Labrador puppy training tips

[Hightideattheseaside]

Hello. We (all being well) will be welcoming a Labrador puppy in mid April.

I’ve been doing lots of research and will be putting training in place from day one. I’m looking forward to doing mental training games with her and all those lovely long walks we will have. One of the reasons we picked the breed is to have a dog that would enjoy our active lifestyle. Though I do understand it’s important not to over exercise them at first due to joints.

As there is an overwhelming amount of information out there I wondered if anyone had any Labrador specific advice for puppies. I know the teenage years can be tricky so want to lay a good foundation from the start.

Lots of info on labs out there which I will be reading. But getting tips from real owners would be great. Thanks.

Congratulations on your puppy. Great choice. Do you know if it’s a male or female you are getting?

I liked Pippa Mattinson books on Labrador training. I also liked Victoria Schafe ‘ Bonding with your dog’ - it probably helped me most.
If you can go to classes for socialisation.

They are food driven so rewards based training is easy, but they are greedy monsters so if you can actually clicker train them instead then you will be doing them a favour .

Specifically, my boy, whom we got as a pup, did well with searches - for feeding I would spread his kibble around the house ( well some parts of the house) and send him to find. We played hide and seek for recall, both inside the house and in the woods,.
I use a whistle as that gets his attention.
But be prepared that they are very sociable and that can make them easily distracted. That and a high sex drive 🙈

We’re getting a girl! Thanks for the recommendations @Happytentoes I’ll look into them. I was going to get one of those scatter feeder toys to make her brain work a bit. Love the idea of hide and seek games. Think it’ll be lots of fun. And would love to try a bit of agility (even if it’s just home made fun in the garden), if labs are into that?

I’m really hoping puppy classes will be back on by June/July so I can take her. But I know quite a few people with dogs so thinking meet ups at the beach could work as a replacement? Best to have neutral open ground for these things?

Did you crate train your pup? Not sure how amenable labs are to crates. I’m going to give it a go.

Morning @Hightideattheseaside. In my experience ( of 2 ) girls are so much more biddable !
My girl who was a rescue, was really into agility briefly, but she has some damage to her elbow ( too much ball play, too young) so we had to stop. Male would happily run through tunnels, jump over anything etc, but weaving was clearly pointless, in his eyes.
Both love the beach 😁
We did crate train him but as soon as he was house trained, we gave him a second bed in the kitchen and he naturally gravitated there, so we ditched the crate. He wrecked a few beds but was otherwise not a big chewer.
Girl had been left in a crate and was traumatised so we offered her a crate to get away from him, but she made it clear that’s not what she wanted.
They are just my shadows now with lockdown and generally wedge themselves into bed with us at some point each night . Avoid that if you can 😳
Oh, and pictures when you get her 😍

Even if you don’t plan on working it the basic gundog tests come with some very easy to work through guides.

thegundogclub.co.uk/passing-grade-one/

Thanks @Asdf12345 that looks like a great resource!

@Happytentoes. Thank you for all your advice. Will behappy to spam with pictures!

Be prepared for puppy biting in play - so not chewing because they’re teething but full on growly ruff and tumble biting. They are one of the worst for it.
Every single toy you have bought attach to a long cord to keep teeth away from hands and teach them that play is through a toy. And please don’t dismiss this but get some wellies that you can wear indoors. It does pass but isn’t managed just by giving them a chew because they love playing and that’s how they play. So play with them just teach them what’s appropriate.

Pippa Mattinson books are a great shout and also for your puppy classes find them through IMDT, apdt or pet professional guild as it’s an unregulated industry.

Also have them off lead from day one of first walk as they will not leave your side and will make it easier when teenage stage hits and they’re slightly less bothered about you being right next to them.

Pro dog walker here... can you guess which are my favourites ? All our labrador clients are lovely, and the ones who are loveliest to work with practically speaking have been gun dog trained, although only one of them was ever taken out shooting. The others just did it as there was for many years a brilliant local gundog specialist trainer who ran classes which financially worked out about the same as a standard puppy socialisation class but were much more fun for owners and dogs. If you look for professional help with any aspect, the only bit of the dog industry that is regulated by law is the vets and boarding kennels/overnight care. Us dog walkers would love to have a trustworthy guild to represent us, but as it stands if you need us, look for genuine personal recommendations and feel free to ask to see certificates for Dog First Aid and proper tailored public liability insurance, all of us respectable walkers will have this. For training and behaviour, IMDT are the most respected training providers and someone who has done their courses is not going to be a snake oil salesman.

We crate trained all of our labradors and it worked really well. They no longer sleep in a crate at night, but will often choose to nap in it during the day.

As they were gundogs, we never allowed them any toys such as a tug rope as they needed to be soft mouthed. This has been great as we have had no instances of people or furniture/shoes being chewed.

It's great that you seem to understand the amount of physical and mental stimulation needed for this breed.

What colour are you getting? You will generally find black labs are less chunky than golden or chocolate. Strictly monitor the amount of food you give. Sadly, most labradors in this country are overweight.

You can still give gundogs tugs and they will be soft mouthed - they can distinguish.

We wish we had not let our puppy play with a football - as soon as he was bigger he would bite and burst them! and half the parks became impossible. We should have stuck to tennis balls only!!!

Our dog has never ever been upstairs or on a sofa!

We’re also getting our lab puppy just before mid april!

I’ve got the Pippa M book and found the Labrador site website useful (if you can navigate the ads!). I’ve also joined a fb group someone recommended on here which is helpful.

So following with interest and pleased to find someone also starting out with a lab same time as us!

Thanks for the tips

@MrsHerculePoirot Also pleased to know someone on here will be starting out the same time as us. It’s very exciting and a bit nerve wracking!

We’re getting a black lab. I love the goldens and reds but black labs just look so noble to me! My brother in law is a vet and has kept up a strict policy of nagging my in laws about their labs diet the last 11 years so that is now well ingrained! Rightly so as my FIL is inclined to giver cake and ice cream

Interesting about keeping soft mouth in mind with toys and the football issue. I’d forgotten but you reminded me. We had a rescue lab cross growing up and he destroyed every ball no matter how big or small or hard. It was like a super power!

I’ve read lots about them being shark puppies so bracing for that. Will make a note to get Indoor hard shoes! Will also try to be firm on only playing with toys on long ropes. thanks for the tip.