Fostering a strong bond with your new puppy is one of the best ways to turn them into a dream companion. 

Building a bond can begin from the moment you pick your pup up and bring it home, so being prepared and knowing how to make your puppy’s first experiences with you the best they can be can help you bond with them.

Here are our top 10 tips for how to build an instant bond with your new puppy starting on day one.

If you’re thinking about adopting a puppy for the first time, there’s A LOT to consider beyond how cute and adorable they are: It’s also a really big commitment - anywhere from 12-18 years, to be exact - so it’s not a decision to make lightly or impulsively.

As a dog trainer who advocates for taking your dog on new adventures, one of the things I love most about living in Echo Park, Los Angeles is that it is filled to the brim with dog-friendly places to go.

So, if you have a bored dog at home, I recommend exploring the city with them whenever you can, and here are a few of my favorite, east side, dog-friendly hotspots.

Dogs and puppies bark for a variety of reasons. The first step in reducing the amount of barking a dog or puppy does, therefore, is identifying why they are barking in the first place. This is because different kinds of barking require a different application of training protocols in order to successfully curb the behavior.

Doggie Decompression is a way of using restraint or confinement to induce a dog or puppy to settle down and can act as a step towards solving canine separation anxiety.

Dog Training Tips: Learning how your dog thinks and makes decisions is the “KEY” to getting your dog to do what you want, when you want, without the need for yelling, intimidation or constant supervision.

Dog Training Los Angeles: It’s Your Choice (IYC) is a critical core foundation game because it sets the stage for teaching self-control over all future reinforcers (reinforcers = anything your dog likes or enjoys). It teaches our dogs that all things of value must be earned. The premise of the game is that the “work” is what earns the reward not just the presence of those rewards in the environment.

Dog & Puppy Training Tips: Dogs are social creatures that benefit from being included in family activities. However, if a dog is afraid of fireworks, Independence Day can be a terrifying experience for them. To ensure the 4th of July doesn't turn into a traumatic experience for both you and your dog, it's important to have a plan for keeping your dog safe and comfortable when the fireworks go off. Here are some tips from a Los Angeles dog trainer on how to get your dog or puppy ready for Independence Day.

Housebreaking your pup requires being be prepared with the right equipment and a plan for how to best potty train your puppy based on your particular living situation. The ideal way to house train a puppy is by keeping it in a crate or playpen when it is not being supervised and getting your puppy to the right spot, at the right time, in order to teach it where the potty is.