If you have a puppy, you must start training early, but do it gently. Your puppy has to have confidence in you before he can begin learning. Remember that puppies are like children - they have growing bodies, short attention spans, and will only learn things when conditions are right and when they understand what it is you're trying to teach them. That said, earlier you start training dogs, better. More specifically, it's best if you start “socialization” from 8 weeks, simple commands like “come” and “sit” from 12 weeks, and more intensive training at 5 to 6 months.

[From a previous e-mail which questioned why I recommend that dog owners don't try to train their dogs in a group class setting]

Yes, I understand about imprint stages [two week stages from birth to 4 months of age in which a small amount of exposure will have a lasting affect on dog's socialization to it's surroundings] but not everybody lives in ideal world of getting their puppy at 6 to 8 weeks of age.

[The imprint stage when dogs learn dominant and subordinate behavior with other dogs. Missing this stage, or having a negative experience during this stage, can cause dog aggression later in life].

What are you then suggesting happens? There are a lot of people out there that don't know first thing about dog training. So, all of these theories are great but how would that help somebody that comes to you when their dog is a couple of years old and displays canine aggression?

Regards, TB.

Dear TB:

Here's deal: I don't have a lot of time to go into detail as this is a subject that could end up being another book. But to fix this type of thing, you need to: