Labradors can grow to be one of the most obedient and friendly dogs as long as they are sufficiently trained from a young age. Conversely, a Labrador can be boisterous, disobedient and destructive if they’re not trained how to behave appropriately.
To successfully train a labrador, you need to get on its level – communicate to the pup in ways that it understands. But, seeing as you don’t speak dog, how do you teach them effectively?
In this guide, we’ll explore the main areas of Labrador training you’ll need to carry out to raise your Lab puppy well.
Although a Labrador pup can appear cute and harmless, this breed grows into a medium-to-large-sized dog with big bones and sturdy muscles. If you don’t establish yourself as the dog’s master, they will grow to be stubborn and unresponsive to commands. The last thing you want is to be unable to control a big dog bounding around your home.
So, you definitely should train your Labrador, not just to keep your house in order but also to form a tight bond between you and your pup. Training sessions with your pup can be, first and foremost, a positive bonding experience. Training your Lab puppy from a young age sets a foundation of trust and understanding, without which your relationship would be difficult.
Effective training relies solely on you, the owner. You cannot expect a Labrador to leave the litter and pick up the rules of your house automatically!
Labradors are amongst the most intelligent dogs, so once you master the skills necessary to train your dog, you’ll find it easy and rewarding for both you and your pet.
This breed is fast at learning basic commands, is easily pleased, and likes to please its owner. All these traits make Labradors easy to train for those who are willing to put in the effort.
A Labrador Retriever puppy needs to receive obedience training, crate training, and exercise training – on top of lots of socialisation!
As they master these skills and move into adulthood, you could start training them to perform one of several service dog roles. Their love for learning means they can also be trained as seeing-eye dogs and companion dogs.
Obedience training sessions are most vital throughout puppyhood; however, no matter how much obedience you teach them, a Labrador doesn’t lose its curious and mischievous side. For this reason, you should get into the habit of telling off your Labrador with positive reinforcement through adulthood.
Toilet training your Labrador should be easy as they can quickly pick up habits. By establishing a command word and toilet routine, your new puppy will be house-trained in no time.
It would be best if you started guiding your puppy through the motions of going to the toilet outside from the first day you bring them home. Once a puppy recognises where they’re allowed to go to the toilet and where they’re not, they’re unlikely to forget.
To successfully toilet train your Labrador puppy, follow these steps:
Establish a door they can run to whenever they need to go to the toilet. Take him towards this door whenever he wakes up or after he finishes a meal. These are the two times when your new dog will most likely need to go to the toilet. Once they get a sense of where they have to toilet, your Labrador will make a habit of it.
Hopefully, whenever they need to go, they’ll go to the door and wait or go there and bark to get your attention. You can encourage this through positive reinforcement or the occasional treat.
Even once they’re going to the toilet on their own, you should still teach them a command word, such as ‘go potty’. This will come in useful if you need to leave the house for a short while and want to make sure they won’t need the toilet while you’re away.
The aim is to get them to run to the door whenever you say ‘go potty’ (or whatever you choose as your toilet command word).
Crate training is a good way to control your pup, particularly if you can’t supervise them 24/7. It involves your Labrador recognising a crate as their own special bed, area and safe zone.
Although some regard it as cruel, you’ll come to realise that having a designated area in your home for your Labrador helps you out a lot. If you’re leaving the house for a few hours, you can tell your Lab to ‘get in your basket’, so that they know to stay there while you’re away.
Plus, getting a Labrador Retriever comfortable in a crate gives them a sense of security. It also allows them to get comfortable with the idea of being in a confined space, which is good if you plan on going travelling with your pup.
The sooner, the better, but many people add the crate to their Labrador training at around 8 weeks.
Set the crate up with all your Labrador’s creature comforts – bedding that the puppy has slept in before, as well as a few toys.
Place the dog in the crate and get them comfortable with the area. Initially, leave the door open so that they’re free to leave at any time.
Once they’re comfortable with being in their crate, introduce a command word to say whenever you wish them to get in their crate. This can be something as simple as ‘get in your crate’, but others also use ‘bed’ and ‘kennel’ as command words.
Like with most things in life, there are a few drawbacks to crate training that you need to be aware of. Here are some of the pros and cons.
When dog training your Labrador, you can introduce any number of tricks to the puppy class. Specifically, Labradors are really good at learning how to shake hands, sit, play dead, roll over and fetch.
Labrador can be a delight to train, but this doesn’t mean it’s a one-and-done situation. Here are some of our best tips and tricks for training your Labby.
Be consistent with everything – command words, rules, and training session schedule. Keep training sessions short.
Your Labrador will respond best to positive reinforcement, i.e., praise when they do well and light tellings off when they do wrong. Never shout at Labrador Retrievers.
Don’t rely on dog treats! If you use treats heavily in the early stages of dog training, your dog will come to expect them. Make sure your training is praise-motivated, not food-motivated.
Clicker training has been known to work on these sporting dogs, particularly when it comes to commanding them to sit.
Like other dogs, Labradors need to be thoroughly trained from puppyhood to mature into a well-behaved adult dog. You don’t need professional dog trainers to get your Chocolate Labrador house trained.
All you need is to be dedicated to the cause!
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