Obedience training is about much more than 'sit' and 'down.' It's about communicating your wishes to your puppy in a way he can understand. Because of the way it promotes that connection, obedience training is one of the most effective ways to strength the bond between human and dog.

Never too young

The younger your puppy is when you start your training, the better. Puppies are capable of learning at just a few weeks of age and with their spongy young brains they often make fast learners.

But puppies do have short attention spans so keep the sessions brief. We recommend between six to ten training sessions daily, with each lasting just a minute or two. An ideal time to train is before you give your puppy something he wants, like games, cuddles, and meals--that's when he's likely to be most responsive.

Learning the lingo

To avoid confusing your puppy, decide ahead of time on the words you want to use to communicate. Here are the basics, but of course you may come up with your own:

• Yes, delivered in a friendly upbeat voice, tells your puppy he has just performed a task correctly
• Good dog! tells your puppy he's on the right track and to keep going!
• Oops tells your puppy that he didn't quite get it and to try again
• No tells your puppy he's just ventured into the forbidden zone (peeing indoors, for instance), and needs to stop now! Don't use it for run-of-the-mill mistakes during training
• Free dog--releases your puppy from the command

We recommend teaching these commands in order, then mixing them up during training sessions:
Name recognition
Watch
Sit
Down
Stand

DogTime tip: To help your puppy learn to decipher our strange language, give clear instructions and lots of feedback in the form of verbal cues and delicious rewards.

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Veterinarian and animal behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar and his wife, dog trainer Kelly Dunbar, collaborate on DogStarDaily.com, OpenPaw.org, and DogTime, where they serve as contributing editors. They're dedicated to strengthening the bond between people and their dogs through training in order to keep dogs in their original homes and out of shelters.

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