| Re: When to actually train my pup? You can start with fun, motivational training from day one. I brought my pup home and had our first clicker training session within a couple of hours of getting home. I would NOT be doing any stay work for a while, stays can be very stressful and you want ALL the learning for the next few months to be directed toward developing a good working relationship and a dog who LOVES to work - making things negative or stressful, or asking a dog to do more than they're physically/mentally mature enough for, is a very bad idea. You can train stand, down and sit (and I would do it in that order, personally) with treats and play, you can start working on out (trade a treat for a toy), and off (hold treat in fist, say "off", wait for the puppy to stop nosing/biting/pawing at your hand for even a split second, say "yes!" and feed the treat). Be patient, keep your expectations reasonable for the age of the dog, and above all keep training short, sweet and fun.
Get some books - Ian Dunbar's "Before & After You Get Your Puppy" is a great puppy book. Also Jean Donaldson's "The Culture Clash".
__________________ Amanda
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"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx |