SOMEONE ASKED me recently how long it takes to train a dog. Theres no simple answer. It depends on many factors such as the dogs age, temperament and personality, breed or mixed breed characteristics, prior training if any, the chosen training method, and so much more.

A puppy younger than 3 or 4 months has a relatively clean slate, so training progresses quickly. A lot can be accomplished in just a few months, but the job continues. As the dog goes through adolescence, the owner needs to keep practicing to get through that teenage period.

An adolescent or adult dog, even one that hasnt had any formal training, has prior learning gleaned from experiences. Consequently, the dog has responses and behaviors that might affect training. For example, if a dog hasnt been trained to come when called, he likely has learned to ignore Come! or doesnt know that it means Right now without stopping to smell the roses. It will take longer to overcome that prior learning. Or if a dog learned to respond to the command sit ... Sit ... SIT ... SIT! ... SIT DARN IT!! it will generally take time to teach him to respond to a calm, quiet, sit.

When starting a young puppys training, learning happens quickly. But then comes adolescence. Just as with human adolescents, teenage dogs test the boundaries, often become self-assertive, are easily distracted and frustrate owners in other ways they might not be prepared for.

Puppy owners often tell us they dont need to start training classes (yet) because their puppy seems to have been born trained. He never leaves their property, always follows them closely when they walk with it off-leash (in a safe place, of course) and always comes when called. I smile, say how fortunate they are and then say, Just wait for adolescence. Actually, Im not quite that passive about it. I explain that teenagers push the envelope, and in a month or two, these born trained behaviors will likely disappear unless they are solidified through training.

The differences between puppy and adolescent behaviors can be observed in the dogs relative, the wolf, which makes the purpose of the developmental stages clear.

Several periods of a dogs psychological development relate to a wild canines very survival. Lets take the homebound behavior that owners report, in which the puppy doesnt wander from the yard, and the following off-leash that many owners enjoy in a young puppy. These two Velcro-like behaviors radically change in adolescence. Where previously the puppy was glued to the property, the adolescent is eager to explore the world outside the property line and might roam.

This time frame corresponds to the wolfs development. When adult wolves go off to hunt, young pups stick close to the den, playing together and waiting for mom and dad to return. Starting around 4 or 5 months of age, the youngsters begin to explore away from the den. This willingness to leave the safe confines of home corresponds with the time a wolf pack moves from its summer quarters, where the new pups are born, to the packs winter home, following a caribou herd for example. Nature has created this inborn safety net for the pups: Stay close to safe harbor, and when the time comes, a switch is flipped, and the adolescent is bold enough (and big enough) to travel.

While this developmental period has great significance in wild canids, it is no less apparent in dogs, and is called the Flight Instinct period. Generally starting between 4 and 6 months of age, the now-adolescent dog takes off on his own for the first time or doesnt come when called. Having your puppy in training before this happens often avoids issues, so this transition to adolescence might pass without any significant undesirable learning.

Regardless of how long it takes to train a dog, just start. The younger the better, but its never too late. Lay a solid training foundation, then use it throughout your dogs life. Youll both love the results.

Gail Fisher, author of The Thinking Dog and a dog behavior consultant, runs All Dogs Gym & Inn in Manchester. To suggest a topic for this column, which appears every other Sunday, email gail@alldogsgym.com or write c/o All Dogs Gym, 505 Sheffield Road, Manchester, NH 03103. Past columns are on her website.

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Gail Fisher's 'Dog Tracks': Don't be fooled by puppy behavior to skip early training - The Union Leader