Puppies and dogs training are two different realities, much like a child and man training. As a kid is not a miniature man, puppies are not bonsai dogs. In younger ages psyque is completely different, and react to stimulation in a very different way than adults. A kid or puppy’s mind is like a sponge absorbing millions of information that adults will find difficult to digest, or that they will simply ignore. Therefore, if you want a trained and obedient dog, you better start training him young.Some years ago it was usual to wait until the puppy was one year old to start his training, because it was considered that before that age they were too young. The only thing they were taught not to do, was to poop in the house.

This would be like starting school at twenty years of age, adducing lack of maturity for learning. Kids would probably love this idea, but we all know it’s not the right way. The most adequate age for learning is youth, though it’s necessary to adapt lessons to the possibilities of a developing mind. When young, the dog also discovers the hierarchic order within the pack, the puppy learns there is a boss, and status differences. If the animal does not accept rules from his first months of age, and does not learn to respect superiors, then he becomes an unsettled being, unable to live in groups. When puppies enter home for the first time, they instinctively tend to evaluate the “hierarchic ranks” of the family members, to identify the leader, to know who can he trust, who to follow, and with whom can he only play, without expecting something in reward.

The puppy needs the leader’s figure to give him confidence and security. That figure is a human being that replaces the mother first, and the pack leader afterwards. It’s like a ten years old kid having to do the job of city major, assuming all the responsibilities of that position. Obviously he won’t be a happy person, but all the opposite, the poor kid will become deeply confused, will not sleep at nights, overwhelmed by his job. This explains why a puppy must be directed and educated. It also explains why he must be trained in the basic house rules, like potty training. What he can and can’t do while in the house.