What ages are ideal for training your dog to do specific tasks?

Question

Examples: Potty Training - 6wks, sit, heal, stay - 6-8wks, obedience - 10-12wks, protection training??? and so on...

Answer 1

You start all training early. Like, as soon as you get them. They are not like babies, they don't have learning stages.
Potty training happens after naps and meals. Obedience lessons should take place a few times a day for the rest of the dog's life. Protection training usually happens after obedience training only because they need to know obedience commands first. There is no set time for this, just whenever the dog learns. You can teach all this to an adult.
Get a book called "Puppy Preschool". It helped me.
Another good one is "Dog Tricks for Dummies". It has obedience basics as well as cute stuff. In the back there is a guide to all the activities and contests you can enter with your dog.
Good luck and hope this helps.

Answer 2

Start as early as possible. Potty training begins as soon as pup comes home see below for tips.

Things you need to know first, before you start.
Pups normally arrive to their new home when they are between 8-10 weeks of age. Unfortunately they do not have full bladder control at this age, it is physically impossible for your pup to hold onto it. When he has to go, he will go. How long do I wait then you ask? Well you don't, you start to teach as soon as pup arrives, but you don't expect too much, or the impossible.

By 12 weeks his body has matured and bladder control finally kicks in. Even so, the max amount of time he can hold it for will be between 2-4 hours.

1. Pick a spot outside where you intend for pup to go.

2. Every time you take pup out use the same spot.

3. Take pup out as often as every hour for the first week.

4. Take pup out after every feed, drink, exercise, play time.

Even if pup doesn't go, that's fine, just wait with pup for a few minutes, if you get a result then give heaps and heaps of praise.
Be consistant, don't give up and never rub pups nose in his excrements if he does do it inside, all you will do is confuse the pup and possibly turn him against you.



Pups are most impressionable between the age of 6 - 12 weeks, then is a great time to bond and start with what you intend for pup for the rest of his life.
ie: if you don't want an adult dog on your couch, don't put pup there now, they don't understand the difference.

Visit the link below for more advice or just to chat puppy with friendly members.

Answer 3

A good breeder will have initiated proper social training before the puppies are even ready to go home. For example, puppies from 5 weeks onwards should not be allowed to put their teeth on human flesh – there’s no such thing as “puppy nibbles”, there should be a zero tolerance policy regarding mouthing. So, when a well adjusted, properly socialized puppy goes home at 8+ weeks old (NO PUPPY SHOULD GO HOME BEFORE THEN), the owner should continue this sort of training.

Eight week old puppies can learn to follow their human (which is easier done from 8-12 weeks than trying to teach an independent dog of 6 months to come when called), can be ignored for jumping up and if praised as soon as their butts hit the ground will learn to sit for petting (which is easier than teaching an exuberant dog to stop leaping at you). Housebreaking should happen at this time, as well which is NOT training, but simply proper management (see article on housebreaking at www.darnfar.com for housebreaking advice).

I suggest that the puppy is over 5 months for most of the compliance type obedience training because up to four months they are very much babies, and at four months they begin to cut their adult teeth. This is a stressful time for them (and can be quite painful). An adolescent dog with adult teeth has a very different attitude than one that still has its baby teeth. It’s a very critical shift in the dog’s mentality. So, for strict, absolute compliance, I wait until that time.

However, an 8 week old puppy can be trained with treats to do many, many “trick” type exercises, including sit, down, come and stay (notice I say “trick” because absolute compliance is not expected of a baby dog). This is a good way to develop a great bond with the puppy and to utilize a dog’s desire for food. It should always be fun for the puppy. Do not allow a puppy too much freedom and make certain it is getting LOTS of sleep (by putting it in a crate in a quite place – don’t wait for the puppy to collapse). In the first four – five months, focus on management (including housebreaking) to prevent bad habits from forming (by keeping valuable chewable objects out of the puppy’s access).

But, at some point, the dog needs to learn to comply because it has been told to do so by its human leader (no ifs, ands or buts about it). So, as soon as you get the little tike, you can do as much “puppy” type training as you’d like using treats to get the puppy to perform. However, I’d recommend waiting until 5-6 months of age to being more formal training where a correction is the consequence for a negative behavior. In essence, treat a baby mind like a baby, and an adolescent mind differently.

Answer 4

the best time is when the puppy is a puppy training should consist of 10 to 15 min times as puppy attention span is very short so training should be done in small times

Answer 5

depends on the dog, but to have further training past his CD I would say 9-12 months old or older.

Answer 6

puppy potty, comains, obedience are right for protection as soon as possible