Puppy Training

Puppies Learn “good puppy manners” at Breakthrough K9 Training

Puppy Training - VA, MD, NC, DCThere your puppy sits, cute as a button, watching your every move with intense interest. You tell him to “come,” but he merely tilts his head.

That sweet look of confusion is enough to melt your heart – and suggest that your puppy could benefit from puppy training. Your instincts are good – and worth following.

Puppies who are at least eight weeks old can learn simple commands such as “sit,” “lie down” and “come here.” Investing the time with your puppy now will bring harmony to your home, eliminate problem behaviors later and help ensure the safety or your newest family member.

As for those adorable head tilts? We look forward to seeing them at Breakthrough K9 Training.

Puppy Socialization - Puppy Training - VA, MD, NC, DCSocialization sets your puppy on the right track

If you want your puppy to grow into a happy and well-behaved adult dog, the sooner you start training the better. Breakthrough K9 Training accepts puppies starting at 16 weeks. This ensures the puppy is up to date with all their vaccinations! Just like we can learn new languages easier in our childhood, dogs can learn socialization and proper behavior best when they are puppies. But puppies can also be unruly, so it takes rules and boundaries to set them on the right track to make you proud.

Puppy Training - VA, MD, NC, DCTraining equates to obedience and good puppy manners

You probably noticed that puppies have notoriously short attention spans. At the same time, they are like children in that their brains are growing and developing rapidly. This means they can make good students who catch on quickly and they want very much to please. This is why it’s a good idea to train a puppy in proper manners and behaviors, obedience and socialization.

At Breakthrough K9 Training we use a combination of repetition and reward to teach puppies to respond to basic commands. You’ll have an obedient puppy – and one who demonstrates “good puppy manners” around other people — when we teach some basics including how to:

  • Sit, which you’ll be glad your puppy understands when you have visitors to your home and she grows excited. An untrained puppy will be tempted to jump, poke into your guests’ belongings and scurry around underfoot. Yours will know better – minding her manners and sitting patiently until you indicate otherwise.
  • Down/Stay, which is usually the trickiest “desirable behavior” to teach a puppy. You’ll be glad you did when you need to inspect him – for a blemish, a scratch or an injury. As you probably know by now, puppies can get into everything, and being able to take a good look at your energetic bundle will help put your mind at ease.
  • Recall/Come, which puppies need to learn for a myriad of situations – except, of course, when you reach for her bowl and puppy food. Puppies seem to know exactly what to do when it’s dinner time.

Off-leash Recall - Puppy Training - VA, MD, NC, DCYou and your puppy will benefit from Breakthrough K9 Training

In addition to training your puppy, we’ll also train you. We want your puppy to respond to these commands not only when he’s in puppy board and train but also when he’s at home with you, where responsiveness really matters.

We’ll make sure that you can replicate the proper commands so you can practice at home, and with all the members of your family. Call it “puppy homework” that will make it easier for you to manage your growing puppy and ensure that good behavior around other people and in all kinds of situations – indoors, outdoors and in the car.

When you enroll in puppy board and train at Breakthrough K9 Training, expect to see another outcome, too: a deeper, closer bond that develops between you and your puppy as you share a new experience. We’ve seen it happen dozens of times, and we hope it happens to you, too – head tilts and all.

Are you and your puppy ready for a breakthrough in Puppy Training?

From our training facility in the greater Richmond, VA area, Breakthrough K9 Training proudly serves clients throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and DC.