You brought your unbearably cute, soft and sweet 8-week-old puppy home. Maybe you have been waiting for this moment for months, or, perhaps, you acquired a dog on a whim—whatever your situation was, you are determined to provide the best possible care for your new companion.
Everyone knows that you are supposed to start “training” your puppy the second you bring them home. However, anyone who has actually met a baby puppy will be perplexed: their attention span is 8 seconds at best, and they seem to be existing in two mutually exclusive states: dead asleep or wicked crazy. How exactly is one supposed to “train” something coherent until that puppy is at least a little bit older?
See, the training at this age is not exactly about precision or coherence. In fact, it is not about these or other easily named, tangible things at all.
These early stages are all about feelings and relationships, which are built concomitantly with—or as a positive consequence of—a specific course of action. But what exactly should you do with your new puppy, potty training and crate training aside?
You can teach the most important thing any dog can know: lay a solid foundation for your recall while your puppy is very young. At a young age, your puppy will naturally follow you wherever you go, sort of like a duckling follows its mother. This instinct—to follow what your puppy perceives as its pack—is stronger at the age of 8-12 weeks than chasing small animals or than greeting other dogs and people. Use this instinct to reinforce your puppy’s desire to be with you.
An amazing game I absolutely love to play with my very young puppies is “hide-and-seek.” I go to a low-distractions place and let my puppy drag a long thin line. I am waiting for my puppy to get distracted, and as soon as they get carried away by a scent or a butterfly or anything else, I jump behind a bush or a tree and freeze. No sounds, no leash jerking – nothing, as if I disappeared into the air. Of course, in case there is any danger, I hold on to my long line.
I am waiting very still and quiet for a precious moment, when a puppy all of a sudden “remembers” about me and starts scanning its environment. With small puppies, you only have to wait a few seconds. Then the ears will go up, the nose will start sniffing the air, and they will look all sad and lost. Some puppies will try to find their person, while others will sit and start whining.
When you see that your puppy is “stuck” and cannot find you, use your recall command and then enjoy the speed with which your dog will be flying towards you. Play this game a few times a week, and you will notice that your dog understands the recall very well and that they will try to keep an eye on you really hard in case you decide to hide.
This vigilance disappears as they stop being super needy and start enjoying the outside world more, but your recall foundation, built during the stage when your dog’s personality is still easily malleable, will be there, and it will be STRONG.
Even though raising that 8-week-old puppy might seem intense and burdensome at times, keep in mind that this specific age gives you the ability to shape a canine companion in accordance with your own lifestyle, your own needs, and your own preferences. In a way, it is a luxury, and every second of these first four weeks can be made meaningful with correct guidance and a clear understanding of what it is you seek to accomplish in a grown-up dog.