When, Where, How Often
It’s never to early or too late to start training your dog. Keep sessions short and don’t confine training to specific times. Incorporate what you have trained your dog on within his daily exercise.

• When- Best time to start is when your dog is a puppy and you first bring him home. It’s always best to train before mealtime.
• Where-Training should take place in a quiet area with few distractions. If training on a leash, try a quiet street or section of a park.
• How Often-Dogs learn with repetition. Practice commands a few times a day and reward your dog for good behavior.
• How Long-Keep training sessions short and sweet. Three to five minutes is good. Always end the session after your dog has been successful.
• Who-The person who will be spending the most time with the dog should also be the trainer or accompany to training classes.

Training Tips
All dogs want to please and be rewarded. When your dog realizes you are happy with a certain behavior, the will continue doing it. Don’t let good behavior go unnoticed and be consistent with your commands.

Things that matter when training your dog
• Consistency-Use the same commands in same tone of voice
• Positive Reinforcement-Reward to positive, ignore the negative behavior
• Tasty rewards-Reward with a nutritional treat and as their behavior becomes consistent, vary when you give a treat
• Timing- When your dog misbehaves, reprimand with a firm verbal rebuke immediately.

Collars and Leashes
Before leash training, make sure your dog has a comfortable collar. When you put a collar on for the first time, your dog will more than likely scratch and yelp trying to get it off. If it’s properly fitted, it will not harm your dog.

Collar Types
A good collar should fit snugly around the neck. You should be able to put two fingers between the collar and your dog’s neck for an ideal fit. An oversized collar can get caught on things and possibly choke your dog.

Nylon
Leather
Snap-on
Choke Chains- Used only for training!

Leashes
Every dog reacts differently when they feel the tug on the leash. They don’t understand at the beginning why their body wants to go one way and their neck another.

Your dog will need a 6-8ft leash that fits comfortably in your hand. A small dog will need one that is about a ¼” width and a larger dog will need at least ½” width leash.

Let you dog become familiar with the leash by letting him drag it around the house for short periods so they won’t be afraid. Use a training collar at first with the leash but always remember to take the training collar off when finished.

First step in leash training is to take a few steps away from your dog and stop. Call him to come to you. If he comes, reward with a treat or praise. Once he can perform this act indoors you are ready to move outside for a walk.

Stand on your dog’s right while on a leash with the leash in your right hand. Your left hand will be free to touch and control your dog.
Never tug or pull on your dog!

House Training Puppies
House training should be a priority when you first bring home your new puppy. Dogs will never soil and area that they eat in or sleep in. If you keep this in mind during your training, establish a set feeding routine, house training can be effective done with a minimum of accidents.

House training won’t take place overnight and accidents will happen. Never place your dog’s nose at the site of the accident! A better way is to clean the area and place a food bowl over the spot. Dogs will not relieve themselves where they eat. If you catch them in the act, distract by making a noise and telling them “outside” or a command used to go out. Swiftly take them to the spot designated as their toilet to finish. If your dog has a relapse after months of good behavior start the training process again.

Marking should not be confused with housetraining problems because marking is deliberate. This behavior will arise in dogs who may be trying to vie for the role of the leader in the household; marking is a way of claiming territory. It is advised that if you should notice this behavior indoors or out, you strengthen all obedience commands immediately. This will remove all doubts as to who is in charge around the house.

House Training Tips
• Select A “Toilet” Spot- this is the spot that you will take your dog to relieve themselves.
• Set a routine-A puppy will eat several times a day. 10-20 minutes following meals, your dog should be taken to his spot for relief.
• Encouragement-Following relief in his spot, provide praise or even a reward.
• Paper Training-Another option is to put down paper in a spot in the house for relief. As they learn to relieve themselves in this spot. Move a soiled paper outside and the scent will ease the transition.

Tips to Prevent Accidents
• Don’t make sudden changes in their diet
• Avoid late night water or snacks
• Make sure that you spend enough times outdoors or take your dog to his spot on regular intervals.

Crate Training
Crate training is not putting your dog/puppy in a cage or jail, and you are not being cruel if you follow these tips. Dogs feel secure in small, enclosed spaces, like a den. Dog crates make excellent dens. It is a safe place for him to stay when you're away or when you cannot watch him.

There are basically just a few steps in "crate" training and they are as follows:

• Choose a crate the same size as your puppy/dog. He should only have enough room to stand up, turn around and lie down. His crate is for sleeping or for a safe place to be when you cannot be with him. If you get a huge crate for a small dog, he may eliminate in one end and sleep in the other and you will have defeated the whole purpose of using the crate

• Use a single-word command for your dog to enter his crate, for example, "KENNEL"; throw in a treat or piece of kibble; when the dog/puppy enters, praise him and close the crate door. Increase the time he spends in the crate before you let him back out. Remember, your dog still needs time to play and eliminate. Maintain a regular schedule of trips outdoors so as not to confine him too long.

• As a general guide, your puppy can stay in his crate comfortably for several hours, depending on his age. Take his age in months, add 1 month, and that's how many hours he should be able to stay in his crate (up to about 8 hours). For example, a 2-month old pup should be comfortable in his crate for about 3 hours (2 mth old pup + 1 mth = 3 hours in his crate).

Always take your puppy/dog outside to the same area in your backyard to eliminate on a leash so you can praise him when his job is finished. This will take the guesswork out of his visits to the backyard.