Want to make sure your puppy will be prepared to respond to you from puppyhood and beyond? Check out these commands.

Bringing home a new puppy is one of the most exciting things you can do. So, start your puppy off on the right paw by making sure you teach him the following cues every puppy should learn as soon as possible.

#1 – Name
Your puppy should learn to respond to his name by giving you full eye contact.

#2 – Leave it
This one is so important for the safety of your puppy! You want to be able to prevent him from eating or chewing on something that may be harmful. Start with something easy like a toy!

#3 – Stay
Stay is a very important cue, again for your dog’s safety, but also your own. For example, stay is great when you are coming in the door with something heavy or bulky and you don’t want your dog to come and trip you up.

#4 – Off
While this cue isn’t imperative to your dog’s safety, it does help with one of the biggest complaints owners give – jumping up. And, if you teach when your pup is teeny tiny, you can avoid the problem all together when he gets bigger.

#5 – Emergency Come

Getting dogs to come can be tricky. Many of us have our “come” cue that our dog eventually responds to, but it’s not critical if they stop to go potty before they get to us, or to sniff a tree. However, there are times when you need your dog to come now. Sometimes, it may be because of an emergency – like they are in the middle of the road and car is coming.

Now that you know a few of the most important commands to teach your new pup, you'll definitely be able to train him a lot easier. Start slowly by teaching him one or two commands daily until he gets those down. Then slowly but surely you can incorporate other commands as well. Soon friends and family will be complimenting you on how well trained your puppy is!

For more simple commands to teach your puppy, visit I Heart Dogs.