Puppy Life Skills: What Should Your Puppy Learn First?
Updated: Aug 12
Once your puppy comes home, the adventure really begins.
There are so many things we want to teach our puppies, and training can be one of the most enjoyable parts of building a relationship with them. Teaching paw, spin, roll over, or other tricks can be great fun and provides valuable mental stimulation.
However, before focusing too much on tricks, I believe there are some essential life skills every puppy should learn first.
When a new puppy enrols in training with me, one of the first things I ask the owner is:
“What does your puppy already know?”
The most common answers are usually sit, paw, spin — or sometimes nothing yet.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching tricks. But while tricks are fun, skills such as recall, focus, leave it, and staying calmly in position can actually help keep your puppy safe and make everyday life much easier.
The goal of puppy training shouldn't simply be to create a dog who can perform commands. It should be to raise a dog who can communicate with us, make good choices, cope with everyday situations, and navigate the world safely and confidently.
Keep Puppy Training Short and Positive
Puppies don't need long, intensive training sessions.
Their attention span is still developing, and trying to train for too long can lead to frustration, tiredness, and loss of interest.
Instead, I recommend incorporating training into everyday life through several short sessions throughout the day. Even 3–5 minutes at a time can be incredibly productive.
Training can happen anywhere:
During a walk
While playing
In the garden
While preparing for an outing
During some moments at home
If your puppy looks tired, frustrated, overwhelmed, or loses interest, finish the session and allow them to rest.
Quality is much more important than quantity.
What Should You Use as a Reward?
Positive reinforcement means rewarding behaviours we would like to see again.
Food is often an excellent reward because it is quick, easy, and motivating, but it isn't the only option.
Depending on your puppy, rewards could include:
Small, high-quality treats
Their favourite toy
A short game
Praise
Access to sniffing or exploring
Something else your puppy genuinely enjoys
Verbal markers such as “yes,” “good,” or “well done” can also become meaningful through learning when they are consistently associated with positive outcomes.
The important thing is to remember that the dog decides what is rewarding. A toy might be extremely valuable to one puppy and completely uninteresting to another.
Essential Skills I Recommend Teaching Puppies
1. Their Name
Before teaching lots of commands, make sure your puppy understands that their name means:
“Pay attention to me.”
Their name shouldn't become something they hear repeatedly in the background or something primarily associated with being told off.
Say their name once and reward them when they orient towards you.
This creates a positive association with hearing their name and forms the foundation for communication.
2. Watch / Focus
Focus is one of the foundations of training.
Before we can ask a puppy to perform behaviours around distractions, they first need to learn how to disengage from the environment and reconnect with us.
Start somewhere quiet and gradually introduce distractions as your puppy becomes more confident.
Good focus can make future training considerably easier, particularly outdoors.
3. Sit
Sit is simple, but incredibly useful.
It can help puppies learn to pause instead of immediately acting on excitement.
You can use it in many everyday situations, such as waiting before crossing a road, greeting someone calmly, or waiting while you prepare to go outside.
However, your puppy doesn't need to sit before absolutely everything. It is simply one useful behaviour among many.
4. Down
Down is another useful position that can help your puppy learn to settle and remain in one place.
It can be particularly useful in cafés, waiting rooms, public places, or when you simply want your dog to relax near you.
I don't view down as a “submissive” behaviour. It is simply a trained position that can become part of teaching relaxation and self-control.
And remember: if somebody wants to interact with your puppy, your puppy should always have the choice to participate or move away.
5. Come / Recall
Recall is one of the most important behaviours you will ever teach.
A reliable recall can potentially save your dog's life.
It also gives your dog greater freedom later because you can safely allow more opportunities to explore when appropriate.
Recall training should always be positive.
Avoid calling your puppy to you only when something enjoyable is about to end. We want:
“Come!”
to predict something fantastic — not “fun is over.”
A long training line is an excellent tool for practising recall safely outdoors while your puppy is still learning.
6. Stay / Wait
Teaching your puppy to remain calmly in one place is useful in countless everyday situations. For me, the difference between “stay” and “wait” is that wait is a little more flexible and usually used for a shorter period of time.
For example, when I ask a dog to “stay,” I expect them to remain in the same position and not move until I release them. It’s a more serious command and I usually use it when I need the dog to stay for a longer period.
With “wait,” I’m more flexible. The dog can change position or move slightly; I’m mainly asking them to pause and not continue forward until I give permission.
For example:
Waiting at doors (stay)
Before crossing roads (wait)
While you clean muddy paws (wait)
While you prepare equipment (wait)
During everyday handling (wait/stay depends on the situation)
When you need a moment of safe control (stay)
Before greetings (stay)
Start with very short durations and gradually build time, distance, and distractions.
Don't expect all three at once.
8. Leave It
“Leave it” teaches your puppy to disengage from something rather than interacting with it.
That could be:
Food dropped on the pavement
Rubbish
Another animal
An unsafe object
Something potentially toxic
A strong “leave it” can prevent dangerous situations and is worth practising from puppyhood.
9. Drop It
Puppies explore the world with their mouths, so sooner or later they will pick up something they shouldn't.
“Drop it” teaches your puppy to willingly release an object.
Rather than chasing your puppy around the house or forcibly removing things from their mouth, teach them that giving something up can lead to something positive.
You can practise through exchanging toys or safe objects for another reward.
This also helps build trust around possessions.
Don't Forget the Skills That Aren't “Cues/Commands”
Some of the most important things your puppy learns will never look impressive in a training video.
A puppy should also gradually learn how to:
Settle and relax
Be comfortable alone for appropriate periods
Accept gentle handling
Cope with grooming
Walk calmly on a lead
Feel comfortable around everyday noises
Observe other dogs without needing to greet them
Travel safely
Cope with frustration
Rest
Explore confidently
Make good choices without constantly being told what to do
These are life skills, and in many ways, they are more valuable than any trick.
Training Is About More Than Commands/Cues Modern, reward-based puppy training isn't about controlling every movement your dog makes.
It is about communication.
Through training, puppies learn what behaviours work, how to navigate their environment, and what they can expect from us. At the same time, we learn to understand their body language, emotions, needs, and individual personality.
That's why I prefer to think about puppy training as building life skills rather than simply teaching obedience.
Once your puppy has strong foundations, there is plenty of time to teach paw, spin, roll over, play dead, or any other fun tricks you both enjoy.
But first, give them the skills they will actually use throughout their life.
A puppy who can recall safely, disengage from something dangerous, settle calmly, walk comfortably with you, and communicate confidently has learned something far more valuable than simply how to perform.
If you need support building these foundations with your puppy, my Life Skills Training focuses on practical behaviours that help puppies develop into confident, well-mannered adult dogs.
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