The command is to say his name and then “Sit!” All commands should be preceded by the dog’s name; that is to get his attention so he knows you are not talking to anyone else. Puppies are proud to have a name. It is when they reach adolescence that they, like other teenagers, pretend they do not hear you.

Any time you see the puppy about to sit, quickly say, “Sit, good dog.” If he is already sitting nicely give him a “good sit” reward. The easiest way to teach a young puppy to sit is to get his attention with a treat held in front and just above his nose to make him look up. Then slowly move the treat backward over his head. Because he wants to keep his eye on the treat, his backside will have to drop to the floor.

It takes a little practice (on your part, too) but it is a tried and true means of getting an unforced sit. As he assumes the position, give the command, “Sit” and hand out a tiny portion of the treat. That is motivational teaching. The puppy performs the desired action by himself.

The other way is to have the pup beside you on your left side, hold a treat in front of him with your right hand, and gently press down on his hindquarters with your left hand. With a large puppy, you could put your left arm around his hindquarters and with a gentle forward motion, bend his knees, forcing the sit.

As you are coping with all that, brightly say, “Sit.” If you followed the first method, and he is doing a prompt Sit every time you give the command, you will soon graduate to using just the hand signal, making the same upward motion with your hand, palm up as you did in raising the treat over his head, and the pup will do a very nice sit.

As your puppy will relieve him/herself frequently, you will probably have a few accidents to begin with, but you should never punish the puppy as this could cause submissive urination when you told he/she off. Most of the success can depend upon how well you can judge when your puppy needs to go to the toilet.

The common times are after playing, when your dog gets excited, after walking, and after eating. Some dogs circle around the floor and sniff the floor before they go to the toilet. However, before you start to house train your puppy, you should decide if you are going to paper or house train him/her.

If you are at home most of the time and access to outside is easy, house training will be easier for you as you will be able to take your puppy outside after every meal, whenever he/she has woken up you will be able to let him/her out, or if he/she hasn’t urinated for some time let your puppy out and give him/her the opportunity to do so, and if you recognise any signs that your puppy needs to go to the toilet let him/her out.

After a few weeks you will recognise what your dog does to let you know he/she needs to be let out, e.g. he/she may run around in circles next to the door that they know they go to go to the toilet. Dogs vary on what they do to let you know when they need to be let out for the toilet, so you just need to study your puppy until you realise what he/she does to let you know. If you decide paper training your puppy will be easier, e.g. if you live in a flat or if you are out all day, this is probably the easiest option for you. It also makes good back up for house training as you are bound to have a few accidents along the way.

The aim of paper training is to teach your puppy to relieve him/herself on the newspaper which you eventually place outside. It is a fairly easy process, confine your puppy to an easily cleaned room and cover the floor in newspaper. When you notice your puppy developing a preference to one area of the room, remove the rest of the paper but leave it in the spot your puppy liked. You can then gradually move the paper towards the door. On a nice day, place the place the paper outside, the next day remove it altogether.

Hopefully the puppy will now relieve itself outside. However, you should look for the tell-tale signs of your puppy looking for the paper next to the door, should you notice this let your puppy out.

At such a time when your puppy doesn’t go to the toilet as frequently and you can be sure of the times your puppy need to go outside, you can progress to full house training. Some dogs don’t like the feeling of paper under their feet, usually those who circle when they need the toilet, in this case you should progress straight to house training your puppy.