1. Dogs do not understand English until we teach them.

The thing we all love about puppies the most is the way they live for us, the way they focus all they have on us, the way our lives become theirs. in the beginning, they study us to learn our body language, our facial expressions and our language. Until we teach them the English language, it’s all they have. If we say, "Wanna go out?" one day, "Have to go potty?" the next day, and, "Hafta pee?" the third day, if they DO figure out what we want, it is because we have picked up the leash and moved toward the door with a happy face! If you want to speed up his training by three-fold, teach him YOUR language. Pick a command for EACH behavior and stick with it. Tell all in your family to use the same words and commands, and your puppy will amaze you at how much faster he learns.

2. A young puppy’s metabolism is racing along faster than we think.
The younger your puppy is, the faster he is growing, the more food and water he needs to fuel his metabolism, and the more often he has to go potty. Do not punish your puppy when he makes a house-breaking mistake. These are YOUR fault. Your puppy’s age in weeks and his breed size determine how often he must go out. Once an hour is not too often for a large 6-week old puppy, especially if it is summertime. Dogs love the exciting smells outdoors, so there is no excuse to not have him housebroken by 7-8 weeks of age. Right after a nap, after he eats and after grooming are the key times, and he will signal you. If he is happily chewing a toy and gets up suddenly with his nose to the floor, move quickly! And every time he goes potty outside
, praise him to high heaven! "What a good BOYY!", "GOOD go potty!" and the like. Dogs love our happy faces, and they will do anything to get it.

3. Dogs live for our facial expressions and body language.
Because of this, the worst punishment you ever need to give your dog is a scowl and to turn away from him. You can see his tail fall down and his face get so sad. He will learn the lesson, I guarantee it. But his attention span is only 3-5 minutes, so do not scorn him any longer. Love him up and give him your happy face again. Physical punishment is never necessary. Use consistent commands and loving praise and he will know what you want of him before you know. He will become a master of your body language and facial expressions in no time at all.

Naturally there are many aspects of training your puppy well. Loving kindness works just as well for puppies as it does with children, creating a happy, well-adjusted and obedient dog for life. These three important tips, used consistently with confidence, will start him well on his way.

Moving towards "What a good dog!" from "Bad Puppy!" is based on one thing. Your puppy does not know the English language, and the faster he learns it, the better for all, because the minute he knows what you want he will DO it. Make it faster and easier for him to learn by keeping these tips in mind:

1. Be consistent in the words you choose to teach him commands. If you say, "Wanna go potty?" in the morning, and "Have to go out?" two hours later, and "Wanna go pee?" two hours later, etc., then that is THREE phrases you have asked him to learn in one day instead of only one. Decide which words to use, and make sure everyone in your family uses the same ones.

2. Use his name in the command if you want action, do NOT use it if you want him restricted from action. This is very important. Hearing his own name makes a puppy leap into action by his very nature. When you want your puppy to come, say, "Puppy, Come!" [insert his name instead of the word Puppy, of course] When you want him to lie down, simply say, "Down".

3. Do not confuse your puppy with the same words for different commands. If you are teaching him basic obedience, the word "Down" means LIE down, usually followed by "Stay." If you don’t want him on the couch, do not say "Down", say, "Off." This word can be used to keep him from jumping up into your lap, onto the couch, chair or bed because it is the ACTION of jumping up you are trying to restrict. Saying "Down" when he jumps onto the couch will just make him lie down on the couch! See the difference?

Do not ever hit your puppy, you dont need to. The worst punishment he ever needs to learn a lesson is your sad frown and walking away from him. One or two minutes is the limit though, do not overdo this. After a minute of ignoring him, give a command he knows well and praise praise praise, with a big smile.

These three tips, used with gentleness and consistency, will teach your puppy all the words he needs to know to be a happy and obedient companion in a matter of days.

Another reason for crate training is that dogs love predictability. To know what is going to happen in any given situation makes him happy, and more apt to be the best-behaved dog he can possibly be.

A strong crate is the very basis of good puppy training. A wire crate with a lock is the best kind. Make sure it is large enough for him to stand up and turn around. But not so large that he can roam and wander around. A too-large crate will inhibit house breaking.

A crate that is just the right size will be perceived as his "nest", where puppies never "go potty". They will learn to hold it if you don’t make a prison out of it. Never leave a puppy under 8 weeks longer than one hour in his crate. He will soil it, after struggling and suffering as long as he can.

Put a nice pad in there with a bone. Start with placing a tasty treat in there, he will go in and get it. Do this several times without closing the door, let him come in and out freely for an hour or so. Praise him highly each time he goes in, make it all very pleasant.

Then when his attention is on his treat, close the door. Praise him quietly, "What a good boy, it’s ok, such a good boy!" In 10 or 20 seconds, no longer, let him out without a word, no praise, just a pat. Do this for increasingly longer intervals, but do not give him achance to get upset. You can do this several times the first day.

Make sure every training session ends on a happy note, this is crucial.

Once he sees the crate is his own private territory, he will go in there on his own, expecting treats and your attention. When he does, say, "Wanna crate?" with a happy face while getting his treats. Start leaving the room while he is in there for 2 minutes and onward, gradually. When you return, don’t make a fuss, just walk over and open the crate. In 3 days he will be officially crate-trained, ready to be left alone for an hour, no longer at first. Leave him gradually longer, slowly and carefully.

Q. Why do I want a crate for my puppy?
A. Because they love it is the best reason. They feel very safe and secure in there. Here are some more:
When you leave a puppy alone, he always has some measure of separation anxiety. This leads him to any behavior that brings him comfort, which is chewing, digging, or when it is severe, voiding his bowels.
When placed in a crate, he feels safe because nothing can get to him, nothing can harm him. He will sleep and chew and wait for you to return.
When leaving him overnight at the vet, if your dog is not crate trained he will cry the entire time, feeling lost and abandoned. With crate training, he is sure you will return, you always do. Of course the vet’s office is strange and will cause him some anxiety, but nothing like the pure terror he will feel without experience in being locked in.

NOTE: About crate-training, do not make a prison of his crate. Do not use it as punishment. Do not leave him there for more than 2 hours, just time for a long puppy nap and some chew time. After that he will cry. Do not remove him while he is crying. This will make him think he has to cry to get out. No matter what, make sure he is being good when you open the door. He will learn he has to be quiet to get out. Do not make a fuss when you are letting him out, just quietly open the door and take him out to potty. When he potties, praise him to high heaven! Dogs naturally do not go where they nest, but sometimes it happens. Do not scold, just clean it out with a bland face. He will learn the lesson. If possible, try to clean it while he is outside so he returns to a clean crate.

In 25 years of training dogs, I have never seen any one thing more critical for a dog’s well-being than good crate training.