Brains Trainings for Dogs

Puppy Training Basics

The early weeks are about building good habits gently: a puppy that finds people rewarding, feels safe alone, toilets outside, and enjoys learning. Skills like sit come easily once that foundation is there.

Puppy Training Basics

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Quick answer

Focus first on socialisation, house training, crate and alone-time comfort, name response and recall, gentle handling, and rewarding calm. Use small tasty rewards, short sessions of two to three minutes several times a day, and reward-based methods only. Keep a routine, protect sleep, and add manners like sit, down, leave it and loose-lead walking on top of that base.

Priorities in the first months

Socialisation and confidence

During the sensitive period (up to around 14 to 16 weeks), calmly and positively expose your puppy to varied people, sounds, surfaces, handling and, once vaccinations allow, other settings. Keep every experience gentle and let the puppy choose to approach. Good early experiences prevent many adult fears and fear-based behaviours.

House training

Take the puppy out on a schedule: after waking, after eating, after play, and every hour or two otherwise. Reward the instant it finishes toileting outside. Supervise indoors or use a pen, and clean accidents with an enzymatic cleaner without telling the puppy off. Most puppies are reliable by four to six months with consistency.

Crate and alone-time comfort

Feed meals and give chews in an open crate so it becomes a good place. Build up time alone in small steps, starting with seconds and staying relaxed. Teaching a puppy to settle alone early helps prevent separation problems later. Our guide to dogs home alone has more.

Name and recall

Say the name, and when the puppy looks, mark and reward. Play recall games in the house and garden: call, reward big, release. Never call the puppy to do something it dislikes, and never tell it off for coming slowly.

Handling

Pair gentle touching of ears, paws, mouth and body with treats so vet visits and grooming are easy later.

Rewarding calm

Quietly drop a treat between the puppy's paws whenever it settles on its own. Calm gets very little attention by default, so make a point of paying for it.

Adding manners

  • Sit and down: lure with a treat, mark the moment, reward, then fade the lure.
  • Leave it: reward the puppy for turning away from a covered treat, build up to open hand and floor.
  • Loose-lead walking: reward position beside you, stop when the lead tightens, start again when it loosens.
  • Wait at doors and bowls: a short pause before release teaches impulse control.

How to train

  • Sessions of two to three minutes, several times a day, ending while the puppy still wants more.
  • Small, soft, tasty rewards; use part of the daily food allowance.
  • Mark the right moment with a clicker or a word like "yes".
  • Reward-based methods only. No lead jerks, shouting, alpha rolls, or shock, prong or spray collars: these carry welfare and fallout risks and are not needed.
  • If the puppy gets it wrong, make the task easier rather than correcting it.

Routine and rest

Predictable meals, toileting, play, training and naps make a puppy feel secure and learn faster. Young puppies need 18 to 20 hours of sleep a day; an overtired puppy is bitey, unfocused and hard to house train.

Where a structured programme fits

Once the basics are in place, step-by-step game-based programmes such as Brain Training for Dogs can add structure and progression to focus and obedience work. Group puppy classes that use reward-based methods are also valuable for socialisation and coaching.

Want the games mapped out for you?

Brain Training for Dogs organises reward-based mental exercises and obedience training into difficulty levels, with troubleshooting for each step. Check the current offer for format, contents and guarantee terms.

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FAQ

Related guides

References

  1. Scott JP, Fuller JL (1965). Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog. University of Chicago Press.
  2. Kutsumi A, Nagasawa M, Ohta M, Ohtani N (2013). Importance of puppy training for future behavior of the dog. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science 75(2), 141–149. View source
  3. González-Martínez Á, Martínez MF, Rosado B, et al. (2019). Association between puppy classes and adulthood behavior of the dog. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 32, 36–41. View source
  4. Reisner IR, Shofer FS, Nance ML (2007). Behavioral assessment of child-directed canine aggression. Injury Prevention 13(5), 348–351.
  5. Appleby DL, Bradshaw JWS, Casey RA (2002). Relationship between aggressive and avoidance behaviour by dogs and their experience in the first six months of life. Veterinary Record 150(14), 434–438.
  6. Serpell J, Jagoe JA (1995). Early experience and the development of behaviour. In: Serpell J (ed.) The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People. Cambridge University Press.
  7. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (2008). Position Statement on Puppy Socialization. View source
  8. American Academy of Pediatrics / American Veterinary Medical Association. Dog bite prevention: guidance for families with children. View source
  9. Ziv G (2017). The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs: a review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 19, 50–60.
  10. Vieira de Castro AC, Fuchs D, Morello GM, Pastur S, de Sousa L, Olsson IAS (2020). Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare. PLOS ONE 15(12), e0225023.
  11. Herron ME, Shofer FS, Reisner IR (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117, 47–54.
  12. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (2021). Position Statement on Humane Dog Training. View source

These references describe dogs and training in general. They are not evidence about any specific commercial program. This page is general information, not a substitute for individualised veterinary or behaviour advice. Last reviewed: 30 August 2026.