First 5 Commands to Teach Your Puppy

When puppies first come home, they are all sweet and cuddly. But when the newness wears off – watch out! Here are the first 5 commands to teach your puppy so it won’t jump on you and everyone who walks through your front door!

You’ll want to get these first 5 commands to teach your puppy down so you’ll enjoy your pup more.

Remember – correction and reward go hand in hand. Saying “No” in a firm voice should be enough. Be sure to have high-quality puppy treats on hand for rewarding your puppy.

Saying “No” in a firm voice should be enough. Having high-quality puppy treats on hand for rewarding your puppy is always a good thing.

Related: New Puppy Essentials Preparing for A Puppy(Opens in a new browser tab)

Get Started With These 5 Commands To Teach Your Puppy

• teach your puppy to come to you
• teach your puppy to sit *
• teach your puppy to stay
• teach your puppy to heel
• teach your puppy to lay down

I suppose teaching your puppy these first 5 commands yourself is probably the best thing to do. However, taking them to puppy school is an option too. I’ll admit, we are having a hard time teaching our new lab puppy these commands. All he wants to do is jump on us and swing those paws of his right in our face. Not sure I can wait until August when he goes off to “real” training school. More on that later in the year.

Related: Important Puppy Owner Checklist(Opens in a new browser tab)

*Yesterday, my son and I went to a local pet store for our first puppy training session. When I talked with her in the store last week, she vaguely told me how to get Jett to sit on my command. Well, I went home, and I followed her advice. Do you know…that puppy sat on my command!!! I didn’t realize how easy it was. All I did was raise my hand over his nose (with a treat in it, of course) and told him to sit. So, he sat on my command BEFORE our first puppy training. At the training, she reinforced sitting and taught us to LOOK at us when we speak. Not on the first 5 commands to teach your puppy list.

Again, remember to teach with mild correction and to praise and reward…a lot!!

Related: Ways To Bond With Your Dog(Opens in a new browser tab)

Since we have a new puppy, I have taken the time to write up a New Puppy Handbook that includes more information on how to raise a puppy. Most of my information comes from my knowledge from raising our lab puppy Jett and the AKC newsletter I received.