Motivational Puppy Training

When you are obedience training an adult dog there is a balancing act that you must perform. You should motivate your dog to perform the correct behavior and you should correct your dog (e.g. a jerk on the leash) for disobedience of a behavior. Using this formula your dog learns that obedience is fun, but it is also necessary. Too much compulsion and not enough motivation leads to a depressed dog. Too much motivation and not enough compulsion leads to a dog that enjoys obedience, but will only be obedient when he feels like it. When training puppies the formula needs to be altered.

Because they are young, puppies are much more sensitive than adult dogs. Corrections, or compulsion, should be used very sparingly. You must rely heavily on motivation when teaching your puppy obedience.


Many dog owners ask, “How soon can you start training a puppy?” The answer is, right away. At 8 weeks of age you can use motivational techniques to show your dog what certain obedience behaviors are.

The best way to motivate a young puppy is with food. Most puppies love to eat so you can harness that desire to teach them obedience. Grab a handful of your puppies kibble to use as a reward, put him on a leash and let’s get to work.

Pull up gently on the leash while placing pressure on your puppy’s rear with your hand and telling him ‘sit’. The moment his rear hits the ground give him a piece of kibble and tell him what a good boy he is. Do this A LOT. Repetition is key. The more you do this the more it will become ingrained in his little head what ‘sit’ means. Until your puppy understands completely what ‘sit’ means, don’t try this without having a food reward ready. Once he does understand, wean him off the use of food rewards slowly.

Do the same thing for ‘lie down’. Use food to guide his nose toward the ground, while placing a bit of pressure on his back, and telling him ‘lie down’. Be consistent and soon he will understand what ‘lie down’ means.

The most important command to teach him with food is coming when called. Call to your puppy and use whatever you need to get him to you, such as clapping or calling his name. When he gets to you give him his food reward right away. Make it a fun adventure to come when called. Make sure that every time your puppy comes to you he is rewarded in some way. A huge mistake that many people make is to make coming when called a bad experience. Maybe they catch puppy chewing on their shoe so they call out, “Puppy, come here!” Puppy, being puppy, comes bounding over where he is greeted by a spanking. Puppy doesn’t know that the spanking is for the shoe chewing, all he knows is that maybe next time he won’t come when called because there might be a spanking when he gets there.

Just remember, no matter what you are teaching your young puppy, use motivation to get best results.