How To Train A Puppy Like A Guide Dog Puppy In Training
Stetson & Colby On MetroLink Train Outing To Union Station
Do you have an adorable puppy who’s driving you nuts? Not long ago we brought home our first guide dog puppy and after the initial excitement wore off we soon realized we were in for an extreme test of our patience. My name is Colby and I’ve been raising and training guide dog puppies for the past 5 years. Follow me and my pups on our journey from puppy to working guide dog. If you’ve ever had a question about how to train a puppy then you’ve come to the right place. We share our puppy training tips from our experiences as guide dog puppy raisers including how to potty train a puppy, crate training puppies, upcoming puppy adoption events, product reviews, and puppy behavior problems (biting, destructive chewing, digging, nipping, barking, jumping up, and leash pulling).
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How I Learned “How To Train A Puppy”
How did the Puppy In Training website come to be? When friends and family learned that I was raising a guide dog puppy in training I suddenly became an authority on dogs and puppies. I have read many books on dogs including, dog training books, dog tricks, puppies, dog breeds, socialization and much more, but never really considered myself an authority (until now). I may be a knowledgeable person on dogs and puppies, but I also have tremendous resources around me including Linus’s trainer Sue Myles, Stetson’s trainer Ramona Audette, our entire Orange County Guide Dog’s of America group, the good people working at Guide Dogs of America in Sylmar, CA, my library of dog training books, and the power of the internet. As time has passed I have gained more and more knowledge on all things puppies and dogs. I’ve even been cited in several major publications on the internet including: 
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Why Puppy In Training?
“Puppy in Training” is the writing on Dublin’s training vest. Stetson, Derby, and Dublin were Guide Dog puppies in training for the non-profit organization Guide Dogs of America. I’m using these pages to share insight on their training as well as things I learn about Stetson, Derby, Dublin, and my rescue dog Linus, and all the doggy related questions I hear from day-to-day. If you look at the picture of Derby to the right you can kind of make out the Puppy In Training words on the bottom of his vest.
Dogs In Training
Dublin is a purebred Yellow Labrador Retriever bred at our school, Guide Dogs of America. He’s currently working on his house manners, basic obedience, and puppy socialization. All of this to prepare him for his formal guide dog training when he returns to the guide dog training school.
Stetson is a purebred Black Labrador Retriever also bred at Guide Dogs of America. He’s a little bit older than Dublin and he is a career changed guide dog. After attending formal guide dog training school for about 2 months Stetson decided he did not want to work as a guide dog so we took him home as a family pet. Over the past year Stetson has been doing sniffer training (k9 nosework training) and is currently working towards his first Odor Recognition Test (ORT) with the odor birch. Stetson is also interested in becoming a therapy dog.
Linus is an all black Australian Shepherd Mix we picked up from the Carson Animal Shelter. He’s quite accomplished in both puppy kindergarten (took it twice) and basic obedience. We also plan on enrolling him in sniffer training as soon as a beginner level course is available in our area.
Derby is a purebred Yellow Labrador Retriever bred at Guide Dogs of America. He was my second puppy in training and unfortunately got dropped from the program at 12 months because he had trouble focusing and was two excitable in new situations. He was adopted through the Guide Dogs of America adoption program.
Colby, as already mentioned has been a guide dog puppy raiser for the past five years. He enjoys working with his three dogs on all aspects of puppy and dog training and has attended hundreds of dog training classes and puppy training classes from puppy preschools and puppy kindergartens to basic dog obedience training, k9 nosework training, canine good citizen training, therapy dog training, and guide dog training.
“My dogs and I have been through a lot over the past decade and love sharing all we know here on the website including guide dog training, therapy dog training, canine nosework training, puppy raising, dog product reviews, dog adoptions, dog rescues, dog shelters, dog events, dog trainers, dog training schools and much more. We hope our journey in the puppy universe will help others with their goals in raising and training puppies. If you have any questions for me please go to our contact form and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
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We do our best to update the Puppy In Training blog between two and five days a week and encourage you to subscribe to our RSS Feed. Many of the images are of my dogs and other guide dog puppy’s in training from my group. Some images are taken from the web. If you see one that belongs to you then please contact us via our contact form and I will gladly credit it accordingly or remove it immediately.
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Linus, Stetson, Dublin, and Colby
Hi Colby!
I just came upon your website and I’m really enjoying it. We have a 1-year-old female beagle, she’s a sweetheart and very good around my kids. But, she’s impossible to walk! She just pulls everywhere! And it’s hard for me to walk her with my two small kids. I got her a harness and that has helped a little but still. The other issue is that sometimes she eats her poop! She does it in a playful way, like if she’s grabbing the ball and running to play. Please help! I’ll appreciate any suggestions
Thanks so much!
Wendy
@Wendy you might try using a gently leader with your puppy. It works well for pulling, but it takes most dogs a little bit of time to get used to wearing. This is the first time I’ve heard of the poop playing, but I think it would be similar to having your dog play with any inappropriate item around the house (shoes, remote controls, etc.). What we have done to get our pups not to play with these items is spray them down with “Bitter Apple” spray. Most dogs hate the taste and after you set them up a few times they learn that the inappropriate items should not be touched. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your puppy training!
Thank you so much Colby! I really appreciate your help!!!
I can’t wait to try your recommendations! I’ll keep you posted on Luna’s progress
please tell me if feeding my 10 mo. old lab 3x aday totaling 4 and a half cups of dry kirkland puppy chow – she weighs 74 pounds, is it to much?
Hi Gracie,
Thanks for visiting our website. This is a good question to ask when you see your veterinarian. He will be able to tell if your puppy is over or under weight. There are so many variables (breed, type of food, individual dog, amount of exercise, etc.) that there’s not one canned answer for how much your should feed your puppy.
I wrote this article a while back on How Much You Should Feed Your Puppy.
Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your puppy!
Take care,
Colby
Hey Colby,
I just found your website and it’s great! My wife and I are thinking about getting a Yellow Lab here in a month or so. I was wondering if you have any advise or articles on picking a puppy out of a litter? We are hoping to find a fun but mellow dog.
Thanks for the help,
Jason
Hi Jason,
I’m glad you found our site. Here’s a blog post I wrote a couple years ago about how to choose a puppy from a litter: http://puppyintraining.com/how-to-choose-a-puppy-from-a-litter/
I don’t remember if I mention this in the article, but the parents are usually a good indicator of what the puppies will be like when full grown. So it’s a really good idea to try and meet the parents.
I hope that helps.
Take care,
Colby
Hi Colby!
Thank you for being such a great help to those of us in need! Quick question, hopefully…
I have a wonderful 14 week old standard goldendoodle, in the midst of puppy training. We are feeding her 2 2/3 cups of food as recommended for her age and estimated adult projected weight for her breed. This is being split between a 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. feeding each day. She is waking up bewteen 3-4 a.m. each day, and when taking her out of the crate, she does not want to have a bathroom break, but runs to her food bowl. How do we regulate her meals so that she sleeps through the night? Any suggestions? Thank you!
Arlene
Hi Arelene,
Congratulations on your new puppy! One of my older dog’s, Stetson sometimes gets in the habit of waking up early in the morning for his first meal of the day. If I give in and feed him he just continues to wake up early. What I usually do with Stetson is take him outside to potty when he wakes up early then put him back to bed. He doesn’t bark, but instead will act restless for an extra 5-10 minutes then go back to sleep. If I keep doing this for about a week he usually changes his schedule and sleeps in later.
Also, when our pups are 14 weeks old we’re still feeding them 3 times a day. Spreading out over 3 meals may help as well.
Take care,
Colby
Hi Colby,
I have an eight week old boxer pup. I have had her for two weeks. I have been crate training her and she is doing really well during the day. I am having No success at night. She is up and screaming and crying ALL night. After nine days i gave up and let her sleep with me. She has been peeing in the bed every night. She simply does not get up. I take away her water 2 hours before bed. I contacted her vet about tips for crate training at night and did everything he recommended. No success. I am about to give up. I have 6 people in the house and if i put her in the crate she keeps everyone up all night, but I can’t have her peeing in my bed either. Please help!
Hi Kay,
Congratulations on your new puppy! Unfortunately, some take longer than other to get used to the crate. Here’s an article I wrote about crate training that might help you:
http://puppyintraining.com/crate-training-puppies/
I listed a bunch of things you could do for your crying pup in that article. If you’re not already working on his crate training during the day I’d do that as well. You really want to do your best to associate as many positive things with the crate as possible.
Most of the pups I’ve raised have taken anywhere from a few nights to about a week to get used to their crate (with one exception). My first puppy in training did take about a month before he got used to his crate. You need to make sure and stay consistent, persistent, and patient with her crate training.
You might also try contacting a professional trainer for an in-home evaluation to help you with your crate training.
Best of luck,
Colby
Hi Colby,
I’ve just come across your website + I have a few questions.
We just got a siberian husky X pup who is 3mths now, we have been working on training with him but are still having trouble with the house training. He won’t pee all night or when I’m at work (4hrs max) but when he comes into the living spaces, he pees. We will put him outside for 1hr or so + when he comes inside he pees. What can I do to stop this?
Also, we lock him in a 7ft x 7ft room instead of a kennel at night. Is this ok? or should we be kennel training him?
His attention span is super short as well so I can’t get him to focus for more then 5min when I’m trying to teach him tricks, even with treats he is interested in everything else. Any suggestions?
Please Help!
Hi Kassandra,
Congratulations on your new puppy. Here are a couple articles on potty training and crate training:
http://puppyintraining.com/how-to-potty-train-a-puppy/
http://puppyintraining.com/crate-training-puppies/
I’d read through those to help you with house training your puppy. It sounds like your puppy doesn’t know where he’s supposed to potty. When he’s in the house he should be constantly supervised. Check the article on How To Potty Train A Puppy for more tips.
I’d suggest crate training your puppy versus locking him into a 7×7 room. Take a look at the article on crate training puppies for tips on how to crate train.
All puppies have a short attention span. A good time to work on puppy training is during commercial breaks while watching TV. That’s about as long as you want to work on training with your puppy. As he gets older he will get better at focusing and you can extend the length of his training sessions.
It’s also a good time to look into enrolling him into a puppy kindergarten so he can socialize with other puppies.
Good luck with your puppy training!
Colby
Colby, congratulations on your success with guide dog puppies and this web site. My family raises guide dog puppies too. Our second puppy is graduating tomorrow! Our third puppy turned one year old yesterday. The current puppy goes to high school every day with my daughter. I would like to take the puppy to work with me occasionally, but I work for a global manufacturing company where “pets are not allowed on site.” I have a desk job in engineering and plenty of space under my desk for a puppy. How did you “sell” guide dog puppies at work to your employer?
Hi Tricia,
That’s awesome! Congratulations on graduation! Thank you for being a puppy raiser.
I work for a small company and the CEO is a dog lover so it wasn’t too difficult for me. However, I have spoken with others who have had difficulty getting their guide dog pups into the work place. I usually recommend asking our puppy department manager to draft a letter on our guide dog school’s letterhead telling the importance of guide dog puppy raising and early socialization in the workplace. Maybe your guide dog school could do the same for you.
Good luck with your third pup!
Take care,
Colby
Aloha Colby,
I have a thousand and one questions but I’ll start with this one. My 6 month old chocolate labrador retriever is awesome, however he does not like to walk, seriously. We got him at 8 weeks, he potty trained in 30 days, he retrieves and puts it in your hand, he shakes on both sides, sits and stays, knows how to find it and lets you know which hand the treat is in by touching it with his paw (of course he sniffs both hands). I (we) can’t get him to walk, except to pee and poop, then he lays down and eats grass or whatever is closest. I have had to carry him on numerous occasions but he is now 52.7 pounds and I’m killing myself. I have tried different collars/leashes/treats but he is extremely stubborn when he’s done with his business, he’s done. However if another dog comes by he has all the energy in the world and will play till he drops. Please help us, I am so looking forward to the day when I can walk him, show him off, get some exercise, etc.
Hi Mark,
Your chocolate Lab sounds like an awesome dog! Most people are asking me how to get their young pups to stop pulling when out on walks. My black Lab Stetson doesn’t lie down and eat the grass while out on a walk (although he will if I stop and give him a moment), but he does walk very slowly and loves to pretty much sniff every blade of grass. When I want to take Stetson for more of a brisk walk I bring something along that he really enjoys and with Stetson that would be any type of food. I use dog treats as lures to get him moving forward. Some of the other things that work with Stetson are his favorite dog toy, treats, or even just tapping on my leg and cheerfully telling him to “come” or “heel”. I use his squeaky dog toy or treat is a lure to get him moving forward when he becomes distracted.
Is there anything that motivates your dog? Does he have a favorite treat or dog toy? If he does then you want to use that favorite treat/toy only on walks so he’ll want it even more. When he gets distracted and decides to lie down pull out the treat/toy and try to lure him forward. My other dog Linus will not do things for his regular treats, but if I really want him to do something I pull out these super stinky Salmon flake treats. These things smell really bad, but for whatever reason it motivates Linus and helps during his training sessions.
Good luck with your training!
Colby
Hello…I am getting my Olde English Sheepdog puupy, Henry in 2 weeks…he will be almost 12 wks old. I have always had this breed of dog. and just lost my belove Winston in June. I am handicapped an need my faithful companion to assisst me. Winston was taught by me to walk slowly by my side with a stiff harness for me to hang on to. But, I am wondering how to teach this new pup. I also want him to beable to come with me everywhere…its a necessity these days. How to I begin…and what do I need to do to qualify him as my guide dog. We live on a 10 acre farm…Winston took to rounding up the horses for me…going from the barn to the house to get my husband if I needed help. Please help. Thanks ever so much
Hi Susannah,
Early congratulations on your new puppy! The dogs we raise are strictly guide dogs for the blind. We don’t train for any other disabilities. However, there are lots of different schools that train service dogs for other disabilities. You might want to check out one of those schools. Here are a couple I know of in Southern California:
Canine Companions for Independence – http://www.cci.org
Canine Support Teams – http://www.caninesupportteams.org
Good luck with your training!
Colby
Hi Colby — I first contacted you regarding bringing my puppy home with his brother – how long before separation? Anyhow, that all went well, thank you. Barkley is doing great, is happy, crate trained and getting better with potty training.
Therein lies my concern. Since getting him we have had him on Nutro dry puppy food. It was fine for several weeks, then I ran out and couldn’t get to the store that day, ended up giving him two feedings with the food the breeder sent home, and diarrhea started. I replenished my Nutro and it continued. Took him to the vet, they treated for Giardia (he didn’t have it…) the anitbiotic finished, diarrhea was back. Vet decided antibiotic wasn’t long enough, added 5 more days – diarrhea gone, antibiotic completed – diarrhea back again. The weird thing is, he only has it during the night. I put him in a bigger kennel (which he needed) and nothing else has changed. There have been two nights of the last 4 that he hasn’t had it (but his diarrhea has been going on for about 3 weeks!), but I doubt its gone forever. I am starting to change his food to Blue Buffalo puppy, but I don’t know if that food is any good either (according to the many many reviews online). Anyhow, do you have any suggestions? I feel horrible for Barkley – and I am too old to be up all night with this. He did so great the first 4-6 weeks home… slept all night, random inside accidents… and now this started. Any input would be GREAT!!
Thanks – and thanks again for this great blog!
Hi Kali,
I’m glad everything went so well with your puppy during those first few weeks. Diarrhea is a real pain I had a similar issue with Linus when we first brought him home. His stomach just seemed to be very sensitive to any food change. I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to dog food, but I can tell you what we did with Linus. After talking to our trainer we put him on Natural Balance Duck and Potato which worked out well for us, but I’m not sure if it was the food or if he just outgrew it because today changing food doesn’t seem to bother him anymore. Now we feed both or our dogs Wellness Core, but we’re considering changing to Honest Kitchen (mainly because of our other dog, Stetson’s allergies).
Hopefully that helps. I’m sure you already talked to your vet about it, but if not I’d ask what he/she recommends or if you have a dog trainer check wither him/her as well.
Good luck!
Colby
Thank you so much for this website! I have been a proud owner of a sweet yeIllow female lab for a year named Cookie. Your blog is just what I’ve been looking for and can’t wait to read your tips and updates on your labs, thank you!
Hi Rachel,
Thank you so much for the compliment! I’m glad my site has helped you.
Take care,
Colby
How do it tain my little poppy on how to become a guide dog
Hi John,
The guide dog trainers at the school I volunteer for go through a 3 year apprenticeship before they are certified guide dog trainers. You might check and see if there are any guide dog schools near you and ask them what you can do to train your puppy.
Good luck,
Colby
I have a picture of puppies from several different dads. Would you like to see
We love seeing pictures of puppies. You can upload images through our contact form: http://puppyintraining.com/contact/