Myth Busting: Waiting until the 6th month to train a dog

Nothing riles me up more than hearing someone say,"a trainer told me you are not supposed to train a dog until they are 6 months old."

What a crock! Absolute rubbish!! Hearing people say something like that makes my stomach turn.

First, do you really think the dog isn't learning from the very first second they open their eyes and start to hear? Seriously, by the 6th month, the dog is now the human equivalent of a 7 year old child! At that point they have already made up their minds about how the world works - in my book if we start at 6 months we are "re-training" them.

Actually, good breeders (and I mean the REALLY good one's) are not only housetraining puppies by the 5th week, they are teaching them to 'sit' and pre-socializing them by exposing young puppies to lots of people, kids, loud noises and otherwise preparing the youngsters for success in our noisy, busy world! Cool huh?


Why do people recommend that you can't train a dog until they are six months old?

The most plausible reason I have heard is that trainers who use 'corrections', metal prong collars or employ "startle-techniques" (jerk the collar, pop-the-leash kinds of things) have to wait until the dog has bonded with humans first so they don't "break the dog's spirit" when training them.

Bottom line here, your dog starts learning what works and what doesn't in your house the very first second they walk in the door! Waiting to train them (especially if you have kids!) sounds ludicrous to me, but strangely I still hear about it!

Those of us who train dogs with peaceful methods (dog training methods that depend on communication and understanding) it is - completely reasonable - to have a 12 week old puppy mostly potty trained, doing simple 'sit', 'down' commands and even walking on a loose leash!

Of course, those are not my first objectives - my priorities with new puppy training are:

1. Teaching them bite inhibition - they should learn not to bite people!
2. Teaching them to accept their home as safe - including the mailman, visitors and strangers, outside things like joggers, bikes, scooters, trucks, kids, and strangers. (Socialization)
3. Teaching them to NOT protect food from us and to accept ANY touch at ANY time, from kids at the park, to the groomer, brushing their hair of teeth, or even mild-restraint at the vet or during an emergency.

Phew! That's a lot - a better summary of the essential puppy training lessons would be:

- Housetraining
- Playbiting
- Home Alone Training
- Socialization (People, Places, Things and other Dogs)
- Preventing Food Guarding
- Socialization to Touch


Remember, your dog is a learning machine! Who over hundreds if not thousands of years has learned to successfully live and co-exist with human. They are masters of learning what pushes your buttons and how to get what they want. That's why training them you rules needs to happen right away!

Gentle training methods like our Zen Dog Training system to interrupt problem behaviors can be used immediately upon getting a new dog. In fact, the ideal time for us to start In-Home Training is 2-3 days after the new puppy has arrived.

The most important training tools for puppies are the ones that create an environment for success. Confinement areas, chew toys, crate, bed, housetrining and feeding schedule, playbiting with kids or chasing cats...all potential problems that can be avoided from day 1 with good training tools!

For more information visit www.ZenDogTrainingOnline.com - See: Outsmarting your dog, and all the PDF's and Video's under "Your New Puppy"