7-Day Puppy Training Schedule That Actually Works

So you’ve just brought home that adorable ball of fluff, and now reality’s setting in, huh? Those puppy eyes might be melting your heart, but the puddles on your carpet and 3 AM barking sessions aren’t exactly what you signed up for. Trust me, I’ve been there—three puppies later, I’ve got the chewed-up shoes to prove it!

But here’s the good news: with a solid week of focused training, you can set the foundation for a well-behaved dog who won’t destroy your sanity (or your furniture). This isn’t some theoretical guide written by someone who’s never had puppy teeth marks on their favorite pair of slippers. This is real-world stuff that actually works.

Ready to transform your adorable chaos machine into a reasonably well-behaved family member? Let’s do this!

Before You Start: The Mindset That Makes All The Difference

Ever wondered why some people seem to have perfectly trained dogs while others are constantly apologizing for their four-legged tornado? It’s not luck, and it’s definitely not the breed. It’s consistency.

Training a puppy is a lot like dealing with a toddler who can run at 20 mph and has built-in weapons. They’re not being “bad” on purpose—they just don’t know any better yet. Your job is to be the consistent, patient teacher they need.

Before we dive into the day-by-day schedule, let’s get something straight:

• Puppies have tiny bladders and tiny attention spans. Keep sessions short (5-10 minutes max).
• Positive reinforcement works WAY better than punishment. Treats, praise, and play are your new best friends.
• Consistency is non-negotiable. Everyone in the household needs to follow the same rules.
• You will mess up. Your puppy will mess up. It’s fine. Deep breaths and try again.

Got it? Good! Now let’s get to that schedule.

Day 1: Operation Home Sweet Home

Morning: The Grand Tour

First day home? Your puppy is probably equal parts excited and terrified. Think about it—they’ve just been separated from everything familiar and thrust into this weird new place with giant creatures (that’s you) who make strange noises.

Start by introducing your pup to their designated potty area. Take them there immediately upon arriving home. When they do their business outside, act like they’ve just solved world hunger. Seriously—praise, treats, the works!

Next, show them around their living area. I recommend confining them to just one or two rooms at first. Too much space equals too many opportunities for accidents and chewing disasters.

Afternoon: Crate Introduction

Is crate training cruel? Nope, not when done right. Dogs are den animals by nature, and a properly introduced crate becomes their safe space, not a prison.

Here’s what worked for me:

1. Place treats inside the crate and let your puppy discover them
2. Feed meals in the crate with the door open
3. Practice short periods with the door closed while you’re sitting nearby
4. Gradually increase time with door closed

Never use the crate as punishment. It should be their happy place, not puppy jail.

Evening: Name Game & First Night

By evening, start using your puppy’s name followed by attention and treats. Simple but effective—they’ll learn that their name means “pay attention, good things are coming!”

As for that first night… brace yourself for some crying. It’s normal. Your pup just lost their littermates and now they’re alone in a strange place. Try placing the crate near your bed so they can sense your presence. A ticking clock or heartbeat toy can also help.

Pro tip: Set an alarm to take them out for potty breaks during the night. Yes, it’s exhausting, but it prevents accidents and teaches them that help is always available when nature calls.

Day 2: Potty Training Boot Camp

Morning: Establishing The Schedule

Morning two and you’re probably tired. Welcome to puppy parenthood!

Today’s mission is establishing a rock-solid potty schedule:

• First thing in the morning
• After meals
• After naps
• After play sessions
• Before bedtime
• Every 1-2 hours in between (yep, really)

The secret to potty training isn’t rocket science—it’s preventing accidents by taking them out frequently and rewarding success lavishly. Every accident indoors is a missed opportunity for reinforcing the right behavior.

Afternoon: Handling & Body Awareness

While potty training continues throughout the day, add in some handling exercises. Touch paws, ears, mouth, tail—all while giving treats. This teaches your pup that human handling = positive experiences, which will make vet visits and grooming so much easier down the road.

Ever tried to clip the nails of a 70-pound dog who wasn’t desensitized to paw handling as a puppy? IMO, it’s like trying to give a cat a bath while riding a unicycle. Not fun.

Evening: More Crate Time

Continue building positive crate associations. Try a stuffed Kong toy in the crate—it gives them something to focus on besides being confined.

For night two, move the crate a little farther from your bed if last night went reasonably well. We’re going for gradual progress, not cold turkey.

Day 3: Basic Commands Begin

Morning: Sit Training

By day three, your puppy has hopefully started to settle in a bit. Now we can start with the most basic and useful command: sit.

Here’s how to teach it:

1. Hold a treat close to your puppy’s nose
2. Move your hand up so their head follows the treat and their bottom naturally lowers
3. As soon as they sit, say “Sit!” and give the treat
4. Repeat, repeat, repeat

Keep sessions super short—like 3-5 minutes max. End while they’re still engaged and successful, not when they’re getting bored or frustrated.

Afternoon: Leash Introduction

Even if your pup isn’t fully vaccinated for outdoor walks yet, introducing the leash indoors is crucial. Let them wear it for short periods while playing and receiving treats.

Many puppies do the “deadweight” move or thrash around when they first feel leash pressure. Stay calm and wait it out—never drag them! Instead, use treats to encourage movement in the direction you want.

Evening: Name Recognition Continued

Building on day one’s name game, practice calling your puppy’s name in different situations and rewarding them for attention. This is the foundation of recall training—possibly the most important safety command they’ll learn.

Day 4: Focus & Impulse Control

Morning: Eye Contact Game

Want a puppy who actually listens to you instead of being permanently distracted by EVERYTHING? The eye contact game is your new best friend.

Hold a treat in your closed hand, but don’t give it immediately when your puppy shows interest. Wait for a split second of eye contact, then mark it with a “Yes!” and reward. Gradually increase the duration of eye contact required.

This simple exercise is secretly powerful—you’re teaching your pup that focusing on you is more rewarding than anything else. Plus, it’s adorable when they look at you with those “are you going to give me something good?” eyes.

Afternoon: Leave It Basics

“Leave it” might literally save your dog’s life someday when they’re about to scarf down something dangerous. Start simple:

1. Place a low-value treat under your shoe (they can smell it but not get it)
2. Wait for them to stop trying to get it and look at you
3. Say “Leave it” and reward with a BETTER treat from your other hand

The lesson? Ignoring the forbidden item leads to something even better. Mind. Blown.

Evening: Relaxation Practice

By evening of day four, you’re probably wondering if your puppy has an off switch. Let’s start installing one!

Create a designated relaxation spot (a mat or bed) and reward calm behavior there. Initially, reward even brief moments of settling. Eventually, your dog will learn that chilling out on their spot leads to good things.

This isn’t just about getting some peace—you’re teaching a critical life skill. Dogs who learn to relax on cue are less likely to develop anxiety issues later.

Day 5: Expanding The Repertoire

Morning: Come When Called

On day five, let’s work on a reliable recall—possibly the most important command for your pup’s safety.

1. Say your puppy’s name followed by “Come!” in an excited voice
2. When they come to you, praise lavishly and give high-value treats
3. Never, ever call your dog to you for anything unpleasant (like medicine or ending playtime)

The recall should be the happiest, most rewarding command in your dog’s vocabulary. If they think coming to you might lead to something they don’t like, good luck getting them to come when it really matters.

Afternoon: Down Command

Building on the sit command from day three, let’s teach “down”:

1. Start with your puppy in a sit
2. Hold a treat in front of their nose, then slowly move it straight down and then away from them
3. As they follow the treat with their nose, they should naturally lie down
4. As soon as they do, say “Down!” and reward

This one’s a bit harder than sit because it’s a more vulnerable position for dogs. Be patient and reward even partial progress at first.

Evening: Handling Practice Level Up

Taking the handling exercises from day two up a notch, practice looking in ears, opening the mouth, and touching paws while giving treats. This makes future grooming and vet exams so much easier.

FYI, many adult dogs hate having their paws touched because nobody did this desensitization when they were puppies. Five minutes a day now saves years of struggle later!

Day 6: Social Skills & Distractions

Morning: Polite Greetings

By day six, your puppy has probably figured out that humans are EXCITING. Too exciting, maybe.

Let’s work on polite greetings:

1. Ignore jumping completely—no pushing them down, no saying “no,” just total attention withdrawal
2. The second all four paws are on the floor, calmly praise and pet them
3. If they jump again, attention disappears again
4. Repeat until they get it

This requires superhuman patience sometimes, but it works. Jumping only works if it gets attention, even negative attention. Remove that payoff and they’ll abandon the strategy.

Afternoon: Training With Distractions

Time to make things harder! Practice all previous commands with mild distractions added:

• Different rooms of the house
• While toys are visible nearby
• With another family member moving around

Start with easy distractions and gradually increase difficulty. If your pup struggles, make the distraction easier—we want them to succeed!

Evening: Gentle Play

Teaching appropriate play is crucial. Puppies need to learn bite inhibition and how to play without getting too rough.

If play biting gets too hard, yelp loudly and stop playing for 30-60 seconds. This mimics how puppies learn from littermates that biting too hard ends the fun.

Bold truth: Your puppy will bite. Those needle teeth hurt! The goal isn’t to eliminate mouthing completely at this stage but to teach them to control the pressure of their bite.

Day 7: Putting It All Together

Morning: Skills Review

Let’s assess what your puppy has learned so far:

• Responding to their name
• Sit command
• Down command (possibly still in progress)
• Coming when called (basics)
• Crate training progress
• Potty training progress
• Leash introduction

Don’t worry if some of these are still works in progress—that’s completely normal! Some puppies pick things up quickly, others need more time, and that’s perfectly fine.

Afternoon: Short Outing (If Vaccinated)

If your vet approves based on your puppy’s vaccination status, try a very short, controlled outing—maybe just your front yard or a quiet area.

This isn’t about distance—it’s about exposure to new sights, sounds, and smells in a positive way. Bring plenty of treats and keep it brief and successful.

Evening: Celebration & Planning Ahead

You made it through week one! Celebrate the small victories—maybe your puppy slept through the night once, or they sat when asked three times in a row. Progress, not perfection!

Now’s a good time to plan for week two. What worked well? What needs more focus? Remember that training is a marathon, not a sprint.

The Reality Check: What To Expect After Week One

Can you completely train a puppy in seven days? Nope. Not even close, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

What you CAN do is establish solid foundations and good habits that make everything easier moving forward. Think of this first week as orientation, not graduation.

Your puppy will still have accidents. They’ll still chew inappropriate things. They’ll still have moments of selective hearing when you call them. That’s not failure—it’s puppyhood!

Here’s what success actually looks like after week one:

• Your puppy is getting more comfortable in their crate
• Potty accidents are becoming less frequent (not eliminated)
• Basic commands work sometimes (not always)
• Your puppy looks to you for guidance more often
• You’ve established the beginnings of a routine

Why This Schedule Works When Others Fail

This 7-day plan works because it:

1. Focuses on relationship first. Notice we spent day one just helping your puppy feel safe and building positive associations.
2. Keeps sessions ridiculously short. Puppies have tiny attention spans. Five minutes of focused training beats 30 minutes of frustration every time.
3. Builds skills in a logical sequence. Each day’s activities build on the previous days.
4. Emphasizes prevention. We set up the environment for success rather than constantly correcting mistakes.
5. Uses modern, force-free methods. Research consistently shows that positive reinforcement creates more reliable behaviors and stronger human-animal bonds than punishment-based training.

Troubleshooting Common Week One Challenges

“My Puppy Still Has Accidents Inside!”

Totally normal. Double down on your supervision and schedule. If you can’t watch them like a hawk, they should be in their crate or pen. Every accident is a clue that your prevention system needs adjustment.

“My Puppy Hates The Crate!”

Slow down the process. Go back to just feeding near the crate, then feeding with the door open, and very gradually build up positive associations again. Some puppies need more time than others.

“My Puppy Doesn’t Listen To Me!”

Are you using high-value treats? Is the environment too distracting? Are your training sessions too long? Usually, one of these factors is the culprit. Remember, a young puppy has the attention span of… oh look, a butterfly!

“My Puppy Bites And It HURTS!”

Puppy biting is normal and even necessary for their development, but it needs guidance. Redirect to appropriate toys consistently, use the yelp-and-timeout method, and know that this phase does pass—usually around the time their adult teeth come in.

What Comes Next?

After this foundation week, you’ll want to:

1. Continue building duration and reliability of basic commands
2. Add more complex skills gradually
3. Increase distraction levels systematically
4. Begin socialization with careful exposure to new people, places, and well-vaccinated dogs

Remember, your puppy’s brain is developing until about two years of age. Training isn’t a one-week project—it’s an ongoing conversation between you and your dog.

But trust me on this: putting in this focused effort during week one makes EVERYTHING that follows easier. Consider it an investment in your sanity and in your relationship with what will hopefully be your best friend for many years to come.

Now go give that puppy a belly rub from me—you’ve both earned it!