Bringing home a new dog is exciting, but that first week can make or break your entire training journey. In this episode, Kenji Takahashi walks you through the essential foundation commands every new dog needs to learn in their first seven days, whether you've adopted a puppy, an adolescent, or an adult rescue. You'll learn the exact techniques that work, the common mistakes that sabotage progress, and how to build trust and communication from day one without overwhelming your dog or yourself.

• Name recognition comes before everything else because your dog needs to understand that hearing their name means something good is about to happen and they should pay attention to you. Most people skip this step and jump straight into commands, which makes every other lesson harder because the dog hasn't learned to focus on you first.
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