Training Tips, Tricks, & Resources
One of the most common questions we receive is about training your Live + Love Doodle pup. Below, we have some training tips, links to videos, and general advice about training your puppy, but the biggest tip we have? Be patient! Training takes lots of patience, repetition, and positive reinforcement. There are tons of resources online for training your puppy, but we wanted to highlight a few things that have been game-changers for our pack.
We’d also like to note that the route with training is 100% up to you. Some of our Live+Love Doodle owners handle all training themselves, others send their pup to a board and train, and still others attend weekly training with their pups. And some do a combination of all three! You have to decide what is best for you and your new Doodle buddy.
Keep your training sessions short! Remember that puppies are not unlike your average toddler. Short training sessions (no more than 15 minutes) throughout the day are far more effective than one training session. Incorporating training into your day takes a minute, but with time it becomes a rhythm. Some of the best training comes when you’ve got a few spare minutes - waiting for water to boil on the stove, while you are on a walk, or right before you feed your pup.
Sit, stay, down, off, leave it, and come are a great foundation for a ton of other commands that are awesome for your dog and your family. And remember, training isn’t just about behavior, it’s also a great way to bond with your dog and learn to communicate with them more fluently. Training should be fun for the both of you - it’s all about patience, creativity, and lots of love.
General Resources
We love the following websites, apps, and social media accounts for their training tips, videos, and resources:
The Dogo App - this app helps you keep track of training with reminders, a built-in clicker, and step-by-step "how-to” instructions for each command. It starts with the foundational commands and goes all the way to trick training.
The Spruce Pets - this website has a TON of tips not only for training, but also for enrichment, health, and other resources, all compiled with the help of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. As always, consult your own veterinarian and do your own research when it comes to your puppy!
Zak George - his YouTube channel is great and filled with lots of tips, how-tos, and resources.
The American Kennel Club - the AKC has a long history of providing excellent training resources and guidance on health for all dogs, not just registered breeds. It’s also a great resource for understanding Poodles, Golden Retrievers, Irish Setters, and Labradors and how they respond best for training (which is great when you have a Doodle, which is a hybrid!)
McCann Dog Trainers - based in Ontario, Canada, the McCann’s offer excellent resources on everything from the first 24 hours with your puppy at home to trick training videos. We love their New Puppy Series that helps with everything from bringing your puppy home to kennel training and potty training.
There are also some incredible dog trainers on Instagram these days that offer tons of tips and valuable advice in short, easy to save/remember tidbits. We’ve included a few of our favorites!
Kane9 Dog Training - for training
Bindi’s Bucket List - for enrichment ideas
Dogtor Linlin, Ph.D., CPDT-KA - for training and enrichment
Kennel Training
We highly recommend kennel training your puppy for many reasons, even if you plan on letting them be out and about in the house while you are gone or during the night once they get older. Kennel training is meant not only to keep a dog contained, but to provide a safe space for your dog to go to when they are tired, overwhelmed, stressed, or need a little downtime. We would also like to point out that Kennel training is a game-changer in the face of emergencies.
We personally live in an area prone to wildfires, which means during fire season, we could be evacuated at any moment. A kennel can help with ease and safety during transport and providing them safety and comfort in a strange new place in the face of evacuation or simply when things get too stressful (think lots of people in the house, a thunderstorm, or even just situations where they need a little space to chill without being interrupted or distracted). Each of our dogs, from the biggest to the smallest, is kennel trained.
Potty Training
We’ve included a few resources on potty training for you but wanted to add some tips and reminders.
Maintaining a routine and schedule when beginning potty training is key. Take your puppy outside after meals, naps, and playtime - that’s naturally when your puppy will need to go. When they leave their kennel after being in it for an extended period of time, take them out (it’s instinctive for them to not go to the bathroom in the space where they sleep).
A good rule of thumb is that most small- and medium-sized dogs can hold it half the number of hours of weeks old they are. For example, an eight-week-old puppy will definitely need to go out every four hours while potty training, while a 12-week old puppy can probably hold it for about 6 hours.
Potty Bells. We send each puppy home with a set of potty bells for you to hang on or near the door you will use most often to take your puppy out. They make life so much easier in the long run for your dog - you know exactly what they need and don’t have to determine if their pacing or restlessness is them needing to relieve themselves, or because they want attention.
Each time you take your puppy outside to go potty, have them ring the bell and give them loads of praise. Some dogs will prefer to use their nose, others will bat at the bells - whichever works, works. Pretty soon they’ll be ringing the bells on their own to let you know they need to go outside! The trick is consistency and lots of positive reinforcement.
(Disclaimer - at least one of the Live + Love Doodle pups has discovered the potty bells are also a really great way to let her mom know she and her fur sister want to go play outside, too, so be warned that some of our puppies are a little too smart!)
Minimize distractions. We suggest that while potty training you pick a spot for your pup to go and stick with it until they’re fully trained, that way it’s familiar, and they won’t get distracted by new sights and smells. Try not to talk to them or praise them until they’ve finished going to the bathroom - then shower them in love and praise so they know they did a great job at going to the bathroom outside instead of inside.
Resources:
“How to Housebreak Your Puppy” (The Spruce Pets)
“How to Potty Train Your Puppy” (Preventative Vet)
Training Treats
Treats can be divided into two camps when it comes to training - high value and low value. Low-value treats tend to be your “normal” dog treats, whether it’s kibble, biscuits, or a bag of training treats that you would find at the pet store like the Blue Buffalo or Full Moon brands. High-value, on the other hand, is the good stuff to your dog! It’s what they wouldn’t get on a regular basis during a training session, like chopped chicken or ham, cheese, jerky, or peanut butter (one of the little peanut butter squeeze pouches is great and less messy). High-value treats are better at keeping your dog’s attention (the smellier the better) and invite an extra measure of focus from your pup.
Low-value rewards/treats are great for reinforcing something your dog already knows how to do like the back of their hand (paw?). High-value treats are better when you are introducing new commands or training commands that are a little more complex, or require a little more focus from your dog.
Other Commands We Love
Most commands are built on the foundation of sit/stay/down/come commands. We’ve shared just a few that we love. You can find step-by-step training tips online and even on social media these days!
Place. Place is a great “alternate behavior” command. Place is a command that gives your pup a job to do in any situation - to settle and thereby avoid undesirable behavior like barking or getting underfoot or even winding themselves up further. Place is great for a number of situations, but these are ones where we’ve found the command to be really handy:
When the doorbell rings and you don’t want your pup trying to get out or give too enthusiastic a greeting
A glass broke and shards were all over the kitchen - place helped avoid glass in a pup’s paws while it was cleaned up
When your dog won’t settle because they’ve wound themselves up
During cooking and mealtimes to avoid begging and them being underfoot in the kitchen
When there is a lot going on and you don’t want your dog to be involved (i.e. when you’ve got people over and lots of unfamiliar kids running around, when there’s food closer to their level, when you are working with another dog nearby, etc.)
When you’ve come inside from the rain or snow and want your pup to stay still until you can grab a towel to dry them off (no one likes muddy pawprints everywhere)
When you’re working or learning from home and are in the middle of a Zoom meeting and need zero distractions (as much as coworkers and classmates would love a peek at your adorable doodle baby)
Place is essentially “lay down + stay” in a specific spot - on a cot or dog bed, a specific corner of the room where they are out of the way, or even a spot in the shade on a hot day- until they are released. You can use a makeshift “place” spot when you’re out and about - a patch of grass, a blanket or sweatshirt, or even the back of the car.
Watch Me. Watch me is a great command for regaining your pup’s focus on you, especially with a lot of distractions going on. It’s a great initial “attention” command before you give a second command to your pup. It’s essentially calling your dog’s attention and asking them to focus solely on you, making eye contact, before you release them or ask them to do something further.
Touch. Okay. This one comes with a story. Touch is a great command to help your puppy through his/her fear phase. Training nose targeting, or touch, is a great way to help build confidence as a dog explores the world around them. It’s all about having your dog touch their nose to a target, and where their nose goes, the body follows. Start with asking them to touch your palm before moving on to other objects. You can use touch to help them investigate things that might seem “scary” (basically, objects they’ve never encountered before) and grow in confidence.
Here comes storytime. Meg, our social media girl, has a big Black Mouth Cur who can seem a little scary at times but loves kids. Using touch as a “foundation command” she was able to teach her dog “boop” - to touch his nose gently to your fingertip when asked. This is the command that kiddos can use instead of high five to interact and “train with” her dog (because her dog, Bo, can get a little overenthusiastic with the high fives and unintentionally knock over smaller humans).
Enrichment
Enrichment is a great way to stimulate your pup’s brain, satisfy natural instincts, and generally let your pup have fun! Just like people, dogs love a little variety in their lives to keep things interesting. Enrichment also helps alleviate boredom and anxiety in your puppy and is just a lot of fun for both you and your pup. Enrichment includes everything from ‘sniffaris’ (walks where you let your dog stop and sniff everything they want), food puzzles, hide and seek with their toys, and stuffed, frozen Kongs.
Enrichment is great for every day, but especially great for days when your pup can’t be outside for very long due to inclement weather or when they are on bed/kennel rest (like after a spay/neuter). Tailor enrichment activities to you and your pup, and remember that you don’t need to spend loads of money on enrichment tools for your dog to love what they are doing. A lot of household items can be used as enrichment items for your pup.
Here are a few resources on enrichment that we really like:
“Dog Enrichment: Toys, Games & DIY Ideas” (Preventative Vet)
“Mental Stimulation for Dogs” (The Modern Dog Trainer)
“Twenty One Simple Tricks to Make Your Dog Happier, Smarter & Less Bored Every Day” (Rover)
“Ten Canine Enrichment Games & Activities” (Puppy Leaks)
Fear Periods
You might have heard about the ‘fear periods’ that puppies go through, but what is a fear period? Fear periods are critical weeks in a puppy’s development when it is especially important for puppies to be introduced safely and intentionally to new sights, scents, sounds, and experiences. Things that didn’t faze them a hundred times before suddenly are Very Scary Things To Avoid All Costs to your puppy. These weeks are developmentally normal and are easier to navigate when you’re prepared for them. It can be a little jarring when your well-socialized puppy suddenly becomes easily spooked or fearful seemingly overnight, but don’t worry! You both will get through this! Stock up on the training treats, stay calm, and everything will be okay.
There are two main fear periods most puppies go through - between 8-11 weeks and 6-14 months.
Between 8 and 11 weeks, unfortunately, coincides with when you are bringing your new Doodle buddy home. You already anticipate a learning curve as they adjust to their new home Take the time to slowly introduce your puppy to new people and experiences without forcing them to interact.
Between 6 and 14 months is the fear period that takes most dog owners by surprise. It can feel overwhelming because suddenly it feels like everything you’ve worked on with your puppy has disappeared overnight. The trick to getting through this fear period is allowing your puppy to explore and engage at their comfort level, reward them for looking to you for guidance, and engaging with the thing that is making them afraid.
We’ve compiled some resources regarding fear periods and training for you to make things a little easier:
“Puppy Fear Periods: Why is My Puppy Suddenly Afraid?” (American Kennel Club)
“Understanding Fear Periods in Dogs” (The Anxious Pet)
“Sudden Behavior Changes in a Growing Puppy: The Second Fear Period” (Take the Lead K9 Training)
“Why is My Dog Suddenly Afraid of Everything From Hats to Street Signs?” (Rover)