In today's world, we are used to instant gratification. We can have items shipped to us from across the world in mere days, we can download a new game in less than an hour, and we can have a fully cooked meal given to us through a drive-thru window within minutes.

However, there is nothing like living with an animal (especially a young animal) to teach you patience.

One of the most common questions I get as a professional dog trainer from students with puppies is about aggression and biting. We unfortunately have even had people email us inquiring about signing up for classes to have them reply back that they rehomed the puppy before class even started because the puppy was "aggressive".

True aggression in puppies is extremely rare. I have only seen one to two cases of true aggression in a puppy under four months of age in all my years of working with dogs.

So, what are puppy owners actually seeing then?

One of the most exciting parts of bringing home a new puppy is figuring out what your puppy likes and doesn't like. As their personalities blossom before us, we often start seeing naughty behaviors appear as well. A good setup for your puppy cannot only prevent some of these behaviors from ever beginning, but it can be a puppy's safe haven where they learn to relax and become independent.