Early Puppy Development

More than half of my clients contact me when their dogs are between 6 months to 2 years of age and have already developed inappropriate/undesirable behaviors.

I feel that many (if not most) new puppy owners have the misconception that training should not and does not need to begin until their puppy has reached a particular age and started to develop problems. The majority of these clients are then shocked when I explain that "training" can and should begin the day the puppy enters your home (as early as 8 weeks old).

Many of the common issues that people tend to experience (including, but not limited to, biting, jumping, whining in the crate, separation anxiety, digging, destroying/chewing furniture, shoes, childrens toys, etc) as the puppy ages should have been addressed and could have been corrected at a much earlier stage in life.

I have helped to rear many puppies in my 15+ years of dog training and it has been my experience that puppies are at their most malleable between 8 - 16 weeks of age.

Owners and puppies that I had been able to influence in these early stages have tended to be the ones that experience the fewest issues and develop the strongest bonds as the puppy ages into becoming a dog. This is not to say that these puppies and owners never experience the same common issues as time passes, but they certainly tend to develop fewer issues and the issues that do develop tend to be easier to address and eradicate when the puppies have been provided a more structured life from the moment they enter their new family's lives.

By providing structure and some very basic obedience early on in the puppy's life, we are able to provide mental and physical stimulation that leads to more calm, responsive and stable behaviors as the puppy ages.