Step I - getting the puppy's attention

The only way your puppy will ever learn to respond to your commands is if you can first attract their attention and encourage the puppy to home in on YOU. A young puppy will generally look at you and prick their ears up when you speak to him. It is vital that you are able to keep this attention in order to proceed with further training.

Once your puppy really knows their name, attracting their attention is easy.  It is amazing how many adult dogs do not know their names.  Their owners would not agree, but ask them to call the dog when he is not already paying attention to them and see if he responds.  How many times does the owner have to call the dog's name before they are acknowledged (and how loud do they end up shouting?).  Eventually, many people will resort to words like biscuit or walkies to get attention.  These words, said in an excited tone get a response, so why not the dog's own name? The truth is, all too often, nobody has ever taken the time to really teach the dog that it's name has any importance, but words like biscuit are very important.

Puppies respond to almost anything said in a friendly tone, so it is easy to assume that they have recognised the name when it is jumbled up with a whole load of other words. Time spent now on teaching your puppy his name, and practicing attracting his attention is an ideal base for future training.

Teaching your puppy his name

Several times a day, take a few minutes to reinforce your puppy' s name.  Arm yourself with some titbits and toys and put your puppy on his lead.  The lead is helpful to give you some gentle control over the pup' s movements - should he decide that something else is more interesting, you can stop him from wandering off without having to chase him.  You are in charge.  Use your titbits and toys to attract the pup' s attention, call his name, and reward him for looking at you. Next, hold the titbit up to your face so the puppy has to look up at you when he responds to your calling his name.  Repeat this several times and the puppy will soon learn that, when they look up at you, they are rewarded. 

At the same time as you reward the puppy with a food treat, also use verbal praise, tell the puppy they are good.  As you progress, the sound of your voice will be the reward, the occasional titbit merely a bonus.  Repeat the exercise using a toy to attract the pup' s attention. Call their name and squeak a toy, or tap a ball on the floor.  Hold the toy up to your face, call the pup' s name, then throw the toy gently (remember, he is on the lead so don't throw the ball too far!).  Allow the puppy to chase the toy, and gently guide him back to you to continue the game.

Experiment with different toys, treats and tones of voice to learn what works best for your puppy. Always reward your puppy when he responds to his name and he will come to know that that specific sound reallv is his own name.  An example session with 'Rover' the puppy:

Once you can be confident of getting your puppy' s attention and holding it for a few moments at a time, you will be able to start incorporating recalls and positions into your training sessions.

Step 2 -teaching your puppy to sit

Whv? A dog in a sitting position is more relaxed and attentive than one that is bouncing around. The dog can pay attention to you and take their cues as to what to do next from you when they are sitting quietly. You can slip a collar and lead on, examine them and groom them easily from a sitting position. The sitting position is ideal for the dog to greet people. A puppy leaping up on visitors is cute, but a 30 kg muddy monster may not be so welcome!

How? With the puppy on their lead to stop them wandering off, attract their attention with a toy or tit bit and slowly raise the reward above their head. The pup' s head should follow the treat and, as the head comes up. the bottom must go down, placing the puppy naturally into a sitting position. At the exact instant that the puppy' s bottom touches the ground, give him the food treat and praise them, but DO NOT SAY SIT

Repeat the exercise a number of times, until the puppy understands what you expect from them. Some puppys catch on very quickly, others will take a little longer. Once you are sure that the pup will sit as you raise the hand with the treat, start saying 'SIT' as you give them the treat at the exact moment he assumes the sit position so they can associate the action with the word. Do not be tempted to use the command before you are confident that the pup understands what you want from them.  Remember, at this stage, the pup does not yet know what 'sit' means - it is just a noise. 

If you use the word repeatedly while they are jumping around, they will learn to associate the word with what they were doing when you said it. 'Sit' could come to mean leap around and play, not park your bottom on the ground!  Dogs understand body language far more readily than they understand our verbal form of communication. In time, you will be able to phase out the hand signal and use the word 'sit' alone, but do not be in too much of a rush to do so.

Get into the habit of giving only one command.  If you have to keep repeating yourself, you are either not keeping the puppy's attention or he does not understand what you want.  Go back to the beginning, show them again, and reward them every time he gets it right.

As soon as your puppy has caught on to the idea of sitting when he is asked, it is a good idea to get into the habit of asking them to sit and briefly attend to you before they get anything they want. In dog language, this is simply good manners.  Ask the puppy to sit and attend to you briefly before you feed him, play a game, groom them, put their lead on, give them a cuddle or proceed with other training.

Teaching the puppy to come when called 

Why?

Very young puppies tend to follow their people around, and it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security that this will continue forever! Sooner or later you will take your puppy for walks somewhere with many interesting distractions and for the safety and sanity of all concerned it helps if you are confident the puppy will come back.  Many dogs are never allowed to run free as their owners are afraid they will not come back when called. This is very frustrating for the dog and makes it difficult for them to express normal canine behaviours.

Method

Your puppy will be eager to return to you if you make sure that you are the most exciting thing around! This is very easy in the house with no major distractions but can be a little more difficult in the park where there are other dogs to play with, or even at puppy playgroup! Enhancing your puppy appeal may involve titbits, toys and your voice.

Remember that your puppy' s line of focus is very low to the ground, so don't be afraid to get down to his level - bend or kneel down and tap the floor, shake a toy or clap your hands.  As with any training exercise, always gain the puppy's attention before issuing any commands. Have their interest focused on you and, once you are sure they are coming towards you call their name and the word 'come'. Lots of praise is needed every time the puppy comes to you, even when you have not called him. If the puppy becomes distracted before they reach you, back away from them, making lots of exciting noises to attract their attention.

Do not be tempted to go after them - this will turn into a terrific (for the puppy) chasing game and they will probably win!  Always praise the puppy when they come to you, no matter how long it takes.  Have the puppy come close enough to you that you can touch his collar (this will be helpful in the future when you need them to come back and have his lead put on), and offer the food reward as you do so. 

Especially while your puppy is young, they will probably stay fairly close to you on walks and will return to you regularly for reassurance.  Take advantage of this, and encourage them to turn this into a habit for life.  Whenever you see your puppy coming towards you of their own free will, call their name and 'come' and reward them with praise, and a game or food treat when they reach you.  Let them go away again, saying 'good boy, go play' or similar, to continue the game - it's no fun coming back if you just get put straight on the lead every time.

Key points for successful training

Training should be fun for both of you -incorporate training exercises into games the puppy enjoys

Keep the play/training sessions short but frequent and varied

Before a meal is better than after, no-one works well on a full stomach, puppies included

Remember to allow for titbits used in training when planning your puppy' s diet. They are not extras but part of his daily ration (pieces of dry complete puppy food make ideal training treats)

Be consistent, Make a list of words you wish to use and make sure everyone dealing with the puppy knows them.

Make sure everyone understands the method of training and follows it.