Complete Puppy Training Guide for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know


You brought home the most adorable creature you've ever seen — and now you're standing in your living room wondering if you've made a terrible mistake. The puppy won't stop biting your ankles, has already gone to the toilet on the rug twice, and shows absolutely zero interest in the word "no."

Take a breath. Every single one of those problems is completely normal — and every single one is solvable. You don't need a professional trainer, an expensive course, or years of experience. You need a clear plan, the right information, and the consistency to follow through.

This is that plan. A complete, beginner-friendly puppy training guide covering everything from day one through month six — potty training, crate training, the essential commands, socialisation, and fixing the habits that drive new puppy owners to their wits' end. Step by step, no jargon, starting today.

Quick Answer: How Do You Train a Puppy for Beginners?

Start on day one using positive reinforcement — reward correct behaviour immediately with a treat and praise, ignore or calmly redirect unwanted behaviour, and never punish. Begin with name recognition, potty training, and crate introduction in week one. Add sit, stay, come, and down in weeks two through four. Socialise your puppy to new people, animals, sounds, and environments before 16 weeks. Keep sessions to 3–5 minutes, two to three times per day. Consistency across every member of the household is the single biggest factor in how fast your puppy learns.


Table of Contents

  1. Why Puppy Training Matters — and Why Starting Now Is Critical
  2. How Puppies Learn: The Science in Plain English
  3. Your Week-by-Week Puppy Training Timeline
  4. Potty Training: The Foundation of Everything
  5. Crate Training: Building Your Puppy's Safe Space
  6. The 6 Essential Commands Every Puppy Must Learn
  7. Socialisation: The Window You Cannot Miss
  8. Fixing Common Puppy Behaviour Problems
  9. Prevention Tips for Long-Term Success
  10. Pro Tips and Mistakes to Avoid
  11. When to See a Professional
  12. FAQs
  13. Conclusion
  14. Related Posts

Why Puppy Training Matters — and Why Starting Now Is Critical

Puppy training isn't just about teaching tricks or stopping bad behaviour. It's about building the communication framework your dog will rely on for the rest of their life. A trained puppy becomes a dog you can take anywhere, trust around children and strangers, and live with comfortably in any situation.

The reason starting early matters so much comes down to the critical socialisation window. Between 3 and 16 weeks of age, a puppy's brain is in its most receptive developmental phase. Experiences encountered during this window are processed as normal parts of the world. After 16 weeks, that window begins to close — and introducing new things becomes progressively harder.

This doesn't mean an older puppy can't be trained. It absolutely can. But every week you wait is a week of habits forming — some of which will need to be unlearned before new ones can take their place. Starting at 8 weeks is dramatically easier than starting at 6 months.

📌 The Golden Rule

Training is not about control — it's about communication. Your goal is a puppy who chooses to behave well because they understand what's expected and find it rewarding. That relationship, built through positive reinforcement, produces a confident, happy dog. Compliance built through punishment produces a fearful one.






How Puppies Learn: The Science in Plain English

You don't need a degree in animal behaviour to train your puppy effectively — but understanding the basic principles behind how dogs learn will make everything you do more intentional and more effective.

Positive Reinforcement: The Method That Works

Positive reinforcement means adding something desirable immediately after a behaviour to make that behaviour more likely to happen again. In practice: puppy sits, you give a treat and praise within 1–2 seconds, puppy associates sitting with good things and repeats it. That is the entire framework. Everything else in this guide builds on that single principle.

The evidence behind positive reinforcement is overwhelming — it produces faster learning, stronger retention, and a better dog-owner relationship than any punishment-based approach. It is the method used by every credible professional trainer working today.

Timing Is Everything

The reward must arrive within 1–2 seconds of the correct behaviour for your puppy's brain to make the connection. Any longer and they're being rewarded for whatever they're doing at that moment — which may be sniffing the floor rather than sitting. A clicker is enormously useful here: it marks the exact moment of correct behaviour with a distinct sound, bridging the gap between the behaviour and the treat.

What to Ignore and What to Redirect

Behaviours that get a reaction — even a negative one — get repeated. If your puppy jumps up and you push them down, that physical interaction is its own reward. The correct response is to turn away, remove all attention, and only engage when four paws are on the floor. Remove the reward and the behaviour fades. Add a reward for the alternative behaviour and it grows. This logic applies to every problem behaviour you'll encounter.

"Every interaction with your puppy is a training moment — whether you intend it to be or not. The question isn't whether you're training your puppy. It's whether you're training them towards what you want."
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Related Reading

Best Training Treats for Puppies: What to Use, When to Use Them, and How to Get Results


Your Week-by-Week Puppy Training Timeline

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is trying to teach everything at once. Training works best when staged — building on each success before adding the next challenge. Here is a realistic framework for the first three months.



🐾 Week 1–2: Foundations (Start Day One)
  • Name recognition — your puppy's first and most important lesson
  • Potty training routine — begin immediately, first day home
  • Crate introduction — positive associations from day one
  • Basic household rules — what is allowed, what isn't
  • Gentle daily handling — paws, ears, mouth, tail
🐾 Week 3–4: First Commands
  • Sit — the gateway command, easiest to start with
  • Look / Watch me — building focus and eye contact
  • Leave it — preventing them grabbing dangerous items
  • Leash introduction — collar comfort and basic loose-lead walking
  • Continued potty and crate reinforcement every single day
🐾 Week 5–8: Building Reliability
  • Stay — start at 2 seconds, build duration gradually
  • Come / Recall — the most important safety command
  • Down — more physically demanding, takes longer to click
  • Drop it — invaluable for managing what they put in their mouth
  • Puppy class if vaccinations allow — socialisation and accountability
🐾 Month 3–6: Proofing and Real-World Skills
  • Proofing all commands in new environments and with distractions
  • Off-leash recall in safe, enclosed spaces
  • Greeting people politely — no jumping
  • Loose leash walking on real streets and in parks
  • Place / Go to your mat — settling and impulse control

Potty Training: The Foundation of Everything

Potty training is the first and most urgent priority for every new puppy owner. It starts on day one — not day three when the excitement has settled. Here is the complete system in plain terms.

Step 1: Build a Non-Negotiable Schedule

Take your puppy outside first thing every morning, after every meal, after every nap, after every play session, and last thing at night. For puppies under 12 weeks, that means going out every 1–2 hours during the day. The schedule is not flexible — miss a trip out and you are almost guaranteeing an accident inside. The general rule: a puppy can hold their bladder for roughly one hour per month of age, plus one.

Step 2: Use One Designated Spot Every Time

Take your puppy to the same area every single time. The familiar smell of previous elimination triggers the urge to go again — and over time, going to that spot becomes a reliable cue in itself. Keep them on a leash during potty breaks so they stay focused on the task rather than exploring the garden.

Step 3: Reward the Moment They Finish

The instant they finish going outside, celebrate loudly with a treat and enthusiastic praise — right there, in that moment, not when you get back inside. This is the association you are building: going outside equals the best thing that has happened all day. High-value, small, soft treats work best here because they are consumed quickly and don't interrupt the moment.



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Step 4: Clean Accidents Completely With Enzyme Cleaner

Any accident cleaned with a regular household cleaner still smells like a toilet to your puppy — the odour compounds that attract them back to the same spot remain. You must use an enzyme-based cleaner that breaks down urine molecules entirely. Re-clean every spot they have previously used, even ones you cleaned at the time with ordinary products.



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Step 5: Control Freedom Until Training Is Reliable

A puppy with free roam of the house before they are reliably trained will find spots to go that you won't discover for days. Restrict your puppy to areas you can directly supervise, use a crate when you cannot watch them, and expand their freedom one room at a time as they demonstrate 3–4 weeks of zero indoor accidents.

🚫 Never Do This

Never scold or punish your puppy for a potty accident after the fact. If you didn't catch them in the act, the moment has passed — your puppy cannot connect your frustration to something that happened two minutes ago. Punishment after the fact only creates anxiety around you, which makes potty training slower, not faster.

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Deep Dive

Decoding Your Puppy's Potty Puzzle: A Complete Guide to Solving Potty Training Problems


Crate Training: Building Your Puppy's Safe Space

A crate is not a prison. Introduced correctly, it becomes your puppy's favourite place in the house — their den, their retreat, the place they choose to go when they want to rest. It is also your most powerful tool for potty training, preventing destructive behaviour, and keeping your puppy safe when you cannot supervise them.



Choosing the Right Crate Size

Size matters significantly. The crate should be large enough for your puppy to stand up, turn around, and lie down — no larger. A crate that is too large allows them to use one end as a bathroom and still sleep comfortably at the other, which defeats the purpose entirely. Most crates come with a divider panel so you can start small and adjust as your puppy grows.



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How to Introduce the Crate Step by Step

Day 1 — Make it inviting before asking them to enter. Place the crate in a busy area of the house with soft bedding inside. Toss treats and a favourite toy in and leave the door open. Let your puppy investigate at their own pace. Do not push them inside or close the door. Goal: crate equals interesting, positive place.

Day 2–3 — Feed meals near, then inside the crate. Start by placing their food bowl just outside the entrance, then just inside, then fully inside with the door open, then with the door closed briefly while they eat. Each step builds the association between the crate and one of the best events of a puppy's day.

Day 4–7 — Build duration gradually. Once your puppy enters willingly, begin closing the door for short periods — 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes — increasing slowly over several days. Always let them out before they become distressed. Ending crate time before the anxiety starts is far more effective than trying to wait it out.

Night time — Place the crate in your bedroom. Especially in the first few weeks, keeping the crate in your bedroom allows your puppy to sense your presence and settle far more quickly than if isolated in another room. You will also hear them if they need to go out during the night, which is critical for potty training in the first month.

✅ Important

Never use the crate as punishment. The crate should never be associated with a negative experience. A crate your puppy walks into willingly is worth more than one they are forced into — and that positive relationship starts on day one.


The 6 Essential Commands Every Puppy Must Learn

There are hundreds of things you could teach your puppy. These six are the ones that matter most — the foundation every other skill builds on and the commands that will keep your dog safe and manageable for the rest of their life.

The 6 Commands at a Glance

  • Sit — The gateway command. Easiest to teach, immediately useful, and the starting point for almost every other skill. Teach this first.
  • Stay — Teaches impulse control. Start with 2 seconds and add 1–2 seconds per session before adding distance.
  • Come (Recall) — The most important safety command you will ever teach. Takes the longest to make reliable. Never, ever punish a puppy who comes to you.
  • Down — More physically vulnerable than sit so some puppies resist it initially. Go slowly and never push them into position.
  • Leave It — A potentially life-saving command that teaches your puppy to disengage from anything — food, objects, other animals.
  • Drop It — Gets things out of their mouth once they already have them. Never chase your puppy to retrieve something — it becomes a game they will repeat specifically to trigger the chase.

How to Teach Sit: Your First Training Session

Step 1 — Get their attention. Hold a treat at your puppy's nose level so they can smell it. You have their attention. Don't say anything yet — let the treat do the work.

Step 2 — Lure into position. Slowly move the treat up and back over their head. As their nose follows the treat upward, their bottom will naturally lower toward the floor. The moment their backside touches the ground — give the treat immediately and praise enthusiastically.

Step 3 — Add the word. Once your puppy reliably follows the lure (around 5–8 repetitions), begin saying "sit" clearly just before you move the treat. The word now predicts the motion — and shortly, the word alone will be enough.

Step 4 — Fade the lure. Once the word is working, begin asking for the sit without moving the treat first. Hold the treat at your side and only deliver it after your puppy responds to the verbal cue alone. This is how you transition from luring to a genuine trained command.

Apply this exact four-step process — lure, reward, add word, fade lure — to every other command. The only difference is the physical motion of the lure.

⚠️ Important

Never physically push or force your puppy into position — pushing their bottom down, pressing on their back. This creates resistance and anxiety around training. The lure method works because your puppy chooses to move into position, which produces willing, enthusiastic compliance.



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Socialisation: The Critical Window You Cannot Afford to Miss

Socialisation is the process of exposing your puppy to the wide variety of people, animals, environments, and experiences they will encounter throughout their life — in a controlled, positive way, before that exposure becomes frightening rather than fascinating.

The critical socialisation window runs from roughly 3 to 16 weeks. Experiences during this period are processed as normal parts of the world. After 16 weeks, the brain's response to novelty shifts — new things are more likely to trigger caution or fear rather than curiosity. A well-socialised puppy becomes a confident, adaptable adult. A poorly socialised one can spend their entire life being reactive or anxious about things they simply were not exposed to early enough.

What to Socialise Your Puppy To

  • People: Men, women, children of different ages, people wearing hats, uniforms, sunglasses, or using walking aids
  • Animals: Vaccinated, friendly dogs of different sizes and energy levels; cats introduced carefully; livestock if relevant to your environment
  • Sounds: Traffic, thunder, fireworks recordings played at low volume, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, busy streets
  • Surfaces: Grass, gravel, sand, metal grates, stairs, wet floors, carpet, wooden floors
  • Environments: Car rides, pet shops, outdoor café areas, parks, the vet clinic (visit just for treats before any procedures)
  • Handling: Paws, ears, mouth, and tail touched daily by different people — makes every vet visit and grooming session far easier for life

The Three Rules of Socialisation

Keep every experience positive. Never force interactions. If your puppy is hesitant, create distance, let them observe from a comfortable range, and reward calm behaviour. Flooding — forcing repeated exposure to something frightening — creates trauma, not confidence.

Quality over quantity. One calm, positive introduction to a child is worth more than ten chaotic ones. Each positive experience builds a layer of confidence. Each negative one chips it away.

Watch your puppy's body language. Relaxed ears, soft body, curious approach means comfortable. Tucked tail, low body, backing away, yawning, or lip licking means stressed. When you see stress signals, create distance and give your puppy time to recover before continuing.

⚠️ Vaccination Note

Consult your vet before exposing your puppy to unknown dogs or high-traffic dog areas before their vaccination course is complete. However, socialisation should not wait — carry your puppy to observe the world safely, invite vaccinated friendly dogs to your home, and attend puppy classes with health-screened attendees. The risk of under-socialisation is just as real as the risk of disease exposure.


Fixing Common Puppy Behaviour Problems

Every puppy comes with a standard set of frustrating behaviours. Here is how to handle the most common ones correctly — and why the most instinctive responses often make them worse.

Biting and Mouthing

Puppy biting is driven by teething, exploration, and play — it is not aggression. The correct response is the ouch-and-redirect method: make a high-pitched yelp when bitten, immediately withdraw all attention for 10–20 seconds, then re-engage and offer an appropriate chew toy. Consistent redirection across everyone in the household stops it. Inconsistency is what prolongs it.

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Full Guide

How to Stop Puppy Biting Everything in the House: A Complete Survival Guide

Jumping Up

Jumping up gets a reaction — which is rewarding even if the reaction is negative. The fix is total removal of that reward: turn your back, cross your arms, and give zero attention the moment four paws are not on the floor. The instant they land, immediately reward with calm attention and a treat. Every person your puppy meets needs to respond identically — one person who allows jumping undoes the work of everyone else.

Pulling on the Leash

A puppy pulls because pulling gets them where they want to go. Remove that reward by stopping completely the moment the leash goes tight. Stand still. The instant there is slack in the leash, mark it with a "yes" and continue walking. It is slow work and requires significant patience, but your puppy learns unambiguously: a tight leash stops all progress, a loose one allows it.

Chewing Furniture and Household Items

Manage the environment by removing access to targeted items or applying pet-safe bitter spray. Provide a constant supply of appropriate chew toys. Never leave your puppy unsupervised in an area where chewing has previously happened. A Kong stuffed with frozen peanut butter is one of the most effective chewing redirects available — it provides 20–30 minutes of focused chewing that keeps teething energy directed at the right target.



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Barking for Attention

Responding to attention-seeking barking — even to tell them to stop — rewards the barking with exactly what they wanted: your attention. The only response that works is complete, consistent ignoring until the barking stops, followed by immediate reward for the silence. It gets louder before it gets better (this is called an extinction burst — they try harder before giving up), but it works.


Prevention Tips for Long-Term Training Success

Get everyone in the household aligned before the puppy comes home. Rules are only meaningful if they are consistent. Decide in advance: what is allowed on the furniture, which rooms are off-limits, which commands you will use, how you will respond to bad behaviour. Inconsistency between family members is one of the most common causes of a confused, slow-to-train puppy.

Build a daily routine and protect it. Feed, walk, train, and rest at consistent times every day. Predictability reduces anxiety — and a calm, low-anxiety puppy learns faster and behaves better than a stressed one. Routine also means you are never caught off guard by a puppy who needs to go outside.

Train in every room and every environment. A puppy that sits reliably in the kitchen but ignores the command in the garden has not learned "sit" — they have learned "sit in the kitchen." Practise every command in every location, gradually introducing more distractions as reliability improves. This process is called proofing and it is what turns an occasional command into a reliable one.

Make training part of everyday life. Ask for a sit before every meal. Ask for a wait before going through doors. Ask for a down before playtime begins. The more training is woven into normal daily interactions rather than reserved for formal sessions, the faster it becomes automatic behaviour.

Protect the recall command above everything else. Never call your puppy to you for something they will not enjoy — nail trims, the end of play, a bath. If coming to you sometimes leads to something unpleasant, the recall becomes unreliable. Go and get them for the things they dislike, and reserve the recall exclusively for positive outcomes.

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Related Reading

Your First Week with a New Puppy: The Ultimate Checklist for a Smooth Start


Pro Tips and Mistakes to Avoid

Pro Tips

End every training session on a success. If your puppy is struggling with a new command, do not end the session there. Ask for something they know confidently — their name, a sit — reward it, and end on that positive note. You want them finishing every interaction with you feeling successful. That association makes them eager to engage in the next session.

Train before meals, not after. A slightly hungry puppy is a motivated puppy. Training just before a meal, when food motivation is naturally higher, produces faster responses and more enthusiastic engagement than training a puppy who has just eaten and has little reason to work for treats.

Use a clicker for precision. A clicker creates a distinct, consistent marker for the exact moment of correct behaviour — far more precise than verbal praise, which varies in timing and tone between repetitions. Once your puppy understands that a click predicts a reward, learning accelerates noticeably. It is inexpensive and immediately effective.






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Catch good behaviour and reward it proactively. Do not only interact with your puppy when they are doing something wrong. When you see them lying quietly, chewing their own toy, or sitting calmly without being asked — tell them they are brilliant and give them a treat. The more you reinforce the behaviours you want, the more of those behaviours you get.

Mistakes to Avoid

Never repeat a command multiple times. Saying "sit, sit, SIT" before your puppy responds teaches them that the first two repetitions do not matter. Say the command once, wait 3–5 seconds, and if there is no response, reset and try again with a clearer lure. One word, once, clearly — every time.

Do not train when you are frustrated. Puppies read human emotion with extraordinary sensitivity. A tense, frustrated owner produces a confused, anxious puppy that cannot learn effectively. If you are not in the right headspace, skip the session and come back when you are calm.

Do not let bad habits slide "just this once." Rules are only meaningful if they are consistent. Allowing your puppy to jump up because you are in old clothes, or letting them pull on the lead because you are in a hurry, sends the message that rules are situational. That is far harder for a puppy to learn from than a clear, consistent boundary applied every single time.

Do not expect linear progress. Puppy training is not a straight line upward. There will be days where a command your puppy knew perfectly yesterday seems completely forgotten. This is completely normal — consolidation happens during rest, not just during practice. Trust the process, stay consistent, and resist adding complexity before the foundation is solid.

🚫 The Biggest Mistake in Puppy Training

Using punishment-based methods — shouting, physical corrections, alpha rolls — does not teach a puppy what to do instead. It only creates fear and anxiety. Fear-based compliance is fragile and permanently damages the dog-owner relationship. A puppy that obeys out of fear is not well-trained — they are scared. Positive reinforcement is not the soft option. It is the effective one.




When to See a Professional Trainer or Vet

The vast majority of puppy training can be done successfully at home by a committed beginner. But there are specific situations where professional guidance is the right call — and recognising them early saves significant time and frustration.

Consider a puppy class when:

  • Vaccinations are complete and your puppy needs structured socialisation with other dogs
  • You want in-person feedback on your training technique
  • You are a first-time dog owner who would benefit from supervised guidance
  • Progress is slow and you want to identify what is not working

Consult a certified professional trainer or behaviourist when:

  • Biting is accompanied by growling, snapping, or stiff body language — signs of fear-based or conflict-based aggression rather than normal puppy play
  • Your puppy shows extreme fear responses to normal stimuli that are not improving with positive exposure
  • Behaviour is escalating rather than improving after 6–8 weeks of consistent training
  • You feel unsafe or overwhelmed by the behaviour

Contact your vet when:

  • Behaviour changes suddenly or significantly — this can indicate a medical cause
  • Your puppy seems in pain or resists handling of specific body areas
  • Anxiety or fearfulness is severe and not responding to positive exposure

📌 Choosing a Trainer

Look for trainers certified by recognised organisations such as the IAABC or CCPDT. Ask what methods they use — any trainer who recommends choke chains, prong collars, or shock collars as primary tools is not using evidence-based methods. Walk away.


Frequently Asked Questions

What age should you start training a puppy?

You can begin training from the day your puppy comes home — typically 8 weeks of age. Short, positive sessions of 3–5 minutes are appropriate from week one. The earlier you start the easier it is, because habits and associations form fastest in the first 16 weeks of a puppy's life. There is no such thing as too early for positive reinforcement training.

How long does it take to train a puppy?

Basic commands like sit, stay, and come can be taught within 1–2 weeks of consistent daily practice. Full reliability — where your puppy performs commands in any environment with any level of distraction — typically takes 4–6 months. Potty training usually clicks within 2–4 weeks of a consistent routine, with full reliability by 4–6 months. Every puppy is different and breed, temperament, and consistency all affect the timeline.

What is the first thing you should train a puppy?

The first three things to teach any new puppy are their name, the sit command, and where to go to the toilet. Name recognition builds the foundation for all future communication. Sit is the gateway command — simple, fast to teach, and immediately useful in daily life. Potty training should begin on the very first day home, before anything else.

Is it OK to train a puppy yourself or do I need a trainer?

Most puppy training can absolutely be done at home by a committed beginner. The methods in this guide — positive reinforcement, consistent routine, short daily sessions — are the same methods professional trainers use. A puppy class is a great supplement for socialisation and in-person feedback, but it is not a requirement for success. You need a professional if behaviour is fear-based, aggressive, or not improving after 6–8 weeks of consistent home training.

How many training sessions a day does a puppy need?

Two to three short sessions per day is ideal for most puppies — each lasting 3–5 minutes for puppies under 12 weeks and up to 10 minutes for puppies over 4 months. Quality matters more than quantity. A focused 5-minute session with immediate rewards produces more learning than a distracted 20-minute one. Beyond formal sessions, incorporate training into daily life at every opportunity.

What is the hardest thing to train a puppy?

Recall — coming when called — is consistently the hardest command to make reliable because it has to compete with every exciting thing in your puppy's environment. It requires the most consistent reinforcement over the longest period and must be protected carefully. Off-leash recall in a high-distraction environment is an advanced skill that takes months of progressive training to achieve reliably.


Conclusion

Puppy training is not a project with a finish line — it is a relationship you are building one interaction at a time. The foundations you lay in these first weeks and months determine the dog your puppy becomes. Get them right and you will not just have a dog that follows commands — you will have a companion who is confident, adaptable, and genuinely a pleasure to share your life with.

Start with the basics and do them consistently. Potty train from day one. Introduce the crate with positive associations. Teach sit before anything else. Socialise before the window closes. Keep sessions short, celebrate every small win, and never train with frustration. You do not need to be perfect. You need to be consistent — and that is entirely within your reach.

The chaotic, ankle-biting, furniture-chewing bundle of energy in your living room right now is going to become one of the great loves of your life. You are already doing the right thing by being here. Keep going.

What is the first command you are going to teach your puppy — and how is it going so far? Drop it in the comments below. We read every single one, and your experience might be exactly what another new puppy parent needs to hear today.



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