(“Safety first” phase — because chaos on legs is still chaos)
Welcome to the phase where your puppy begins learning two very important life skills:
-
Coming back when called
-
Not grabbing literally everything like it’s the last snack on Earth
This stage is less about obedience and more about safety, self-control, and communication. Your puppy is still curious, still impulsive, and still convinced the world is one giant chew toy — but now they’re ready to start learning boundaries.
And yes… this is where things start to feel real.
🎯 Primary Goals
✔ Teach Coming Back
Recall isn’t about control — it’s about connection.
You’re teaching your puppy that coming to you is always the best possible choice, no matter what exciting nonsense is happening around them.
This is how you:
-
Prevent accidents
-
Avoid heart-stopping “OH NO” moments
-
Keep your puppy safe in the real world
✔ Teach Pausing Instead of Grabbing
Impulse control means your puppy learns:
“Just because I can grab it… doesn’t mean I should.”
This skill will save:
-
Your socks
-
Your shoes
-
Your furniture
-
Your sanity
🧠 Focus Skills
✔ Recall Foundations
This is the beginning of the “When I hear my name or recall word, I RUN TO MY HUMAN” mindset.
At this stage:
-
Speed matters more than precision
-
Enthusiasm matters more than distance
-
Happiness matters more than perfection
A wiggly, crooked, joy-filled return = success.
✔ Leave It
“Leave it” teaches your puppy to pause, think, and make better choices.
This is the skill that stops:
-
Food theft
-
Dangerous object grabs
-
Street snacks (aka “why is there chicken on the footpath?”)
You’re not telling them no forever — just not right now.
✔ Drop It
Drop it is about trust, not force.
Your puppy learns:
-
Giving things up does NOT mean losing them forever
-
Trading is better than guarding
-
Humans are generous, not thieves
This prevents future resource guarding issues and keeps interactions calm and cooperative.
🏃 Daily Work (Short, Fun, and Frequent)
🎯 Recall Games (Indoors & Yard)
-
Call your puppy cheerfully
-
Run away, crouch, clap, sound ridiculous if needed
-
Reward like they just won a medal
Pro tip:
If recall feels boring, your puppy will ignore it.
If recall feels like a party, they’ll sprint toward you.
🍗 “Leave It” with Food in Hand
-
Start with food in a closed hand
-
Puppy sniffs → paws → gives up
-
The moment they pause or look away → reward
This teaches:
“Ignoring temptation actually pays better.”
A life lesson many humans still haven’t mastered.
🧸 Trading Objects (Instead of Taking)
-
Puppy has an object
-
You offer something better
-
Puppy releases → reward
No chasing.
No grabbing.
No turning it into a game of Keep Away: Extreme Edition.
🏁 Success Looks Like
By the end of Weeks 7–8, you’ll notice:
✔ Your puppy happily runs toward you when called
✔ They pause briefly instead of instantly grabbing
✔ They release objects willingly when offered a trade
✔ Training feels cooperative instead of combative
And most importantly…
✔ You start trusting your puppy a little more
✔ Your puppy starts trusting you a LOT more
🧠 Final Thought for This Phase
Impulse control doesn’t mean your puppy suddenly becomes calm, wise, and polite.
It means:
-
They hesitate instead of launching
-
They think instead of reacting
-
They choose you more often than chaos
That’s real progress.
And yes — they’ll still grab things.
But now… they’re learning how not to.
Progress, not perfection. 🐾
Responses