Training – these are my recommendations – you can train any which way you want – just my personal experience and feelings.
Time invested early and young saves you so much time and headache in the long run.
- Potty (start night 1)
- We have already potty trained them to not go in their sleep/play areas, only in a specific place.
- The first night carry them outside every two hours to a specific place you want them to always go and say “go potty” or whatever words you want. Then right back locked in their crate. Have a blanket over it so they have a little cave for security. They naturally want to be in a den.
- You want to crate train them each night – so when you wanna leave the house one day you can safely leave them in the crate and you know they’re not getting into something they shouldn’t be doing.
- When they’re puppies a few hours in the crate is all they can handle.. Work your way up to 6-8 hours over a few months. It’s good for them! By 6 months old we left both dogs out of the crate at night as they were trained not to chew on random stuff or get into trouble.
- The first two weeks are crap on your sleep schedule – but once you train them to potty at such a young age you won’t have accidents in the house ever again.
- Water
- They’re labs and love water. Neena played in her water dish all the time as a puppy and would splash it everywhere.
- I then put an inch in the bathtub and let her play in that and she was in heaven. She also loved just having the tub water on a trickle to play in it.
- She got a bath about a week after coming home – I used an oatmeal and aloe shampoo since it’s gentle on their puppy coats.
- At 9 weeks once they’ve settled into their new home you can each them:
- 11 weeks introduce your slip lead and teach come
- 12 weeks our first outdoor walk training
- Socialization
- This is the article my vet sent us to use as a baseline.
- Car (start at week 8)
- Put them in the car on the backseat and take a short 5 min drive around the block. Get them used to car rides. Neena has zero car anxiety and passes out with her block head on the middle console.
- You’re more than welcome to use a seatbelt harness for safety. I chance it and I personally don’t.
- Noises (start at week 8)
- How many dogs do you know that hate the vacuum? A lot .. so early on use it, use any loud random sounds you think they could perhaps be scared of in the future to let them know they’re actually normal noises and should not be afraid of them.
- They won’t be scared – I took Neena for hunting training and soon as she heard shot guns going off near her those instincts kicked in and she loved it!
- Prado Dog Park in Chino is an amazing place to let them be real labs! It’s only $15 to go into acres of ponds for hunting training/play time in ponds.
- This is where they do the AKC hunting dog tests and shows.
- Prado Dog Park in Chino is an amazing place to let them be real labs! It’s only $15 to go into acres of ponds for hunting training/play time in ponds.
As they age 12 weeks+ and can begin to continue their education work on:
- Pulling
- I don’t believe in any training gimmicks. They’re all quick fixes when really you should be taking the time to train your dog. It’s repetitive exhausting work, but a few months of overbearing consistent work will give you an easy dog for 12+ years.
- Harnesses ruin a dog’s gait/shoulders/teach pulling. Think sled dogs.
- Choke/prong collars are just too much
- Face halters – they’re not horses.
- If your dog (4+ months) begins to pull simply turn around and walk the other way. It’s torture on you. It’s not fun. It’s a pain in the ass, but it works. Soon your smart little lab will learn pulling is not allowed.
- Don’t forget only 5 minutes of formal exercise per month of the puppy’s age, twice a day, when under 18 months old.
- This means when the puppy is 7 months old it should only have 35 minutes of formal exercise, twice a day, in order to protect its joints from damage and long term harm. Running around the yard and playing in the house does not count toward this time.
- Their growth plates do not close until 18 months of age and any rough over play, excessive stairs, etc as a puppy can give them life long joint issues! It’s not worth it.
- I don’t believe in any training gimmicks. They’re all quick fixes when really you should be taking the time to train your dog. It’s repetitive exhausting work, but a few months of overbearing consistent work will give you an easy dog for 12+ years.
- Heel
- They should walk at your left side at your hip. They should not wander, pull, be at the end of your lead, sniff what they want, stop when they want . This is the time in their lives you’re in control and it pays to be strict. Make them listen now when they’re small cause it only gets harder when they’re bigger.
- You do not want a 90lb dog lunging at something when they’re adults. That’ll kill your shoulder, kill your self esteem for having an unruly dog, and could be unsafe for others on the sidewalk. It’s best to do it when they’re young, lightweight, and controllable.
- Once you get past the 4-7 month stage they’ll be little angels and should not ever pull again. Read those facebook groups above and you’ll see what an issue it is for people. No thanks!
- Remember every walk is a training session. Every time the leash is on you’re training.
- YouTube
- There are a ton of great youtube videos to watch and get training tips (sit, down, tricks, etc.) that’s exactly what I did to teach Neena her 30+ tricks!
- Sonnie Dennis has Labrador puppy training videos that are wonderful. He breaks them down by their age and it really helps.