel better equipped to be the best doggie mom I can be because of her. A million thanks!

—Amanda, client