Informal training may begin when the pup is only six or seven weeks old and still at the breeders. Every time the pup sits, say ?good sit?. He may not know what you are saying but the happy tone of voice will let him know he did something good and eventually he will begin to pick up the words through repetition.



More formal training can begin soon after when a pup is seven to eight weeks old ?it may not be a perfect ?sit? right but the speed in which he picks up the new command might surprise you.

The simplest way to have a dog sit on command is to use their own natural body movement to your advantage. Put a small treat in your hand a few inches in front of his nose and let the pup sniff it. Once his attention is on the treat, say ?Fido sit? and draw your hand slowly up and back over his head. His natural tendency will be to sit down which, once he does, is when you congratulate him, let him have the treat and say ?good sit?. Try it a few times and then give him a break for a while as three short sessions a day are better then one long one when working with a young dog.

Once he has figured out what you are asking of him, you can stop moving your hand with the treat and see if he still understands. Continue this way until he now understands the verbal cue but still give him the treat when he successfully sits on command.

With all training, do not overuse the command word. Say his name as a cue that you are asking something of him followed by the word once then give him a moment to figure out what it is you want him to do. Too often new owners repeat the word over and over again and the dog either does not understand the command yet or, more likely, the overuse of the command has dulled their desire to perform as the newbie wishes.

Training sessions with any age of dog are far more successful if you bring the right attitude to the session. A happy, smiling, consistent attitude will soon have your dog joyfully executing your every wish! Dogs can read body language better then verbal commands and getting frustrated or just generally being in a bad mood will only confuse the dog and ruin the session. Dogs are much like children in the way respond to praise and begin to ?shut down? if there is only negative feedback.

Once your dog is consistently ?sitting? on command, begin removing the treat as part of the reward from time to time. Eventually you want your dog to sit on command because you asked him to not, because of the food reward. Treats are a great training tool but for day to day obedience, it is preferred to not have to carry a bag of Roll-Over with you whenever the two of you are together!

Once ?sit? is mastered, its time to move onto to ?down?, ?stay?, ?rollover? and so on. Have fun with the training and your dog will pick up the commands quickly and love the work. A well-trained dog is a happy dog and the owner reaps the eventual reward of a dog that is a pleasure to have in any situation!