We got a puppy...woo hoo. 3 months old. Now we need to know how to train him a bit?

This is a topic near and dear to me...I manage a number of canine related Mahalo pages and I will link a few here for your reference: dog obedience training, how to crate train a puppy, how to leash train a dog, clicker training. Other members have given some nice advice here too. Socializing your 3 month old dog is really critical.It's one of the best things you can do for them - aside from basic obedience training of course.

Take your puppy into as many new environments as possible and ensure that his/her experiences are positive. You will help develop a well balanced dog this way - one that trusts you and that is happy to explore the world. I leave you with a fascinating (a bit long but worth it) video from the TED talks series given by Ian Dunbar about dog training...hope you find it interesting too...best of luck to you and your new little pup!

Best thing to do is get the dog out and together with other dogs. We took ours to the local Petsmart and signed her up for a set of classes. Training the dog is as important so you could just buy a book.

But there is nothing better than an experienced person to dog class - real life, other dogs. AND the owner gets a lesson too.

Congrats on getting the puppy :) The trick when training the basics ( where not to go,what not to chew,where/what not to get on to) is to scorn them at the exact moment he's doing something wrong. If you tell him "No! , Bad boy!" after he has made a mess on the carpet he won't understand.

The principle is to correct him at the exact time so that he understands what it isn't supposed to do. For example, you need to catch the puppy exactly when it's doing it's job in the house, correct it with a firm "No, bad puppy." without yelling and take him outside ( or to the litter box, if he has one he set up) and wait for it to start doing it there, when the pup does, praise it. Only call him by his name when you praise him, if you call him over to scorn him for something he'll stop responding to the name.

If you want him to learn some commands though, I'd highly advise for you to go to an expert who trains puppies, but if it is for basics like where not to go (boundaries) you should be able to handle it with the advice I've listed :) As for the leash, first clip it on while it's at home so that the puppy gets used to it hanging there and being on it's neck. A few minutes or sometimes an hour after that take him/her out. If the puppy is scared of walking around carry it for a little while until it gets more calm, then try letting it down to explore the outside world.

Make sure the pup does not get used to you carrying him around too much- later it won't want to walk around not because it's scared but because it wants to be carried. Good luck!

Congratulations on getting your puppy. I think it shows good responsibility on your part to seek guidience as to how best to train your puppy. As a breeder and trainer of Border Collies I understand the importance of properly training your dog as soon as you bring that new bundle of joy home.

The sooner you begin the easier it will be to train your pup and will make the transition an enjoyable experince instead of a frustration. My best tip is to make sure that your entire family is consistant with the methods you chose to train your pup. Puppies have rather short attention spans, so be sure not to try to do to much to soon, take breaks from the training and just let the pup be a pup.

Your training sessions should be short in duration with a young dog so that the dog doesn't become confused and frustrated. There are many websites that give great training advice, so I suggest you do some searchs and pick some that fit what you feel will work best for you. Here is a link to a site that I believe will be of help.

dog-obedience-training-review.com/ You might want to start there Have fun and most of all enjoy your puppy while its a puppy,they grow up far to fast. :) Peace ShadowBear.

My puppy bucked like a mustang the first time he had a leash on. So don't make the leash an unknown thing. While he's in the house leave the leash on him and let him get used to it.

Just like with a horse, when he steps on it and has to give in to the pull he will get used to the resistance and learn not to fight it. It only takes about two days for this to happen. You can also start walking him to his food dish, and teaching him to wait for his food.

A dog that is food aggressive is dangerous to people. Make him wait until you give the command to eat. You must establish that you are the leader of his pack early to avoid issues later.

Also have your children do this. The dog needs to know that they have every right to take his food away and that he will get it back momentarily. They should also be able to put their hands in his food dish while he's eating.My two year old can sit by the food dish and feed our 3 dogs a piece of dog food at a time and they patiently wait their turn.

(But I discourage this now only because the baby likes to sample the dog food for himself. One for Patches, one for baby, one for Anna, one for baby, one for Scrappy... you get the idea.) Have you taught him to sit? Do this by gently pushing down on his backside while placing your other hand on his chest so he can't scoot forward and repeating the word sit.

Reward him with a treat and alternate by rewarding next time with a hug or some other affection. This will make your dog want to work for you instead of working for the food. Teach him to come by gently tugging the leash and saying come, then reward him appropriately.

Teach him to stay by having him sit in the middle of the room while you walk around him. Stay close at first and reward him for his continued 'stay'. Then back away.

When he starts to rise order him to sit, then once he does, say stay. Keep doing this until he gets the hang of it. Don't forget to reward him with love as well as treats.

Stay is a VERY difficult concept.(Why shouldn't the dog go with the wonderful person who gives treats and kisses?) But it is vitally important that your dog knows how to stay, in case there is ever a dangerous situation such as a broken leash near a busy road. I can actually take my dogs out without a leash and they will stay by my side. I also teach my dogs to stay off the furniture until they are invited.

Patting the couch and saying, 'come up' while picking him up and placing him there will quickly teach him what to listen for. And saying 'down', and scooping him off the couch will teach him as well that he doesn't belong there when you decide he doesn't. A dog that doesn't respect your command could jump onto the furniture onto a baby and injure it.

Don't feel bad about setting limits for them. They would have limits in their pack, its only natural for you to give them rules to live by. Good luck and I wish you many happy years with your new friend.

Congratulations! You need to be consistent when training your puppy. Everyone should use the same commands and/or signals so your puppy will not be confused.

Praise your puppy when he does something you have asked. Here us an article about training for the first week: perfectpaws.com/frstwk.html Our puppy learned very quickly as we were consistent and we praised positive behaviours. As for being on the leash, your puppy may just be a little overwhelmed at this point, I'm assuming there has been a lot of excitement with getting a new puppy and he's likely not sure what to do when the leash is on.

I would pick a quiet time to put him on the leash and let him walk around with it on without someone holding it. He may or may not walk with it on. Here's an article with a lot of great tips for leash training.

scamperingpaws.com/puppy/leashtraining.s... Good luck with your new puppy!

Instead of a leash, try a soft harness. Sometimes it's a feeling of being pulled by the neck as opposed to a comfortable and secure device around the body.

He's cute! Lots of stuff has already be mentioned, but here are some more pointers: - Go out and visit busy/stragne places. If there is a carnival or festival, go there with your dog.

Go for a drive, go by public transport (if available), have him experience lots of different situations. The more he experiences now, the better later on. - If possible, have him meet with people from other races.

This might sound stupid, but if your dog only sees white folks, he might start to 'discriminate', against 'different' people, just because he doesn't know them. - Go puppytraining. This really is essential, as your dog will learn to be around other dogs, as well as basic obedience.

But most of all: Have fun!

The hardest thing is potty training. The best method I have found is to take the dog to the door VERY OFTEN. Take his paw and scratch the door, then let him out....Repeat OFTEN....Consistancy is the clue.

If you don't want him scratching the door, hang a bell from the knob and take his paw and ring the bell then let him out...If your consistant and do this at least every thirty to forty minutes, he will be house trained in a couple of weeks. Anything more advanced is just a modification of the same techniques. There is no need to give him a treat everytime he does something right.

Try using a tennis ball as a reward. Or try using something that he is very interested in. Also, the other answer is correct.

Dogs have a very short memory, if you scold them after the fact, you will make the dog unstable....scold only when you catch him. If you find something that is done after the fact, point it out and ask in a stern voice "Did you do this? " It won't take long for him to understand what you mean.

They have found that dogs have the ability to understand as many as 160 words....they are smarter than people give them credit for....I have four dogs that are all house trained. They don't touch anything that they are not supposed to. However, that takes time, a puppy is a puppy is a puppy.

They WILL chew, tear up furniture....this takes patients. Try giving him a toy box with his own toys and encourage him to play with them. It won't take long.

I have one dog that I can tell him to put his toys away and he will, it astounishes people, yet its just consistancy....Good luck....Zgrinch.

I wish we had taken those petco training classes. Our dog is 12 and there are some things that we should have addressed right off the bat but we didn't. We did buy a puppy training book when we first got him and we did some basic training.

When we took him out to go to the bathroom they said it was best to come up with a code name to say each time so that he knew what he was supposed to do outside. We came up with the phrase "Hurry up" It really doesn't matter what term you use as long as you use it everytime. It works like a charm.

We always say "hurry up" and he goes and when he gets side tracked or distracted outside we snap our fingers to redirect him. We got this off the show the dog whisperer - that is a great show on the animal channel. He trains dogs for a living.

When ever he is barking or misbehaving the snapping comes in handy to get his attention and to let him know that the behavior is inappropriate. You have to let the dog know that you are boss. Our dog forgets that sometimes and we have to let him know that he is not in charge.

Make sure he learns the word NO early on. My dog LOVES his leash and he can't wait for us to put it on him but I think he was scared early on. Try to let him sniff the collar before you put it on him.

This way he can explore it a bit. Maybe even put it on the floor for him to check it out. This way it is on his level and he can become familiar with it and see that it is not that scary.

If there is something that he really likes to do then you can pair it with that activity so that he has a positive association with the leash and collar and that activity. Maybe he likes to play or be petted or receive treats - pair some of these with the leash. If he likes to just lay around like you said in an earlier comment then maybe lay the leash down beside him in his bed or on the floor.My dog would probably try to roll all over it - they do that to get their scent on things.

This would be a good sign that he is being comfortable with it. You want to take away all fear from it. The more familiar he is with it then the less he will fear having it put on.

My dog gets so excited when we get the leash out so he overcame his fear of it pretty quick. Good luck. He is so cute!

OMG! That's such a cute puppy! :D I think he just freaked out because it's his first time being on leash.

Through time he will get used to it. Plus, he aren't too familiar with his new loving owners right now. After a few days, things will be different, he'll love you and will play with you always.

Just keep it cool for now and don't pressure him that much. Show him that you really love him. Give him nutritious and timely meal plus extra treats whenever he did something nice, funny, or whenever you just feel he deserve an extra credit.

Sometimes I watch the dog whisper with ceaser I have got some good ideas that I have put to use myself on my own dog.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.