[yorkietalkjilly]

A 3 month old pup can pick up the "leave it" and redirection to the treat/toy just like an older dog. They catch on very quickly and learn early that your interrupting them at whatever they are doing with a word often leads to a very nice reward. It is a very good lesson that can be learned very very early in life by any pup or even very old or lifetime unruly dog. I've trained many a dog from young puppyhood up or even a dog with a long history of misbehaving with this method. Of course, to train any dog this way, you must be continually positive, always on the alert and make it fun. And training a dog is not for the easily discouraged because the pup or dog goes right back to doing the old behavior over and over at first until the light bulb goes off in their heads. But once that light goes on - Wow! What a lovely breakthrough and what a sense of achievement for the team you are becoming. Thereafer, the training actually does become easier as your little partner accepts your words and direction more and more quickly as a part of his learned automatic response to your commands. It is a fun, loving and very rewarding way of dealing with your little four-legged companion's explorations and exploits as you grow together in your relationship.