Puppyschooling – Homeschooling With A Puppy

Meet Philo, a 9 week old silver lab! He is our new furry friend, joining his 2 older brothers Finnley, another silver lab and Gunnar, a redbone coonhound. My husband and I surprised the kids, after a lot of begging on their part, and wow, it was a great decision. We are absolutely loving this little boy and teaching him how to be a good pup. Here’s how we’re integrating puppy training into our routine, why it’s beneficial for the kids, and a look at the training tools and resources we are using. Plus, FREE NEW PUPPY PRINTABLES at the bottom of this page!

What We Are Learning

For the Kids:

Responsibility & Reliability: Taking care of animals isn’t new to my children. We have chickens, dogs, cats, bunnies and a horse, but the puppy is a whole new experience for them. The responsibility of caring for a puppy is like caring for a baby. It requires unwavering commitment, patience, and dedication. By taking on the role of a caregiver for a puppy, children learn firsthand the importance of reliability and consistency in meeting the needs of another living being. My children are learning that this is no easy feat!
Empathy and Compassion: Understanding the needs and emotions of our puppy fosters empathy and compassion. Children will learn to pick up cues like whimpering or a wagging tail to signal how the puppy is feeling and how to respond to each. While bonding with their puppy, children will experience the joy of companionship and affection. This firsthand experience with a puppy will shape them into more empathetic individuals who value the well-being of others.
Biology and Science: We explore topics like animal behavior, nutrition, and the life cycle. Children can observe and learn about various aspects of animal biology, including anatomy and behavior. My children are learning how a puppy’s body works, from understanding the importance of nutrition for growth to observing the mechanics of movement and play. Paying attention to a puppy’s behavior offers valuable insights into animal communication, social structures, and instinctual responses. It’s interesting to see how our 12 and 10 year old dogs react and interact with the puppy.
Patience and Perseverance: Training a puppy requires patience and the understanding that some things don’t happen overnight. It can be quite frustrating when accidents happen more than once, the puppy chews on things or having to repeat steps over and over to achieve what you are working on. My children are learning that patience gets you further and frustration and anger don’t lead to success.

For the Puppy:

We have been following Tom Davis’ Dog Training videos on Youtube. It just so happened that a week before we got our new puppy, so did Tom! He started a puppy series and it has been amazing to use as we navigate puppyhood. Here are some of the videos we have used so far:

Do This First – Watch Command, Engagement
First Steps On A Leash – Starting at 4:30
Stop Biting and Leave It Command
Potty Training, Bell System
Crate Training
Leash work, Heel, & Place Command
Place with the 3 “D”s, More Heel

I will update with more videos as I find them but these have helped us immensely. Our puppy doesn’t bite, drops things when we say “leave it”, hits the bells on the door when he needs to go potty and watches with intent. I cannot recommend using these tools that Tom Davis has provided enough! This is my 4th puppy and by far the most well behaved.

Our puppy is 9 weeks old. Here’s what we are working on:

Basic Commands: Sit, stay, come, watch, leave it and down are where we started. We are currently working on heel.
Social Skills: Proper interactions with humans and dogs is one of the most important skills to teach your puppy. We do not allow biting or jumping on people. This training collar has completely eliminated our puppy’s jumping and biting. I also ask the puppy to sit at my heel whenever another dog is walking by. Lunging and barking is not acceptable. We have been bringing our puppy with us on all our outings to get him used to different scenarios (that is after all why we got him!). Today is 2 weeks since he came home with us and he has already stayed in a hotel, had a sleepover at Grandma’s, sat under our table at an outdoor restaurant, gone to Home Depot 3 times, shopped for new toys at PetSmart twice, went for a ride in a shopping cart at Walmart and he joins us at the Horse Barn twice a week.
House Training: Crucial for a harmonious household. We use this training collar that Tom Davis recommended in his stop biting video. It has allowed us to give an immediate correction when the puppy starts biting things he shouldn’t. We use these bells that hang from each of our doors for potty training. Each time we bring the puppy outside, we have him touch it with his nose or paw. Now when the puppy needs to go out, he goes straight to the bells. This has gotten rid of potty accidents almost entirely. Timing and consistency is so important with potty training.
*TIP* If you buy the 2 pack of bells, you get a free collapsable dog bowl which has been great for traveling.
Fun Tricks: Who doesn’t love a dog that can high five? Our puppy just learned the “paw” command. He also knows kiss, crawl and speak along with his basic commands. Before asking for each command, I always make sure to get eye contact/engagement.

Philo watching the kids swim at the hotel.

Here’s a video of Philo doing some tricks!

Here’s a few free printables to celebrate your new puppy!
Click to print!

My New Puppy writing prompt has 3 difficulties, an editable tracing version, 3/4 inch lines and 1/2 inch lines. Plus, blank extra pages for longer stories. Click here to download them all!