What's the best way to train my 7-week-old litter of puppies?

You can start training a puppy as young as 8 weeks to do basic commands such as sit, lay down, and stay. Puppies have a short attention span, however, so training sessions should be kept to 15 minutes max. They can have a couple of training sessions a day.

It is never too soon to start some basic training and at 9 weeks she should be more than ready even if she is small. I would keep training sessions short but frequent. If she loses interest, stop and try again in a few hours. I really like Sophia Yin's book The Perfect Puppy in 7 Days - she recommends integrating training into your daily routine. https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Puppy-Days-Start-Right/dp/0964151871/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524569051&sr=8-1&keywords=the+perfect+puppy+in+7+days

I think spending 30-60 minutes with her each day is good for general puppy training. You may have to split the times up in to smaller intervals to help keep her attention. As far as what you want to train her on all depends on what all you want her to do. I would definitely teach her to sit, stay, and lay. You can also teach her to properly walk on a leash. Some other tricks like shake and roll over, etc are also fun to teach. You can easily find the methods to teach them these easy commands at home. It does take time a report on to help them learn these commands. I hope this helps!

It sounds like you definitely have your hands full! :) Deciding how many dogs you want to have (and are able to care for) at one time is a very personal decision - so only you can determine if this is a good choice for you and your family. But, I can tell you that it would be **extremely** difficult to do a good job of training six puppies at once - one puppy is plenty for most owners! I would never consider keeping an entire litter of pups personally, because I know there is no way that I could give this many puppies enough personal, one-on-one time and attention to help them thrive. If you feel this way also, I would suggest talking to your fiance about finding homes for some of the puppies sooner rather than later, as they will only become more difficult to place as they get older - especially if they are poorly socialized and untrained.

5 1/2 months is still very young and puppies at that age cannot really concentrate for long yet. So if you keep the lessons short (10 to 15 minutes) and fun and interesting, your puppy will enjoy them and learn well.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your new puppy. Dogs do not gain physical control over their urination and defecation until 4-5 months of age. At this stage, you are just trying to be consistent and create predictable routines for him. This will teach him what to expect and where he should go to the bathroom. However, he is much too young at this point. As far as walking on a leash, this takes time for puppies to learn as well. Most are more comfortable with this by 3-4 months of age. Most puppies can sit on command by around 8-10 weeks of age. Continue to work with him and be patient. He will learn. As far as exercise, playing with toys with keep him occupied at this age. I hope this information helps!

You should be doing 10 to 15 minutes or training a few times per day. You don't want to train too long at any one given time as their attention span is limited at this age. Every few weeks you can increase the time by 5 to 10 minutes depending on how she is doing. It is always recommended that you consult with a professional dog trainer. Best wishes.