Should Your Breeder Train Your Puppy Before Go-Home? What 1, 3, or 5 Extra Weeks Can and Can't Do

By Sara · Country Lane Doodles Utah

First, a disclosure: we sell this. Country Lane Doodles offers one-, three-, and five-week training packages, where your puppy stays with us past eight weeks and trains one-on-one in our home before going home with you. That's a good reason to be careful about what I say here, so I'll try to be the kind of honest a family deserves before spending real money.

Here's what extra weeks with a breeder can realistically build, what no program can promise, and who I think it's worth it for and who it isn't.

The short answer

Pre-go-home training can give you a puppy who already knows a potty routine, settles in a crate, and responds to a handful of cues in the place she learned them. It can't give you a puppy who is house-trained in a home she has never seen, who has outgrown mouthing and chewing, or who will skip adolescence.

Part of what you're paying for isn't training at all. It's age. A thirteen-week-old puppy can physically do things an eight-week-old can't, wherever she spends those weeks.

What changes between 8 and 13 weeks anyway

A red puppy sitting on green grass with rocks and mountains behind

A Country Lane puppy outside on the grass. Some of what families notice in an older puppy is simply age.

Two things happen during those weeks whether or not anyone trains the puppy.

Bladder capacity grows. By VCA Animal Hospitals' rule of thumb, puppies need to go out every two hours at six to eight weeks, adding roughly an hour of holding time per month of age. An eleven- or thirteen-week-old can simply wait longer than an eight-week-old. Some of the calmer nights families notice with an older puppy are biology, and I'd rather say that plainly.

The socialization window keeps closing. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior describes the first three months of life as the primary period for socialization. A puppy who stays with us until eleven or thirteen weeks spends a large share of that window here, not with you. That makes one question more important than any list of cues: what does the puppy experience during those weeks besides training sessions?

What each length realistically builds

These descriptions come from our training page, with my honest notes on each.

One week (goes home around 9 weeks). A potty routine with a "go potty" cue, crate settling, a first introduction to sit, come, and the leash, plus handling and a go-home handover. My take: this is mostly a smoother first week. You get a puppy with an established routine and you get our routine written down. That handover is worth more than it sounds.

Three weeks (goes home around 11 weeks). Everything in the one-week package plus sit, down, stay, and come; crate training and loose-leash walking; leave it, wait, and impulse control; household manners; weekly updates; a graduation video; and a family handover session. My take: this is where you start to see a puppy who can do things on cue, and overnight crate settling is part of the work. It's our most popular package for a reason.

Five weeks (goes home around 13 weeks). Everything above plus stronger recall and leash skills, place training and boundaries, duration and distraction work, a goal customized to your family, weekly photo and video updates, and a written guide with an in-depth handover. My take: this is for families with a specific goal, such as a puppy who can settle on a bed while young kids play, or one going to a busy household where the first month will be hectic. It's the most reliable version, and it also means the most socialization weeks spent away from your family.

What no training program can promise

I'd be wary of any breeder or trainer who implies otherwise on these:

House-training in a new house. A puppy learns "go potty here." Your door, yard, and schedule are new. Expect a few accidents and a week of re-learning even with a well-trained puppy. Our post on what "started on potty training" means explains why.
The same performance on day one at home. Dogs don't transfer skills to new places very well at first. A sit that's rock solid in our kitchen will be wobbly in yours for a few days. That's normal, and it's why the handover session exists.
No more mouthing or chewing. Biting and chewing are part of being a puppy, and teething comes later. Training teaches better outlets. It doesn't remove the urge.
A finished dog. Adolescence brings its own testing of limits, usually just as owners relax. Foundations make it easier, but you'll still be training.
A different temperament. Training shapes behavior. It doesn't turn a busy, high-energy puppy into a couch potato, or a cautious puppy into a social butterfly.

Who I think it's worth it for

First-time owners with demanding schedules who know the first month will be the hardest part, and who'd rather begin with a routine than build one from scratch.
Families with very young children, where the eight-to-eleven-week stretch of night wake-ups and needle teeth lands on an already full house.
Families who would hire a trainer anyway. Here the training happens one-on-one from day one, in the home the puppy already knows, with positive reinforcement only.
Out-of-state families who'd like their puppy to travel a little older and steadier.

Who I'd steer away from it

Families who want the baby weeks. Eight-week-olds are a lot of work and they're also a short, sweet stage you don't get back. If that matters to you, don't buy it away.
Experienced owners with time at home. You may get most of the same results yourself, with more bonding along the way.
Anyone stretching the budget for it. A well-raised puppy with an owner who has a good plan does fine. For families who'd rather train themselves, we partner with Baxter & Bella's online puppy school, and our families get 25% off a lifetime membership with code CLND. The details are on our training page.

How to judge any breeder's training program

If you're comparing breeders who offer training, ask:

What methods do you use? (Ours are positive reinforcement only.)
Is the training one-on-one or done with the whole litter?
Where does the puppy sleep during training weeks?
What does the puppy experience outside of training sessions?
What do I get at handover: a written cue list, a video, an in-person session?
What happens if a skill doesn't transfer to my home in the first week?

A program with good answers to the last two questions is planning for real life, not just a graduation video.

If you're deciding now

You can add training when you submit your puppy application, and we'll help you choose a length that fits your family's goals and your go-home timing. If you're still deciding on a puppy, our available puppies each show their go-home date, which tells you how training would line up.

About the author. Sara raises Bernedoodle and Poodle puppies in her home in Erda, Utah, using Puppy Culture and Badass Breeder protocols from birth to go-home day. Before she started breeding, she spent years working in a veterinary hospital. More about Sara and Country Lane Doodles.