One of the most common questions from new puppy owners is some version of "am I doing this right?" And the honest answer is: it depends on how old the puppy is. What you should be working on at 8 weeks looks completely different from what matters at 6 months. Trying to teach advanced obedience to a 9-week-old is like trying to teach a toddler algebra. The developmental readiness isn't there yet.

This guide breaks down exactly what to focus on at each stage of your puppy's development, from the day they come home to their first birthday. Follow this sequence and you'll avoid both the mistake of expecting too little (which produces a wild, untrained adolescent) and expecting too much (which produces a stressed, confused puppy).

8-10 weeks: The arrival window

Most puppies come home between 8 and 10 weeks old. This is simultaneously the best and most delicate time in their development. The critical socialization window is wide open, which means every positive experience you give them now wires their brain for confidence later. Every negative experience at this age also leaves a deeper mark than it will at any other point in their life.

Focus areas:

  • Name recognition: Say the name, reward eye contact. This is the foundation of all future communication.
  • Basic socialization: Gentle exposure to different people (hats, beards, children, glasses), sounds (traffic, vacuums, doorbells), surfaces (tile, grass, gravel, stairs), and handling (touching paws, ears, mouth).
  • Crate introduction: Begin making the crate a comfortable, safe space with meals and treats inside. No forcing.
  • Potty training basics: Take outside immediately after waking, eating, and playing. Reward outdoors. Interrupt and redirect accidents indoors.

Keep training sessions to 2-3 minutes max. Puppies this age tire quickly and learning happens best in short bursts throughout the day. Don't try to teach formal commands yet. Focus on building a positive association with you, their new environment, and the world in general.

10-12 weeks: Name response and first commands

By 10 weeks, most puppies have settled in enough to begin short, structured training sessions. Their attention span is still minimal (3-5 minutes), but they're now capable of learning simple behaviors.

Focus areas:

  • Sit: Use a treat lure. Hold it at their nose, move it back slowly over their head. Reward the moment the bottom hits the floor.
  • Come (recall): Practice in low-distraction environments. Get low, call their name and "come," reward enthusiastically when they reach you.
  • Potty training: Tighten the schedule. Every 1-2 hours, and always immediately after sleeping and eating.
  • Bite inhibition: When teeth make hard contact with skin, yelp and stop play. This teaches them the pressure limit.

Continue socialization aggressively during this period. The window begins closing around 12-14 weeks. Puppy classes that allow interaction with other puppies in a safe environment are highly valuable at this age.

3-4 months: Core commands

By 12 weeks, most puppies are settled enough to work on the behaviors that will form the foundation of their adult manners. Sessions can extend slightly to 5-7 minutes as attention improves.

Focus areas:

  • Sit: Transition from lure to verbal cue. Practice with mild distractions.
  • Down: Lure from a sit position by moving the treat from the nose down toward the floor.
  • Stay (beginning): Ask for a sit, pause one second, reward before they get up. Build to 3-5 seconds.
  • Loose-leash walking: Begin in the yard or driveway. Reward for staying near your side. Stop when the leash pulls tight.
  • Leave it: Cover a treat with your hand. Wait for the puppy to disengage. Reward with a different treat from your other hand.

Potty training is usually much more reliable by 4 months. Accidents should be infrequent, but not zero. Some puppies are physically unable to hold it longer than 3-4 hours until closer to 5 months.

4-6 months: Impulse control and reliability

This stage is about two things: extending the behaviors you've already taught, and beginning to build impulse control. Puppies at this age are physically growing fast, which sometimes creates a brief regression in potty training as bladder development catches up. It passes.

Focus areas:

  • Extended stay: Build duration to 30-60 seconds in a low-distraction setting before adding distance or distractions.
  • Wait: Teach the puppy to pause at doorways before going through. Ask for a sit, open the door slightly, reward for holding position.
  • Loose-leash walking outdoors: Transfer the skill to real walks with real distractions. Patience required; this takes time.
  • Drop it: Important for safety. Trade games work well: offer a treat for releasing whatever is in their mouth.
  • Place/settle: Teaching the puppy to go to a mat or bed on cue and stay there calmly. Extremely useful for managing behavior during meals and guests.

6-12 months: Adolescence and proofing

Adolescence in dogs typically runs from about 6 to 18 months, with most of the difficult behavior concentrated in the 6-12 month window. This is the stage where many owners give up, which is unfortunate because it's temporary and manageable.

Your puppy's brain is undergoing significant hormonal and neurological changes. They may seem to "forget" things they knew perfectly well last month. They will be more easily distracted, more likely to test boundaries, and less responsive to commands in high-distraction environments. This is normal development, not a training failure.

Focus areas:

  • Proofing: Practice every command in every environment, at every distraction level. A dog that only sits in the kitchen doesn't really know sit.
  • Recall under distraction: This is when recall training becomes genuinely important. Practice with long lines in open spaces before trusting off-leash.
  • Impulse control games: "It's Yer Choice" (hold treats in a closed fist, wait for the dog to disengage) and similar games build the mental braking system.
  • Consistent exercise: An adolescent dog with no physical outlet will find their own outlets. Usually destructive ones.

By 12 months, most medium-sized dogs are mentally close to mature, though large and giant breeds continue developing until 2-3 years. Stay consistent through adolescence and the adult dog that emerges will be reliably well-behaved.

For the fundamentals that apply at every stage, see our complete guide to training a puppy at home. If you're just starting out, our first week with a new puppy guide covers exactly what to do from day one. For the full training system, visit the puppy training product page.

A note on individual variation

Every puppy is different. Breed, genetics, early socialization, and individual temperament all affect the pace of learning. Some puppies are sitting reliably at 10 weeks. Others take until 14 weeks. Neither is wrong. Use this schedule as a guide and a reference point, not a rigid timetable that means something has gone wrong if you're a few weeks off.

What matters more than hitting every milestone on schedule is consistency, positive associations, and a relationship that gives your puppy a reason to want to learn.