Fluffy black Pomeranian sitting in a wire crate — If you look at any puppy training program, you’ll see that most of them have a list of behaviors your puppy will learn, like sit, down, come, and stay.
Your puppy already knows how to do all of these behaviors, though, so why do we need to “teach” them?
The answer is that we don’t. Not if you, the puppy’s person, have some grasp on how your puppy learns.

*Boo sits in a crate watching me because I toss a treat in there whenever he goes in, and now he’s convinced that sitting there staring at me is the ticket to ALL GOOD THINGS*

How Puppies Learn

Like all animals, puppies learn through the consequences of their behaviors. If they do something and something good happens for them, they’re likely to do the thing again. If something bad happens to them, they are less likely to do it again.

The problem, and the reason so many people struggle to train their puppies, is that we’re a reactive bunch. We don’t usually notice all of our puppies' desirable behaviors; we only see and react to their undesirable behaviors.

Puppies quickly learn that undesirable behaviors are the best because they get the puppy what it wants and needs: a connection with you.

Paying Attention to Behaviors You Want

You could almost completely train your puppy just by making a big deal about the desirable behaviors they offer and managing or preventing the rest. For example, if you chase your puppy, screaming at them to “Drop it!” when they grab your sock, but completely ignore them when they grab a toy, which do you think your puppy will grab more often?

Unfortunately, this is far more difficult than it sounds simply because we are wired to respond to things we don’t like and often fail to notice or react to what we do. This is why things like jumping are so difficult to stop. We spend a lot of time reinforcing that behavior by telling our puppies “Off” or “Down” and pushing them off of us instead of preventing them from jumping in the first place and giving them extra attention when all four feet are on the floor.

The cool thing about noticing and responding to your puppy’s desirable behaviors is that the more you respond to those behaviors, the more your puppy will do them, which means they’ll have less time and opportunity to get into trouble.

Putting It Into Practice

Try this yourself at home! Start with something simple, like “sit” or “down.” Whenever you see your puppy do either of these behaviors, praise them, give them a little treat, or invite them to engage with you for cuddles or play. Do this every time they offer a sit or down and see how much more frequently they offer these behaviors each day.