In upcoming weeks, I’m going to devote a handful of posts to a topic that’s very important to me: systems.

What I’m talking about when I use the word “system” is any process that we go through to achieve a desired result. Nearly every profession has its own set of systems. When you go to a restaurant to get a hamburger—whether it’s a McDonald’s or a high-end burger joint—there will be a system with which they take our order, send it to the kitchen, and cook it. That’s the case when you’re building a car, or getting a home loan. There is always a system to make things happen smoothly and properly.

For some reason, however, dog owners often don’t apply this principle when training their dogs. Instead, they get stuck constantly playing catch-up. As soon as their dog starts to do something undesirable, they immediately start wondering what they should do about it. They spend very little time thinking about a systematic approach in order to solve problems.

For this reason, an overwhelming number of dog trainers in the country are single-operated companies. One person gets good at dog training, but because they don’t systematize it, they can’t teach it to others. They might teach their clients how to solve something, but they can’t teach someone else how to be a good trainer.

One of the reasons my company has had success over the years, and been able to hire other trainers, is our ability to systematize approaches. Every system has to make room for customization and making each client’s experience unique, but if you don’t have a system to solving problems with your dog then you’ll do a lot of wheel spinning. A system allows you to collect your thoughts, organize your efforts, and push forward in the right direction.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to post a number of articles about some of the different systems that we use to approach problems. In this article, I want to take a closer look at puppies. (I’ve been doing a lot of puppy training lately, so it’s something that’s definitely been on my mind.) When you break it down, nearly every client who comes in with a puppy is just frustrated. Their dog is peeing all over the house, chewing things, and so on. When you look at it from a macro point of view and see all the things that are going so wrong, then it’s hard to know where to start. That’s a common complaint from puppy owners: “I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how to spend my training time!”

If these owners had a system, of course, then they would know what to do. With puppies, I always try to get people to focus on four things. That’s it! If you can focus on these four components, everything else can be easily prioritized later. We’re constantly trying to get our clients to think in terms of systems, because it allows you to attack the problem with more vigor.

What are the four components of the “puppy system”? For starters, you’ve got to get your puppy house trained. (Of course I’ve got a system for that, but that’s a topic for another day.) Put the majority of your effort into that unless your dog is already doing well at it. We also need to accomplish good manners—jumping, chewing, barking, nipping, and such—and lay down what we call “foundational obedience.” That’s the kind of obedience that ensures that your puppy understands how to stay put, come when called, and behave on a leash. Those are commands that every puppy needs. The fourth and final components that we work on is proper socialization.

None of these four things is more important than any of the others—unless, of course, it is for your dog. Every dog needs a ton of socialization and solid obedience. Some puppies need more or less work on house training, while some need more work on manners. The proportions may be different, but each is important for the many puppy owners out there who are pulling out their hair. Puppies do that to people. Through the years, I’ve seen so many people come into our training center and say: “I’m so frustrated with this puppy, I don’t even know if I can keep it, and my husband’s ticked off that we have it in the first place.” If we can help these people focus on the four components of the “puppy system,” then a roadmap suddenly unfurls in front of them. They understand that they can do this!

Now, it’s important to remember that each component of the “puppy system” has its own individual system. There are systems within systems! But if you can follow those system, it’s as simple as connecting the dots or counting to three. That’s the beauty of a system: it’s been proven to work, so there is no reason to fiddle around or reinvent the wheel. Just do what you already know works.

Forget asking people for “tips.” Tips almost never work, because they’re just one small component. Most dogs need a full system in order to make progress or fix a problem. If you come in and tell me that your dog is chewing, then uncover a system that will fix it. I’m not saying you need to use our systems—even though they are great—but I’d love you to follow a system-based pattern of thought. Say to yourself: “All right, my dog’s chewing on my stuff. Millions of people have solved this before, so I know there must be a system that’s more efficient than all the others.”

I’ll be writing some more posts about systems in the future, but I would encourage you to start thinking in these terms now. There are systems to address dog aggression, destruction, pooping on the floor (and almost everything else) that will allow you to frame the problem more efficiently in your head. I can guarantee, whether you use my systems or someone else’s, that framing your thoughts around systems will put you in a much more effective position. You’ll be able to trade in your overwhelmed mindset for one that’s focused on solutions—and that can’t be a bad thing!