January: National train your dog month.

Q: When should you start training?

A: According to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, puppies can start socialization classes as early as seven to eight weeks of age.

There are many reasons for training your pet. The most obvious reasons for training your dog are to instill good behaviors and prevent inappropriate ones from developing; here are some other ones to know about.

–Life skills: training your dog gives the two of you a common language and teaches your dog how to navigate our world.

–Freedom: training is your dog’s passport to the world. The well-trained dog can go to more places, meet more people and have more adventures because he follows the rules.

–Ambassador skills: dogs and humans alike enjoy being around a polite pup that knows how to hang.

–Peace of mind: when your dog has mastered training, you don’t have to worry that he’s going to run out the door and not come home or drag you down the street until your shoulder is sore.

–Bonding: working through basic training exercises as a team helps to cement your relationship with your new best friend.

–Mental exercise: dogs need to work their bodies and their brains. Even though many basic training lessons don’t require much physical exertion, the mental aspect of figuring out the exercise can tire even the most active puppies.