At what age should training start?

Formal obedience training - puppy training in a class situation - can begin at 8 weeks of age. At Best Friends our *rules* are as soon as they have had their first two puppy shots and a bordatella they are ready to rock!


TRAINING of your puppy - the stuff you teach them at home - should start the day you bring your puppy home. Training at this stage should be done in many little lessons, in short spans of time (5-10 minutes per session). Puppies always learn better if you keep training light and fun so watch the tone of your voice as well.

Puppies and dogs learn from the instant they are born. At first their world is small and their learning comes from their mother, other littermates. By the time they are weaned and sent on their way to new homes, they have learned many things. Hopefully, they have had a good foundation set for future learning.

Learning is built on many factors:

Socialization - positive exposure to many different people, animals, environments, surfaces, situations, sounds, etc, and teaching the pup how to best react to new things

Innate personality - the set type of personality that all animals and people are born with.

In-home work with potty training, crate training, leash & collar training, teaching appropriate stuff to chew on, your household routine, words, basic home manners.

Training classes (Best Friends has an on going rotating schedule of classes!) - where you teach your puppy the essentials of obedience commands, manners, and ability to do everything with the distraction of other people and dogs.