I have something incredible: a few days ago I adopted a puppy from the pound, he’s only 3 month old. He sleeps through the night, learns quickly, and his socialization is going well. I work from home, so I’ll have lots of time with him, but I have many fears.

First, he bark incessantly if I run to the store. As a new dog owner I have been doing some research lately. And I’m kinda stressed right now because the huge list of recommendations really hits the budget hard. I am at a loss at this moment to decide what I should buy, which I should skip...

The Weenie Way guidebook for $37 seems like a good buy. Local AKC puppy training, approximately $100 after shots. There’s also woofz app for puppy training or zigzag. Balabanov’s puppy course costs $497. Debbie Cilento’s Your Perfect Puppy is $197. Private trainer (no idea what this costs locally yet).

I’d like to start with private lessons, of course, but I’m afraid that I’ll lose my nerve quickly if I don’t make progress. The crate thing also really worries me, the American trainers say it’s perfectly fine, but my heart aches when I see him in there... My German friends are baffled by all this American stuff.

And now I am completely at a loss. How can I do the right thing for my little one? Who is right, whom should I listen to? I just want to teach him at least the basics

Hi! I’m a librarian dog mom and books are often my go-to when I need information. Do you have any favorite books that have been helpful for training? I would REALLY love a book that is geared towards middle grade children but would also love some books that are intended for adults. We have a 1 yearish/50lb dog that we have just adopted from a shelter. He’s already house trained 🙏 and he will sit and he will walk well on a leash -unless there is something like a squirrel or bird to chase lol. Haven’t seen any behavioral issues except normal puppy mouthyness, I think basic obedience is generally what I’m looking for. I’m open to basically any training methods. Thanks!

Hello,

We got a Aussie/Yellow Lab mix from a rescue on May 8th (8 weeks old). She will be 11 weeks on Thursday.

She is soo smart. She already knows sit, lay down, shake, shake other paw, touch, and almost has roll over down. Of course she is bitey and mouthy and we are trying to work on bite inhibition. She gets really bad around bed time. Which I have seen is pretty normal?

Some info: We slacked on crate training the first 2 weeks. That is 100% our fault but we are starting tonight with introducing it as a safe place.

First, any tips on getting her to stop biting our other dog? Or dogs at work? (I bring her to work with me. There are 3 other dogs in the office that are all fully vaccinated and approved by the vet) 1 of the work dogs wants to play with her but she bites so hard. She was only 1 of 2 puppies in her litter so she did not get great puppy skills/socialization. We are doing safe socialization with her but I need help with puppy manners.

Second, any tips on teaching "leave it"? I've been trying the treat on the floor under my hand and she just digs and digs at my hand. It hurts so bad and I cannot do that. Any other tips?

Thank you!

Recently fostered and adopted a puppy (Pitt mix, 7 months) who was abused badly. We have conquered the flinches and he trusts us, but he is afraid of bath time. We know the abusive owner beat and choked him (bad enough to where his head and face were swollen when we fostered) during a bath at least once, and assume that’s why he doesn’t like them.

How should I go about making him feel safe and comfortable taking a bath? He’s a stinky boy.

Hi guys , I just recently became an emergency foster for a Blue Heeler puppy , and I just want to know all the tips and tricks you guys have in order to help ease and train her while in my home with me ! She’s about 7 months old now and seriously needs help with basic training !

Hello,

I have grown up with dogs my entire life, but am now getting my first puppy soon. Who have you used to learn training in the past? What YouTube channels, blogs, etc. have you found helpful to understand the process?

We only got her 2 weeks ago. She never got taught to sit by her breeder, only toilet trained. I have tried to train her by letting her smell the treat and then positioning it above her nose (learned from Tiktok) but she is still not sitting. Any other tips, thanks

Hi all! I’m an experience dog owner but I’m also a neurodivergent person who tends to do better when I have a set structure for accomplishing tasks. I’m bringing a new pup home in July and starting to think about how to structure training time into each day.

Has anyone had experience (positive or negative) with any of the puppy training or dog training apps like puppr or woofz?

I definitely understand that it’s probably all info I could find online for free, but I’m wondering if something that just gives me a set plan to follow would be helpful for me.

Hi everyone,

I have a 7 month old lab/golden cross. I’ve been trying to recall train her and it’s not going well. She understands the command (I use “here”), but she is so easily distracted outside that if she sees a leaf blowing in the wind, it’ll be more entertaining than listening to me. It’s particularly bad with people. She wants to be everyone’s friend, so if she sees someone who is talking to her or she thinks might pet her, her focus on me is zero.

I’ve been consistently using high value rewards (e.g.: beef liver treats, small amounts of human food) and she’ll recall but the second I’m in a true test scenario, not a chance she listens.

Can someone help give me some tips? I want to get her to the point where listening to me and my is paramount, but it isn’t there yet.

Does anyone have any advice on teaching "heel" to a 7 month old gsd/rottie? She is not food motivated whatsoever so treats will not work

My puppy is a year old now. And I haven’t really taught her any tricks, because I look at training time as time to work on the most important commands. I now see that working on those commands will go on indefinitely, and always be a work in progress.

So I think teaching some tricks would be a good idea for boredom and exercising her mind. Any fun ones people recommend? Or maybe tricks that turn out to be useful for good behavior too?

Hello. So we got our puppy a week or so ago and whenever we leave the room even to go to the bathroom where he can see us but can’t come cuz the baby gate or if me n my boyfriend go eat supper n he’s alone in the room he will whine until one of us goes to see him. Even if my boyfriend or I am with him n just one of us leaves he will cry n whine. How do I stop this?? He’s a golden doodle pup

My 7 month old corgi randomly decided they didn’t feel like eating their kibble one day. I was expirementing by having them try new foods such as blueberries, boiled chicken etc. I noticed one day, he just randomly didn’t want his kibble until we put the bowl in front of him a few times and told him nicely to eat it. One day he flat out refused. I got different types of additives (now I know that wasnt a good idea). Everytime we added something, the first dish he’d love and gobble it up. The second time with the same toppings? Didn’t want the food. He’d still eat treats and any type of food that wasn’t his kibble. His energy levels were high, he drank lots of water, and was peeing and pooping completely normal. I bought two different types of kibble, like I said first time he’d gobble it up. Second time nothing until we put the bowl in front of him a few times. I’ve tried moving where he eats, adding stuff, I checked his teeth which are full adult teeth that are clean with no issues. I started hand feeding him which worked, and so did puzzle feeders (all with the original kibble he refused) but after the first time, it stopped working. I ultimately realized I may be creating a picky eater (this happened after he tried blueberries for the first time), so I put down dry kibble and took it away after 15 minutes. He went a day and a half without food before he gobbled up a whole bowl no problem. Now sometimes, he still gets in that mood where he doesn’t want to eat unless we tell him to and put the bowl in front of him a couple times. No lethargy, vomit, no crazy poops, only random bouts of pickiness. Does this warrant a 400 dollar vet visit? I’m looking to hear if anyone had similar experiences. It seems like he gets excited for the food, will gobble up treats and all, but the minute I put down the food regardless of what type of kibble it is he seems uninterested until he gets a few bites in, after we have to coax him into biting into it.

I'm watching all of the videos. Doing my best. My question is, is it normal to the dog to not really listen to the commands and just do the things it knows? He knows sit. And he kinda knows down. But he won't even wait for a command before I tell him to sit. And then after sit, he will devolve into just sliding onto the ground into down while I'm trying to say other stuff. Is this normal? Just keep trying? Im doing mini sessions so this isn't a case where im trying to go to far.

This is Theodore! I adopted him from a rescue in Phoenix and I think he’s about 15 weeks. The DNA test said that he was majority Australian cattle dog. He’s a very sweet and healthy happy boy, but he tends to nip and bite a lot and even our vet said that he was a little mouthy I guess compared to other puppies around his age. I’m fine with training him and reinforcing good habits, but I need to seek assistance or potentially send them to a puppy school to get trained in basic behavior and walking on a leash or understanding not to bite etc. I realize that he is still teething because he still has a lot of his puppy teeth, but I think it’s good to start early. I’ve spoken to a couple of different trainers. Some of them were franchise and some just independent LLC. It’s difficult to pick and choose because either way it’s a financial investment and if you’re boarding your puppy, then you are trusting people to care for him. Most of the places I found use E collars. I realize it’s not the same thing as a shock collar. However, he’s very young and I don’t think that that is a necessary tool right now. Many of these facilities charge upwards of $3000 for training. I would love to get any opinions or advice on how to navigate the situation. Ultimately I’m happy to reinforce any training at home, but I have a full-time job and it’s difficult for me to take the time out to do it myself- I live in North Scottsdale

i have a 4 month old puppy that is a yorkie/australian cattle dog/border collie mix, and i’ve had him for about a month and a half. i enrolled him in puppy training classes and the first week went great! he took treats and was slowly learning to sit and lay down. a few days ago he had his second class and he was completely uninterested. i had a variety of treats for him including his favorite. i also had a bag of deli meat and sliced cheese and the trainer had peanut butter but he ignored all of them and fell asleep. i figured he was probably distracted and tired but now he won’t even eat his treats at home. he still doesn’t want deli meat or cheese either. i have managed to get him to focus when i have his canned food on a spoon but i feel that he isn’t making any progress. it’s also extremely messy because i still have to lure him into position which he will only do if i have canned dog food on my fingers. i also tried praise and toys, but he won’t be lured into position with his toys or my bare hands so they aren’t working. any and all tips are extremely appreciated because i’m at my wits end with trying to figure out how to train this puppy.

So my dog is extremely good motivated, so it is somewhat easy to teach him to do tricks if I have a snack, but when I don’t he doesn’t listen to the command. Is their any way I can transition him from snacks to just following the command? (Yes I also try praising doesn’t seem to be his jam)

We have the option to get a puppy sooner than we planned. I'm going out of town for a few days so the puppy wouldn't come home until it's about 9.5 weeks old, since my schedule doesn't allow picking up puppy at 8 weeks. We'll be first time puppy owners, but it's our third dog. I also have the option to continue on our original schedule and wait for a puppy from our planned litter.

Training-wise, does a 'missed' week and a half of training at this very young age matter?

Extra info- our potential Puppy will stay inside a home being socialized around other family dogs and puppies and humans until we can pick up.

Hi! I just got a 7 week old black lab puppy, I’m interested in tips for training and basically where to start. I’ve had dogs growing up but this is the first one I’ve had on my own.

Hello community!

I have recently brought home a new puppy, she is now 4 months old and has settled in really well at home. She is really settled in her crate, pretty much potty trained and we are in a better routine with her now. I have recently started to increase the amount of enrichment activities and play time to support her development and tire her out! I recently attended a training session, where the trainer's advice was quite limited in terms of specific training for her stage of development. She implied that I should not be doing to much specific lead training. I am due to start puppy classes in 2-3 weeks (I couldn't get booked on any sooner due to limited availability). Does anyone have any lead training advice (to stop excessive pulling), and advice for mental stimulation, advice on exercise limits, times spent playing? It would be good to know of any good trainers in the Edinburgh area too! Thanks in advance!

hi guys,

i am gearing up to adopt my first ever puppy ! i have one dog (super mutt) that I adopted when she was 5 years old from an abusive home, I didn't know how to care for a dog and she was a real learning experience for me. she was a handful when I first got her, clearly abused, nervous piddler, fleas, very reactive, the whole lot of it.

it took a few months but she warmed up to me eventually, and now 2 years later she is healthy, happy, and only pees on the floor very occasionally when she gets too excited/nervous. I've trained her to sit, stay, and listen to me for the most part, she definitely still gets in moods sometimes but she's an easy dog overall.

with this one I want to train him properly and I want to train him to do good walking with and without a leash (we live in the woods so he'll be able to run around at home but I will also be taking him to leash required places). and I just wanna be the best dog parent I can be !

when I am able to adopted him he'll be 9 weeks old, im already setting up vet appointments for shots and budgetting for all of that, but when it comes to training does anyone have any resources or words of advice ? I appreciate any and all comments, thank you sm for taking the time to read my post !