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Dear Daniel Stevens:

Please tell me I'm not going crazy. One of my co-workers was telling me that if I want to train my dog that I need to understand his mind. Is that possible - I mean I know my dog is smart and inquisitive but if I want him to behave better, come when I call, and start listening so do I need to understand to explore the psychological depths of his mind?

I really love my dog. He's my buddy, a medium-size dog I obtained from the local shelter. He's great but sometimes I wonder if we're on the same page. He will come sometimes and he does mind most of the time but I want to trust him to behave appropriately all the time. It's not that he's a bad dog, just not a well-trained one. Can you provide me with any information dog psychology to making training more effective?

A loving dog owner
- Jonathan R

Dear Jonathan:

Well, your co-worker was actually right. For training dogs, one of the key elements to being successful is to learn about dog psychology. You already know that dogs have very interesting minds, which change depending on age. Behaviors of dogs will vary dramatically as well from one breed to another. By understanding your dog, you will be able to build a trusting bond, which leads to better training.

Okay, look at a two-year-old child. He or she is inquisitive and just starting to learn about exploration and independence. The same is true for a puppy or dog. At certain ages, psychological aspects change, at which each stage, your dog will learn new things. Typically, working with a young dog offers a little bit of an advantage in the training department but an older dog taught with patience can also be effectively trained.

Consider a mother dog with puppies. At first, all the puppies do is sleep, eat, and poop. In fact, puppies up to around two to three weeks of age will spend about 35 percent of the life doing nothing but nursing, which is then followed up with a lot of sleep. At this stage of life, the puppy is in survival mode while the body develops. The puppies are taking in things around them such as people handling and noise but their make focus remains on mom and her milk.

Now, once the puppies reach the three-week mark, they'll begin to show much more interest in their surroundings. Although the puppies are still using smell and feel more than sight, they start to move about while interacting with each other. Typically, puppies at this age have a real interest in independence, as long as they do not venture too far away from mom and food. While little puppies are adorable, their psychology develops noticeably between four and ten weeks of age.

It is especially important at this phase of life for the puppies to be socialized with humans and preferably other dogs and/or household pets. The type and amount of socialization provided to the puppy will have a direct and dramatic impact on how well he trains when a little older. The goal here is to make the puppies feel secure, comfortable, and loved. The result will be a strong trust with the master, making training fun and successful.

You then see another psychological change once the puppies reach the ten-week mark. With bright eyes, sharp hearing, teeth, and powerful motor skills, their interest and ability to explore has multiplied. During this time, you can begin to work with the puppy on learning the ranking of master, potty training, and even basic commands such as 'sit,' 'lie down,' and 'stay.' Although the puppy may not grasp onto everything immediately, be consistent. Spend time with him in training every day and you will soon notice he responding favorably inside and outside the home.