1. If you have a new puppy, train it as early as possible
It’s entirely possible to train an older dog – but it does take more work! The earlier you can start training your puppy the better. There is no minimum age to start training, you can start the less intensive basics almost as soon as you get the puppy. This will go a long way to making dog training easier in the future.

2. Make sure you don’t give your dog reason to disobey
When training, it can be tempting to give commands constantly even if you can’t always enforce them. Never, ever give a command to your dog that you can’t enforce if the dog doesn’t do as you want it to. This will only teach your dog that it can obey your commands when it wants.

3. Avoid repeating commands
You want to train your dog to respond immediately and at the first command, so avoid repeating commands. Each command should be said once, in a clear and concise manner. After this you need to enforce it in a gentle way.

4. Train your dog when it’s hungry and not sleepy
If you train your dog straight after a meal it is going to be a lot less bothered about the treats you’ll use as a reward. If it’s hungry though, it will want to please to get the treats which can aid the training process. Of course that doesn’t mean starve a dog before training! Like humans, dogs also learn best when they are well rested and aware, so try not to do training at night.

5. Train in short bursts
Dogs – especially puppies – have short attention spans. That means your training will be a lot more effective if you split it up into short bursts rather than one long session.