Most of us choose a puppy when getting a new dog for the family. they are small, they are fun, they are cute. Along with a puppy comes a great deal of responsibility to train it well so it will develop into an obedient, happy, adult dog. It's no use starting to train your puppy as soon as you get it - you will need to create a bond with it first ( and this will take at least a couple of weeks ). You should start to train your puppy at the age of seven weeks, they will be much more open to training methods at this time.

It is important early on in the puppy's training to teach it the relevance of it's own name, give it an identity. It sounds strange but the puppy will start to feel like a special member of the family when it is given it's own name. Training with this new name becomes much easier - call the puppy by his name and reward him when he comes to you ( remember to make a big fuss at his success and smile broadly ). Having your puppy respond to it's name is great but make sure this is not the only thing it responds to. After it has learned it's name try teaching it the basic commands like 'stay', 'sit' etc.

It has been proven that just using verbal commands of human language will not be enough to teach your puppy it's new tricks. You must always try to use facial expressions and eye contact when teaching the basics. For example, look downwards at the floor when you command the puppy to 'sit'. The puppy will enjoy the learning activities so remember to keep them up. Always look to create new games and training techniques and don't leave the dog to it's own devices to often - that's just lazy.

There are many different games you can play with your puppy. One of the most harmless and popular game would be to let the puppy smell a sock or a toy. Once the puppy has the scent of the item then hide the item around the house and follow him as he tries to find it. This game will help create a bond with the dog as well as prove to be a great activity.

So enjoy the early weeks and months with your puppy, it will grow up faster than you think. By implementing various puppy training activities you will end up with an obedient, well rounded, adult dog.