Concerning Puppy Training...

Question
I have a question on training. I am getting my Golden Retriever pup Monday, December 22nd. He is 11 weeks old. How long should the daily training sessions be? And how many times a day should I devote my time to train him to come when called, sit, stay, etc?

Concerning this, what should I train my Golden to do first and how long should that specific lesson last (in terms of days)? Should I teach him how to come when called first and stay with that lesson for a few days and then move to another lesson?

Thanks,
Ray

Answer
Congrats on the puppy. The first lessons I teach a pup are attention (without which, no other lessons are possible) and how to offer behaviors for a click) Then sit, down, and come happen easily. I will work no more than 5 minutes at a time - usually on one behavior at a time. I set it up for the puppy to give me the behavior I want, name it when it happens and reinforce with a click and a treat. If I'm asking the pup to guess what we are working on, it's important that I don't keep changing that - so I might work on sit for 2-3 minutes, and not do down until several hours later. And I never want to work a puppy until they are tired, or bored with repetition. So I'll quit with them still wanting to play. You might see if there is a good clicker class in your area. Sandy Case BFA MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com