Dog training part ii - age for early training

2. Dog Training part II - Age for
early training

3. Dog training begins virtually at birth. Dogs that are handled and petted
by humansregularlyduringthefirsteightweeksoflifearegenerallymuch
moreamenabletobeingtrained and living in human households. Ideally,
puppies should be placed in theirpermanenthomesbetweenabout8and
10weeksofage.Insomeplacesitisagainstthelawtotakepuppiesawayfrom
theirmothersbeforetheageof8weeks.Beforethisage,puppiesarestill
learningtremendousamountsofsocializationskillsfromtheirmother.Puppies
areinnatelymorefearfulofnewthingsduringtheperiodfrom10to12weeks,
whichmakesitharderforthemtoadapttoanewhome.

4. Puppiescanbeginlearningtricksandcommandsasearlyas8to12weeksof
age;theonlylimitationsarethepup'sstamina,concentration,andphysical
coordination.Itismucheasiertolivewithyoungdogsthathavealready
learnedbasiccommandssuchassit.Waitinguntilthepuppyismucholderand
largerandhasalreadylearnedbadhabitsmakesthetrainingmuchmore
difficult.

5. Therearesomeprofessionaltrainerswhodisagreewiththisidea,particularly
thosewhotrainworkingdogs,detectiondogs,policedogs,etc.Theyfeelthat
obedienceworkshouldn't start until the dog is at least a year old, or after
the prey drive has fullydeveloped.Thesetrainersalsotakethepositionthat
spayingandneuteringisharmfultothetrainingprocess,againbecauseofits
negativeimpactonthedog'spreydrive.

6. Next:DogTrainingpartIII-Communicatingwiththedog

7. To LearnMoreAboutDogTraining,go to
http://howtohousetraindog.com/go/dog-training
http://howtohousetraindog.com/go/theonlinedogtrainer