Complete Puppy Training Schedule by Age!

It is both a fun and demanding task to raise a puppy. A proper and balanced training regime, depending on the age of the puppy, is crucial in shaping a well-mannered, positive and healthy dog.

Taking the time to learn about your puppy’s developmental process and using consistency, patience, as well as positive reinforcement, is what creates a firm and long-lasting bond between you and your furry companion.

Training is not only about making your puppy know what you want him/her to do but also the way to think about the state of the world.

In this guide, we will be unravelling the full schedule of training a puppy based on age-appropriately so that you can equip yourself and your puppy well for training.

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Understanding Puppy Development Stages: A Quick Guide

Puppies are like sponges—they absorb everything around them.

Establishing a solid training routine from day one helps prevent common behavioural issues and promotes your dog’s overall well-being.

Newborn to 8 Weeks: The Early Socialization Period

The newborn to 8-week stage is critical for a puppy’s development.

During this time they are completely reliant on their mother for nourishment, warmth and protection.

The breeder usually takes responsibility for their care during this stage but there are still things that you can focus on when your puppy comes home at around 8 weeks.

Why this phase is critical for bonding and the beginnings of social awareness:

The newborn to 8-week refers to the critical period thought to be important in shaping puppies' concern about social relatedness.

At this stage, the puppies are socialized with litter mates, mothers and people through touch and exposure to different environments.

It assists them to gain confidence, trust, and emotional steadiness for developing further similar forms of social relations.

What you should focus on:

Gentle handling to foster trust.

Introduction to soft household sounds and environments (e.g. vacuuming kitchen noise) in a controlled manner.

8 to 12 Weeks: Building Confidence and Basic Skills

The period ranging from 8 to 12 weeks is considered the “Golden Window” for socialization.

This is when your puppy will be more willing to try and learn new things.

Why 8-12 weeks is the "Golden Window" for socialization:

This is why 8-12 weeks is regarded as the ‘Golden Window’ of socialization whereby the thermophilic puppies are highly sensitive to stimuli thus the favourable moulding of an acceptable impression of people animals or any environment.

Core focus: Basic Skills:

The most important training that should be done on puppies should be on developing basic tasks and mastering basic commands such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘come’ within 8-12 weeks.

Socialization: Socialize your puppy with people, other vaccinated doggies, and various terrains to reduce its defence mechanism.

Leash training: It is advised to start with a basic and gradual introduction of your pet to a leash. Walks should be short and positive reinforcing good leash manners right from the start.

Crate training: It could be used as a potty training tool or a place where the puppy can comfortably lay down and this has to be done in a way that the puppy will understand the crate as a safe space.

Basic commands: tart working on fundamental commands like sit, stay, and come using treats and praise to reinforce positive behaviour.

Puppy Training Week by Week: Detailed Schedule and Expectations

The puppy training calendar is a week-by-week program that will tell owners about significant achievements for puppies, each week adds new exercises, gradually building and helping the puppy adapt to the training process and keep it as a routine.

8 to 12 Weeks: Foundation Phase

This phase in particular points to the development of trust and setting the period in motion for future training.

Week 8-9: Puppy training

Have a schedule for the puppy to use the bathroom and the crate should be the puppy’s den where he or she feels comfortable to rest.

Trust and focus: Invest your time in earning your puppy's trust through the use of positive reinforcement methods. Concentrate on the command functions of teaching the puppy its name as well as focus on eye contact.

Crate training basics: Crate your puppy, and take time to familiarize him or her with the crate, using treats and praises to encourage the puppy to go inside the crate willingly. The crate time of the dogs should be increased gradually.

Potty training: Set a routine that the child has to observe when he or she is going to be taken to the washroom such as immediately after meals, naps, and playtime. The next thing you should do is take your puppy outside every time and reward him/her immediately after he/she does his/her business.

Week 10-11: Strengthening name recognition, basic commands, and leash training:

Further, in weeks 10-11, there is a need to name recall and firmness in implementing the orders such as ‘sit,’ and ‘stay. ’

Strengthening name recognition: Repeat your puppy’s name and use a positive response whenever he/she responds when you call him/her to improve on his/her response to his/her name.

Basic commands and leash training: Go on doing exercises such as the basic ones like sit, stay, and come. Introduce short walks, for any quiet behaviour on the leash, which is to be rewarded.

Week 12: Reinforce early socialization and safe exposure to new environments.

You should carry your puppy to new places, people and other animals with which the puppy should also interact always with a positive outcome.

Socialization should also be taken even to different places such as parks, stores, and many other places meant for training your puppy to be comfortable in social surroundings.

12 to 16 Weeks: The Learning and Exploration Phase

By this stage, your puppy is ready to build on the foundations established in earlier weeks.

Week 13-14:

Mastering sits, stay, and come: Continue reinforcing these commands, adding distractions to help your puppy stay focused despite external stimuli.

Introducing “leave it”: Teach your puppy to ignore objects or food they find on the ground. This can be life-saving in situations where your puppy might pick up something dangerous.

Week 15-16: Improving recall skills and practising leash manners in varied settings.

Improving recall skills: Work on recall by practising in more challenging environments like parks with other dogs present.

Practising leash manners: Encourage your puppy to walk beside you without pulling, using treats and praise to reward calm behaviour.

16 to 24 Weeks: Advanced Skills and Redirection Training

At this age, your puppy is already mature and ready to undergo a higher training level than they were adapted to before.

Week 17-18:

Introduction to more complex commands: Beginning obedience training by training commands such as ‘drop it’ and ‘off’ is useful in teaching a puppy when to stop and calm down.

Redirection training: Start to practice diverting your puppy’s attention away from undesirable behaviours (for instance, destructive behaviours such as chewing furniture, and instead engage him in something positive, such as playing with a toy).

Week 19-20:

Managing distractions: They should go on practicing impulse control and attention commands as well as enhancing the degree of distraction to the children.

Reinforcing impulse control: Some of the common things that can be trained include waiting for the food sitting down when the guests are on arrival and patience during the walk.

Week 21-24:

Focusing on off-leash training: In the secured compound it is wise to train your pet on off-leash commands such as recalls.

Consistency in behaviour: Some of the guidelines that can be employed include the following guaranteeing that commands and changes in boundaries are consistent across various settings.

Solving Common Puppy Problems by Age:

Solving common puppy problems by age involves addressing issues like whining, nipping, and potty accidents in the early weeks, followed by managing behaviours like barking, chewing, jumping, and leash pulling as your puppy grows.

8-12 Weeks: Addressing Whining, Nipping, and Potty Accidents

These are common issues at this age but can be managed with the right techniques.

Separation anxiety and whining: Crate training is useful to make the puppy comfortable when you leave him or her alone. Do not leave them in crates for long and should not use the crate as a tool to punish the animals.

Nipping and biting: Teach your puppy what is acceptable to bite and encourage the puppy to bite on appropriate objects like toys.

Potty accidents: Have a regular and somewhat rigid potty-training regimen and never scold your child when he has a ‘mishap’—just clean it up and remind him to go outside.

12-16 Weeks: Handling Excessive Barking and Chewing

This being said, you may come across several behavioural problems as your puppy grows more confident.

Excessive barking: To teach the “quiet” command, you should stop your puppy from barking by using positive reinforcement in case your puppy ceases barking. This should be done in a way that makes sense and should also address the cause of the barking.

Chewing: It is important to give your puppy a divergent of chew toys to meet the needs that come with teething.

16-24 Weeks: Curbing Jumping and Leash Pulling

At this stage many puppies start displaying behaviours like jumping on guests and pulling on the leash.

Training calm greetings: Teach your puppy to sit calmly when greeting people. Reward them for sitting instead of jumping up.

Leash training techniques: Use positive reinforcement to encourage your puppy to walk calmly beside you rewarding them for not pulling on the leash.

Tailoring Training Based on Your Puppy’s Breed and Temperament

Tailoring training to your puppy’s breed and temperament ensures that their unique energy levels and personality traits are appropriately addressed.

High-Energy Breeds: Keeping Focus and Managing Impulsivity

Different breeds such as Border Collies and Lab breeds give a lot of energy and hence require flexible training.

Exercise and play them engagingly by training them as well as by solving enigmas or riddles. Teach children to practice positive behaviours and punish those that do not portray calmness.

Shy and Timid Puppies: Building Confidence and Trust

Some puppies may be naturally more anxious or reserved.

Confidence building: The best approach to use while exposing the puppy to new experiences is to do it step by step while making every experience a happy and friendly one.

Training approach: It will take time for your puppy to build confidence therefore ensure to encourage him/her gently.

Puppy Training Tips for Busy Owners:

It is therefore important to note that even if you have to conduct training in short sessions, the training would still yield good results.

Keep it brief: The training sessions are better conducted in brief forms, for instance, 5-10 minutes if not better to conduct them often.

Focus on key commands: The Need-to activities and behaviours that are the most essential should be the most important and they should be delivered corresponding to the expectations of a certain lifestyle.

Training on the Go: Incorporating Learning into Daily Life

Busy schedules don’t mean you can’t train your puppy.

Incorporate training into daily activities: Commands should be practiced while cooking, taking a walk or even during the time you spend watching a movie on TV.

Training while running errands: It is also important to take advantage of the time when the dog is being taken outside the house to try to follow the commands as well as continued socialization of the dog.

Final Thoughts: Building a Lifelong Bond Through Training

Training is not just giving directions it is a process of learning and growing in the complex relationship shared with the dogs.

Positive behaviours are established and encouraged, together with non-violent solutions, which builds a reasonable bond between the master and the animal.