Training

Bring your dog to puppy training classes. Don't send them to puppy school, because you'll miss the first few weeks with them and they may not bond with you. When training your dog, start with treats. They should at least know:

• Sit - used for getting your dog to sit down. Raise a treat over the dogs head and reward them when the sit.

• Down/lie down - get your dog to lie down. Get them into a sit, then put the treat on the ground and push it close to their paws. Reward the down.

• Stand - once your dog is sitting or lying down, 'stand' will teach them to get up. Get your dog in a sit or down, then take a treat and pull it away.

• Come - used when your dog is far and calling 'come' will have them racing towards you. Go far away and take a treat. Call 'come' and reward them. After a while, you can try adding a sit right after so that eventually they know to sit after coming over.

• Look - telling your dog to look is getting them to have eye contact with you. Keep a treat as a distraction, and reward them when they make eye contact.

Ask your vet for more details on training if needed. Many dogs chew shoes as pups, but when they do, make sure to catch them and put the shoe back where it belongs. Over time they will stop.

Never buy your dog a choke collar because punishing bad behaviour is wrong. Instead, reward good behaviour. Also make sure that the collar fits and as they grow loosen it or buy a bigger one.