how we train

Puppy
Training

Get it right the first time.
individualized puppy training.

Puppy training programs begin by putting together a comprehensive plan to get your puppy on the right path with potty training, crate training, socialization, healthcare, and nuisance behaviors such as nipping and chewing.  These are areas that are critical to address from the start to avoid behavior problems later in life. 

We recommend scheduling your initial puppy consultation before your puppy comes home or as soon as possible.  Then, when obedience training begins around 16 weeks of age, you’ll be asked to think in detail about what skills will be important for your puppy to have as they spend the next years as part of your family. 

Some common goals include:

about socialization

A common misconception is that socialization means interacting with other people and dogs. This leads many new puppy owners to look for puppy training classes or socialization classes. In reality, proper socialization most often entails exposure to other people and dogs, but limited interaction with them. True socialization focuses on environmentals such as unique sounds, sights, surfaces, and sensations. 

The truth is that over-socialization is just as detrimental for a puppy as under-socialization. That’s why we avoid group puppy training classes and come to your home instead. There, we can evaluate your individual puppy’s socialization needs and build a strategic approach that works for your home, family, and work schedule.

our puppy training schedule

As soon as you know you may be getting a puppy, schedule a free phone consultation with our Head Trainer, Mara. We always schedule a single in-home training session for the day before you bring your new puppy home, if possible. That way, you can provide perfect consistency for your puppy from the second you bring them home. 

In your initial in-home training session, we’ll customize an approach based on your puppy’s genetic personality traits and give you detailed instructions for their crate training, potty training, and socialization needs. We’ll cover everything, from how to put your puppy in the crate, where in the house to place your crate, and even what cleaner to use if an accident occurs. These critical behavior, habit-setting, and socialization instructions are what you’ll focus on on until your puppy is 14-16 weeks old.

At 14-16 weeks of age, your puppy is moving out of the Critical Socialization Period. This is when they will learn basic obedience best. At this point, you can select from any our 5 training programs for basic obedience training.

training methods

Puppy training is when we have the most focus on positive reinforcement training. When you have a young puppy under 16 weeks of age, it’s your choice whether to take a positive-only approach, or whether you want to directly nip bad habits like biting, chewing, and jumping in the bud right away. If you can ignore these behaviors until your puppy is over 16 weeks, it helps their confidence and curiosity blossom as a teenager and adult. However, some strong personalities benefit from learning sooner that these behaviors are not effective.

Once we begin obedience training, new behaviors are always taught using positive reinforcement. Then, we create reliability by sprinkling in a variety of other training methods. If your dog is not food motivated, they may respond best to a tactile cue approach instead of treat training. 

For an in depth look at the four types of conditioning we use (The 4 Quadrants of Operant Conditioning Theory and Learning Theory), view our training methods page.

Malinois puppy Austin dog training