When training your dog at home, there are a few basic rules you should remember.

1. Keep your training sessions short.  Especially for a new puppy.  Their attention span is not like persons.  Puppies are like small children.  They can only focus for a few minutes and after that both of you will become frustrated, because nothing else will be learned.  About 10-15 minutes for a puppy.  A dog that is 9 months to a year or better can hold their attention span for about 20-30 minutes.  So concentrate on one or two commands at the most.
2. You must be in calm, cool and in control.  This is very important or your efforts will fail for both you and your dog.  If you dog senses you are losing patience, with will be difficult to work with.  You need to keep a steady tone of voice, NO YELLING.  You need to control the leach, but do not jerk or choke your dog.  Constant movements, but steady and keep your voice firm, but no need to shout.  You might even want to practice saying the command in a low voice to make sure they are listening.  This is also good training if you choose to teach them hand signals as well.
3. No need to over praise.  You need to re-enforce their actions with a pat on the head and a good boy or girl.  You can give treats at the END of the session, but not every time they do the command correctly.  You need to let them know they have pleased you, but if you give them a treat each time, they will come to expect them after training is complete.
4. Consistency.  If you are training your dog to heal for instance.  Always start off with the same foot.  If you don’t your dog will be confused and will not be able to learn the command and you will both get frustrated.  If you want them to lay down and you start off by saying “down”.  Then you must stick with that command.  Same with any other commands.
5. End the session with an “at a boy/girl”.  If you end on a positive note, your dog will look forward to the sessions.  They only want to please you and if you are mad at them or frustrated when you quit, then when you take them to the same spot for training, that you have been taking them to, they will remember it and training will be more difficult.
6. Do not associate a command with a punishment.  A stern NO is different than a punishment, like a swat on the behind or sending them to their bed/pin.  You need to be stern, if necessary, but if you punish them during training, like jerk on a pinch collar or tell them they are “bad”, they will associate this time together as a bad experience and this will become a dreaded time, instead of a good positive experience.

Training your dog is not for everyone.  Be honest with yourself after the first couple of sessions.  If these basic rules are not something you can stick with, then it is best to take your dog to someone who does this for a living.  That way, you two can remain
”best friends.”