How To Train a Puppy - 14 Important Steps

How to Choose Your Dog Breed

German shepherd in a 500 square foot city apartment? Poodle on the farm? Maybe not! Your personality, your environment, and your habits and schedule - all these will be factors in your dog's life. Choose the dog that will make you happy, and the puppy that you can provide the best home for, with this information.

Teach Your Puppy to Stop Mouthing and Biting

Just like a baby human, a puppy thinks everything is supposed to go in its mouth. Nipping at people when annoyed, biting during play, and slobbering on everything - these are normal in the dog world, but you'd rather wean your puppy off this behavior. Here's how.

House-Training Your Puppy

Training your puppy to communicate that he or she needs to go outside and "go potty," is usually the most important first step. It can be dirty business, but somebody's got to do it!

House-Training Your Puppy for an Indoor Potty

Your puppy will probably be inside and alone some days, while you're at work, or on vacation, or out visiting. On those days, you'll need your puppy to be trained to know what the paper, or the litterbox, is for.

Crate-Training Your Puppy

Aside from keeping them safe during travel, the crate helps you and your puppy around the house, especially during early training. Teach your puppy to enjoy a little indoor solitude, or to show them what to avoid.

Puppy Socialization

If your puppy grows up without proper socialization, they might grow up to fear unknown dogs, humans and other animals. Puppy socialization training shows them how to make friends, instead of acting out when strangers are near.

Leash-Training for Puppies

The leash isn't supposed to be a tug-of-war with your dog. A well-trained puppy will obediently stay by your heels, and rarely, or never, force you to restrain them. This keeps everyone safer, and it's the sign of an obedient dog who enjoys a relaxing walk. Learn about leash-training your puppy here.

Training Puppies for Basic Obedience to Verbal Commands

Dogs are smart enough to learn hundreds of words. Starting early, train your puppy to obey the basics: "sit," "stay," "no," "down," "outside," etc. Start simple with the essentials, and your puppy will expect to learn more as he grows.

Tips on Shopping: The Best Dog Food

Different dogs have different lifestyles, and you'll want to know how to feed them for the best health. Start your puppy out right - read about different feeding formulas here.

Tips on Shopping: Puppy Training School

The right obedience school helps you and your puppy with many of these issues I've discussed. If a professional trains your puppy in basic obedience and social behaviors, it solves many of these issues perfectly by laying the best possible foundation. Get advice on choosing a dog trainer here.