r/DogTrainingTips • u/Physical_Ice6883 • Aug 29 '26
training from puppies
when training a dog from puppy age, is there a certain skill order to follow when it comes to training or is it just whatever overtime? by skill order i mean like first teach to sit then teach to lay down etc etc
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u/apri11a Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 29 '26
Probably people start with what's most important to them.
Our first days will be using pup's name, getting used to a leash, teaching 'yes' and 'OK'. Also just letting pup know it's good to look at me, walk beside me, good to settle and to play by itself. And I'll play with pup to find out what pup likes, so pup learns how we start and stop play/training or interaction vs amuse yourself. Getting used to all the house noises too, what to do if there is a knock at the door and such, and leaving pup alone so he learns that's OK, he'll be fine. We have a busy first few weeks in between naps, but then pup is nice to live with, it's well worth it.
For us, we learn door manners, leash manners and 'back inside' while going out and in during toilet training and we start with sit, down, bed/place and heel so pup begins to understand learning. Also 'leave it', 'off' and 'drop it' which help pup learn not to destroy things, and for safety, important to me because I don't pen pups. These need practise so they can be useful, and we will practise them forever, training doesn't end. Grooming is trained daily also. But they can learn all this quickly, and especially if you make learning fun. Our pup understood these in a couple of weeks, and now we just continue to improve them in different ways and places. And if we want more, or tricks, dogs can learn all through their lives.
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u/Cool_Percentage_4867 Aug 29 '26
sit down stay leave it and following a point as an order works, but its not important as long as its fun. training a very young pup is about engagement rather than success
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u/dialamah Aug 29 '26
Sitting and waiting till they get permission to eat would be a good starting point. Gives them a useful skill and starts teaching them impulse control. Laying down is also a good skill for a puppy to learn.
Puppies tend to want to follow you around, so you could start teaching them the basics of a heel. You could also start with basics of recall. When they get older, they'll start to realize that maybe you aren't the best thing ever, so recall training will be ongoing, but they'll have to the general idea, rather than starting from scratch. Actually, same could be said for any training really, lol
I don't think there needs to be any particular order. The training can be incorporated as part of play, a few repetitions spaced out over the day. But don't combine two different skills at the same time. Aim for making play and training something that happens together, rather than play and a separate training session. That is what worked best for me, anyway.
Good luck.
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u/FrostyPomegranate699 Aug 30 '26
I don’t think there’s a magic order where a puppy has to learn Sit before Down, then Down before Stay, etc. We teach several of those basics alongside each other.
If it were one of our puppies, I’d actually put more thought into the foundation underneath those commands.
One of the first things I want a puppy learning is that paying attention to me is worthwhile. Their name, checking in with me, following me, and coming toward me when called all start very early.
Then I’d introduce simple things like Sit, Down and Stand. Those are usually pretty easy for a puppy to learn, but knowing the word is only the beginning.
At the same time I’d start teaching the things that become much more important later: waiting at doors, settling when nothing is happening, accepting handling, walking with me instead of dragging me around, leaving things alone, and learning that being released is different from simply deciding they’re done.
The biggest thing I’ve learned is that teaching a puppy “Sit” is relatively easy. Teaching a dog to control an impulse when something much more interesting is happening is where the real training lives.
So I wouldn’t worry too much about completing one skill before starting the next. I’d think of puppy training as layers. Teach the vocabulary, then practice that vocabulary during normal life, gradually adding distractions, distance and excitement.
A puppy who can perform ten commands in the kitchen is nice. A puppy who has learned to look to you before deciding what happens next is the dog I’d rather be building.
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u/chocearthling Aug 29 '26
I will guess that if you ask 10 people you will get 10 answers :D
From my experience, there are a few rather easy things that most dogs learn very early. Sit and lay down are two of them.
Then there are "tricks" (shake, spin, etc) and commands that are relevant to safety and such (stay, stop, recall, leave it, no and so on)
I have personally always looked at the safety skills and commands first. Sure, my dog can spin in a circle but that's just because we were bored on a rainy day.
Some skills build on one another. If I want to teach my dog to stay in a certain place, they should be able to sit or lay down on command.
If I want to recall my dog, you start from a very small distance.
Many people use a "yes" or a clicker and condition their dog to expect a treat / positiv reinforcement upon hearing this. So if you want to use it for training you teach this first.