The method
How to train a puppy at home
A puppy does not need a training hall. Your kitchen, hallway and backyard hold everything the first eight weeks require. What matters is a curriculum: which skill gets taught in which week, and a daily rhythm the puppy can predict. Here is the home plan we use, hour by hour, and how to bend it when you work all day or when it is minus 20 outside.
Last reviewed August 26, 2026
The home curriculum
Six skills in four weeks, five minutes at a time.
Week one is crate and potty: feed every meal in the crate, carry the puppy out on a schedule, and reward the instant they finish outside. Week two adds name response, one treat every time the puppy turns to their name, and daily handling of paws, ears and collar. Weeks three and four layer in sit, down and short alone-time reps behind a closed door while you stay home.
The daily schedule carries the curriculum. Wake, potty trip, breakfast in the crate, a five-minute session, play, nap. Repeat that loop roughly every two hours through the day, with sessions rotating through the week's skills. Puppies learn in tiny windows between sleeps, so three five-minute sessions beat one long one every time. End each rep while the puppy is still winning, and let the nap do the consolidating.
- Feed every meal in the crate
- Potty trips on a timer
- Five-minute sessions, then a nap
- Handle paws and ears daily
When life interferes
The working-owner week and the winter version.
If you work all day, compress the curriculum into bookends: a full loop before work, a midday potty visit from a neighbour or dog walker, and two sessions in the evening. Alone-time training actually gets easier, because absence is built in. In a Calgary winter, move potty trips to a shovelled patch by the door, keep sessions indoors, and let hallway recalls replace yard time.
Some weeks the plan collapses anyway, and that is where help fits. Our Puppy Fundamentals program is a 3-week board and train at $2,775 plus GST that installs crate comfort including nights, leash manners, name, sit, down and place, then hands it all back to you with an owner lesson and a follow-up within 60 days. Day Training at $650 per week covers the Monday to Friday gap instead.
The programs
The puppy-window programs.
The early weeks only happen once. These are the ways we help you spend them well.
W · One-hour session
Private Training
One-on-one coaching with you on the other end of the leash.
Includes a written weekly plan to work from
N · 3-week board & train
Puppy Fundamentals
Your puppy's first months decide the habits of a lifetime.
Includes handover lesson, follow-up session, slip lead + collar
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Can you train a puppy in 7 days?
You can install a potty routine and the start of crate comfort in seven days, and that is real progress. Name response, sit and calm alone time take three to four weeks of short daily reps. Treat week one as the foundation, not the finish line.
How do I train a puppy in the house?
Pick three stations: the crate for meals and naps, the kitchen for five-minute sessions, and a hallway for name and recall games. Keep the puppy on a leash or in sight between stations so mistakes cannot rehearse. The house is a fine classroom if the schedule is tight.
How do I train a puppy when I work all day?
Run a full training loop before work, arrange one midday potty visit, and do two short sessions in the evening. If the gap is too long for a young puppy, our Day Training runs Monday to Friday at $650 per week with a weekly one-hour go-home lesson.
Are YouTube videos enough to train a puppy?
Videos are useful for seeing mechanics, but they cannot watch your puppy back. Most home training stalls on timing and schedule, not knowledge. A single Private Training session at $150 with a written weekly plan usually fixes what a playlist cannot.
Keep reading
Short on puppy time?
Tell us your schedule and your puppy's age. We will map the home plan, or the program, that actually fits. Book a consultation.
From real owners
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