Your puppy's mother provides a good example of this. She will often demand the puppy lay down when he greets her. She does this by physically pushing the pup down with her paw, in effect she is requiring her pup show the proper respect. Needless to say, we do not necessarily want our pup to greet us on their belly but we do not want an undisciplined dog jumping up on us or mouthing our hand either. Require your puppy to meet you sitting in front of you and physically place him that way until he understands. Also you may want to give snacks and toss the ball but never forget to make a simple requirement first. Tell your puppy to "down" or "shake" prior to a snack or put him in a "sit stay" before throwing his ball. Remember not to nag but to only say commands once and then firmly but gently place him as you require. Simple lessons now will make his attitude toward training a joy, and he will accept your authority with out question.

Puppies will naturally play this way with their litter mates but with our fragile human skin this is not an acceptable behavior. Striking your pup will only aggravate the situation and yanking your hand away, allows him to win and become more excited with this game. Instead wait until he grasps with his mouth and without saying any thing simply wrap your hand around the pup's muzzle and force him to hold his mouth around whatever he choose to chew on, long past the time when he wants to release it. Remember there is no need to reprimand but you must be willing to hold his muzzle for 30 to 60 seconds. If you are consistent, you will only need to do this 5 or 6 times and your pup will find this kind of "play" distasteful.

A Note About Children And Puppies

Dogs bark in response to may things, a lonely dog will bark to get your attention or as a nervous habit, some dogs bark to show aggression. There is no absolute way to stop all barking but like most behaviors in moderation this is not a problem and is probably part of the reason you want a dog. This is where your earlier training will help, with the help of a simple child's cap gun. Create a situation where your dog has been known to bark and wait while out of his sight, when he begins to bark fire the cap gun, and say one firm NO! You will have to repeat this consistently but by controlling his barking he will become more secure and will come to know when it is or is not appropriate.

The day you bring your puppy home is a wonderful and frightening day for him. Every thing in him is anxious to win the hearts of his new family and rightfully so, his existence now depends on you. Dogs respond to scent the way we might to a physical presence. A thoughtful way to comfort your new pup is to prepare a scent towel at least a week ahead. Place an old towel between your mattress and the fitted sheet of your bed take turns among family members or those you would like him to bond with. During his first night in the crate place this with him, he may not stop crying entirely but he will be assured that you care about him and take comfort while growing closer to your family. Remember not to run to him at every whimper or he will soon learn to control you this way. Take him to "potty" and then put him to bed, if you do it at about the same time each night he will accept it sooner.

Never forget your dog's incredible sense of smell! You can scrub until the tell tale spot is long gone but your pup can still smell it. You must eliminate that scent with one of your own. Keep a pump bottle of white vinegar close by through the housebreaking process and when the enviable accident happens, do your final cleaning with that common vinegar (always spot check surface to be sprayed to make sure the vinegar does not adversely affect the surface). Don't forget that you can use this trait to help your training. Use a piece of newspaper to absorb residual urine before you use the vinegar, then take this paper to the spot in your yard where you'd like your pup to "go" and weigh this down with stones, when you walk your pup, bring him to this site and praise him lavishly when he performs. With consistency a pup will learn to use a specific area and the rest of the yard can remain clean. The vinegar also works for when your pup hits the wrong spot in the yard.

   What is the quickest way to pottie train my dog?

 Here is the three step program, it doesn't get any easier than this!