Puppy Training 101: What to do, when and why

Areas of puppy training include: 

• crate training 
• learning to settle 
• recall training 
• house or toilet training 
• helping your dog spend time alone 
• leave training 
• walking nicely lead training 
• jumping up training

If you think your lifestyle might be better suited to an older dog, check out the full-grown furballs awaiting their forever friend in your local rehoming centre. 

Or keep reading to find out what you’ll need to consider before a new set of tiny toes arrives at your doorstep.   

House or toilet training 

Toilet training a puppy isn’t always a quick process, and even trained pups may have accidents from time to time.  

Consistency and patience are key. Their muscles around their bladder and bowels may need a bit of time to develop, but they’ll soon get the hang of it.  

Crate training

Crates or pens can provide a cosy space where your pup can relax and feel safe. So, it’s important to introduce it to them in the right way through crate training.

Crate training with a puppy should always be done slowly and in their own time.  

Settle training

It’s important that your puppy can settle down by themselves and feel relaxed, wherever they are, while you’re busy doing other things. This can be useful if you’re doing tasks at home or catching up with friends at a café.   

Recall training 

Most dogs love a good run around off the lead, and puppies are no different. But before unclipping the lead, you need to feel confident that your dog will always come back to you when called.  

Good recall training will teach your pooch to do this every time. 

Helping your dog spend time alone

It’s important to prepare your pup for spending time on their own. If you don’t, they may struggle when you’re not there.  

Teaching a dog to feel relaxed and confident when alone is best started when they’re still a puppy. This can be a good way of preventing separation anxiety.  

Leave training

Dogs, and puppies in particular, are curious creatures. Puppies use their noses and mouths to explore the world around them.  

So, teaching your dog to ‘leave’ is an essential skill for when they’re reaching for something they shouldn’t be, or something dangerous.  

Jumping up training

Dogs often jump up when they’re excited to see you or want attention. Jumping up may even be encouraged in puppies when they’re small and cute.  

However, this can make things confusing for them when they grow up and we no longer want them to behave like this. So set your pup up for success and teach them to keep all four paws on the floor instead. 

What should be the first thing you teach a puppy? 

It’s important not to overwhelm your puppy when bringing them into a new home. Everything around them will be brand new, and probably daunting, so be patient with them.  

When it comes to what to teach your new furball first, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Each pup’s circumstances and personality are unique. A couple of training points that will naturally begin early on, however, are name learning and house training.

Your puppy knowing their name is useful for getting their attention and a helpful base for other training areas. This naturally begins from the moment you first call their name. Similarly, house training begins from the first time you bring your puppy outside to go to the toilet.  

Sometimes, a puppy may already come with some housetraining skills, or know their name in a positive way. In these cases, crate, settle, and lead-walking training make a good place to start.  

How old should a puppy be to start training?

Age is just a number; any dog can be taught new tricks. So, puppy training starts as soon as you bring your dog home. It then continues into adolescence, adulthood and beyond.