Five steps to a well trained puppy

Training a puppy is one of those things that sounds simple until you’re actually doing it. You’ve got a small ball of fluff staring at you with zero idea what “sit” means, and you’re standing there holding a treat like some kind of biscuit-wielding hostage negotiator.

But here’s the thing. Puppies are brilliant learners. Their brains are wired to absorb new information in those first few months, and if you get the basics right early on, you’ll set them up with habits that stick for life. Lhasa Apsos have their own particular approach to training (more on that shortly), but the fundamentals work for every breed.

Start with their name

This sounds obvious, but it’s the foundation of everything else. Your puppy needs to learn that their name means “pay attention to me.” Not “you’re in trouble.” Not “food is coming.” Just “look at me, something relevant is about to happen.”

Say their name. When they look at you, praise them immediately. A treat helps at first, but don’t give one every single time or they’ll only respond when food is involved. Mix it up. Sometimes a treat, sometimes just an enthusiastic “good girl” or a scratch behind the ears.

Poppy learned her name within days of arriving home. Getting her to actually care about responding to it? That took a bit longer. Lhasas have this wonderful ability to hear their name perfectly well and decide it doesn’t apply to them right now. That’s not a training failure. It’s the Lhasa temperament doing its thing.

Teaching sit

This is the first proper command most people teach, and it’s one of the most useful. A dog that sits on command is a dog you can manage in any situation. Visitors at the door, meal times, putting the lead on, crossing the road. It all starts with sit.

Hold a treat just above your puppy’s nose so they can smell it. Slowly move it backward over their head. Their nose follows the treat, their bum goes down. The second they sit, praise and reward. Once they’re getting it reliably, add the word “sit” as you do the hand movement so they associate the word with the action.

Do this in short sessions. Ten minutes, three times a day, when your puppy is alert and not overtired. Puppies have the attention span of a goldfish on caffeine. Trying to drill commands for half an hour will frustrate both of you.

With Lhasas, expect the process to take a bit longer than some breeds. They’re not slow. They’re evaluating whether the reward justifies the effort. It’s toddler negotiation, pure and simple. Higher-value treats tend to speed things up considerably.

Lie down

Once sit is solid, lie down follows naturally. From a sitting position, hold a treat in front of your puppy’s nose and slowly bring it straight down to the floor. Their body should follow. When they’re flat, praise and treat.

Some puppies try to cheat by just lowering their head without actually lying down. If that happens, only reward when the full body is on the ground. They’ll work it out. Others pop back up immediately. That’s fine. Speed comes later. Right now you just want them to understand what the position looks like.

Add the cue word “down” or “lie down” once they’re doing it consistently. Try not to use “down” if you also use it for “get off the sofa,” because you’ll confuse your dog (and probably yourself). Pick one word for one action and stick with it.

Stay

This one tests your patience more than your puppy’s. Stay means “remain in position until I tell you otherwise.” It’s the command that stops your dog charging out the front door, bolting into traffic, or diving at someone else’s dinner.

Start small. Ask your puppy to sit. Hold your hand up, palm facing them, and say “stay.” Wait one second. If they don’t move, praise and treat. Gradually increase the time. Then increase the distance. Then add distractions. Each step takes days, not minutes.

If they break the stay, don’t punish them. Just reset and try again with a shorter duration. Training should never feel like a battle. If either of you is getting frustrated, stop and try again later.

Lhasas can be surprisingly good at stay once they understand it. Their creature of habit nature means they’re quite happy to park themselves somewhere and not move. The challenge is getting them to stay because you asked, not because they’ve decided it suits them.

Recall: come when called

Recall is the most important command you’ll ever teach. It’s the one that could save your dog’s life. If they’re heading toward a road, chasing something they shouldn’t, or about to eat something dodgy on a walk, “come” needs to work every time.

Start in a small, enclosed space with minimal distractions. Call your puppy’s name followed by “come.” When they reach you, make a massive fuss. Treats, praise, the works. You want coming to you to be the best thing that’s ever happened to them.

Never call your dog to you and then do something they don’t like, such as putting them in the bath or ending playtime. If “come” starts to mean “fun is over,” they’ll stop responding. Instead, go to them for the unpleasant stuff.

Recall with Lhasas is a work in progress for most owners. Their independent streak means they weigh up the options before deciding whether to come back. A squirrel, an interesting smell, or another dog might outrank you in the moment. A long training lead is your best friend for practising recall outdoors until it’s reliable. If you’re new to Lhasas, the first-time owner’s guide covers more on managing that independence.

Beyond the basics

Once your puppy has the fundamentals down, you can start building on them. “Leave it” is incredibly useful for a breed that likes to scavenge. “Wait” (different from stay) works well at doorways and before meals. “Drop it” saves you from wrestling half a sock out of their mouth at 7am.

But don’t rush it. Stick to the basics for the first few months. Overloading a puppy with commands leads to confusion and frustration. Get the foundations right and everything else comes more naturally.

If puppy biting is causing problems during training sessions, that’s a separate issue worth addressing. It’s normal puppy behaviour, but it can derail a training session fast if you’re not prepared for it.

Training a Lhasa Apso specifically

Everything above applies to Lhasas, but there are a few breed-specific quirks worth knowing about.

Lhasas are smart. Properly smart. They understand what you want. They just don’t always agree that they should do it. This isn’t defiance for the sake of it. They were bred to think independently and make their own judgements. In a Tibetan monastery, a guard dog that blindly followed orders wasn’t much use. They needed to assess situations and decide for themselves.

That heritage means training a Lhasa is less about obedience and more about motivation. Find what they value. For Poppy, it’s cheese. For other Lhasas it might be a specific toy or a particular type of attention. Once you’ve found their currency, training becomes a negotiation rather than a command-and-comply exercise.

Consistency matters enormously. If “sit” earns a reward on Monday but gets ignored on Tuesday, your Lhasa will decide the whole system is unreliable and opt out. Everyone in the household needs to use the same words, the same rules, and the same rewards.

Keep sessions short and fun. The moment a Lhasa gets bored, they check out. You’ll know because they’ll start looking at literally anything except you. Five minutes of focused training is worth more than twenty minutes of increasingly frustrated repetition.

Common mistakes to avoid

Punishing mistakes. Dogs don’t understand punishment the way humans do. Shouting at a puppy for getting it wrong just makes them anxious. Ignore the wrong behaviour, reward the right one.

Treating every time. If your dog only performs when they can see a treat in your hand, you’ve created a bribery system, not a trained response. Use treats to establish the behaviour, then gradually phase them out in favour of praise.

Inconsistent commands. If one person says “down” and another says “lie” and a third says “on the floor,” your dog has no idea what any of them mean. Pick your words and make sure everyone uses them.

Training when tired or distracted. A puppy who’s just had a walk or is desperate for a nap won’t learn anything useful. Time your sessions when they’re alert but calm.

The bigger picture

Training isn’t just about commands. It’s about building a relationship with your dog based on trust, communication, and mutual understanding. A well-trained dog is a happier dog. They know what’s expected of them. They understand the boundaries. And they get more freedom as a result, because you can trust them in more situations.

Poppy’s training journey wasn’t linear. There were weeks where she seemed to forget everything she’d learned, and days where she cooperated so beautifully we thought we’d cracked it. The key was persistence without frustration. She got there in her own time, on her own terms, which is about as Lhasa as it gets.

Your puppy will get there too. Just keep the sessions short, the rewards high, and your expectations realistic. And invest in some decent cheese. Trust us on that one.