The first two words a new puppy must learn are his name and the word ‘NO’ or a similarly controlling word or sound. Once you have decided on a name for the new arrival, you must stick to it and not call the puppy by any other name.

Every time you first see the puppy in the morning, you should say his name. Every time his feed bowl hits the floor full of food, you should say his name, and nothing else is needed with a brand new puppy. As you call the puppy by his name at every great and exciting moment, he should start to respond to it by looking at you. Praise him each time he does this, especially if he comes to you. This is the very foundation of dog obedience, and when your dog stops what he is doing to look at you or run to you, you have a very easy task ahead of you to train the puppy to do more advanced tasks.

The second word is ‘No’ and this means ‘stop what you are doing immediately’. In these early weeks, a puppy is at his most responsive, so any training you do now will lay down the ground rules for the future. Remember many of the things that the puppy is doing now such as chewing on shoes, or pinching food may amuse you at the moment but it will not seem so amusing when the puppy is a fully-grown dog.

A puppy does not know if he is doing something wrong so it is up to you to teach him. A firm but steady  “NO” uttered in a low voice should be enough to stop any unwanted behaviour. If it isn’t then you need to play with your tone of voice until you get the response you are looking for. Usually a growling sound works to grab attention with a young puppy as he will associate it with his mother from the day he was born, and gradually you will find you don’t need to include it any longer, but it is always there (in his memory) for more difficult situations or where he is extremely involved in something and not paying much attention.

Bear in mind that the puppy has come to you without any bad habits. It is always the owner or something which happens whilst in the new owner’s care which creates future problems by subconsciously rewarding unwanted behaviour, either directly or indirectly. Try to stay one step ahead of the puppy by laying down ground rules and sticking to them. It will pay off in the long run, as much for the dog as for yourself, and certainly benefiting you both in terms of the unfailing bond which will undoubtedly grow between you.