Are you excited about getting your new lab puppy and bringing them home? You might already be thinking about interacting and bonding with your Labrador. It’s worth noting that Labradors are highly sociable animals and love attention. They are also very intelligent and often love to learn. So, a great way to interact and bond is always going to be through training.
Of course, training isn’t just about forming a bond with your pet. It also guarantees that your puppy is going to grow up into an adult dog who is safe to be around and sociable. It can even help ensure that they are safe when they are out in the world on their leash. You might be wondering when training will begin for your puppy. Well, the answer may surprise you, but first have a look at these Lab Puppy Training Tips.
Base Level Training
Early training begins at just 3 days old. It’s important not to get the wrong idea here. We’re not talking about teaching your pup common skills such as how to sit or stay. Instead, training is based on two key aspects:
Socialization
Neurological Stimulation
Socialization is about ensuring that your pup is comfortable and happy around a range of different people and environments. It’s possible to do this when they are puppy by getting them used to being petted, held and played with. Gentle forms of these activities can occur early on. At the same time, young lab pups will have playtime and social activities with the rest of their litter and this helps them get used to being around other dogs their age.
The third day of life up until the sixteenth day is also a prime period for neurological growth and development. That’s why it’s important that lab puppies do gain neurological stimulation through this time. This type of stimulation involves gently handling the lab pup and providing them with different sensations such as touching their toes. Again, research suggests that this can have a profound impact on their early development.
At eight weeks old, our clients pick up their lab puppies. It is at this point that formal training begins.
Formal Training
It’s important to start training your lab pup as early as possible and almost as soon as you bring them home. Indeed, according to experts the critical learning period for a dog is within the first six months. So, there is some truth to that old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Through the first six months, the lab pup is most open to learning. It’s also when learning will progress rapidly and when he’s most likely to be able to adapt to new environments or master new skills.
At Gun dog training facilities in the US, working labs begin training at 4 weeks old! By the end of six months, all the behavior problems and issues will already be in place. That’s why it’s important to get them smoothed out early on with the right training methods.
A lab pup can benefit from obedience training as early as seven weeks and this should begin as soon as they enter the home. We offer a Best Start puppy training program consisting of 2 weeks of breeder led training.
The First Focuses For Training
Your first point of focus for training should be on both socialization and household manners. So, let’s start by thinking about socialization and what this entails. Remember, by eight weeks, we have already begun this process with the litter and helped them develop key social skills.
The first thing to be aware of is that socialization isn’t about making sure that your lab puppy is ready for their first play date. It’s based on a wide range of different skills that will be crucial for your pup. This includes being exposed to different situations and individuals.
Training your Labrador in socialization requires you to make sure that you are introducing them to other dogs, neighbors, friends, family members and of course children. You want to make sure that your dog is child-friendly and getting them used to children at an early age is the best way to do this.
Children are a special case because when you introduce them to the lab pup, you need to provide them with the right instructions too. You need to ensure that they know how to approach the puppy quietly and slowly, even if the pup is bouncing all over the place. Gentle petting is required too and remember, up until children are seven, they don’t have a good grasp on the concept of grip. Due to this, you shouldn’t allow them to pick up the lab puppy or hold it.
The more people you let your puppy interact with, the more socialized they will be. This includes touching different areas including the paws, tail and ears.
This is going to make going to the vets or getting your dog groomed a lot easier. It’s also going to help ensure that you don’t need to worry about taking your future adult dog to the dog park. Puppy classes are a great way to make sure that your lab puppy can interact in a safe and controlled environment. With puppy classes, they can also meet other dogs that are already trained and know how to interact with younger dogs the right way.
Remember, while socialization is important, you should not be introducing the lab pup to too many people at once. If you do this, then you could easily overwhelm them. This can lead to quite a stressful experience.
House Manners
At the same time as socializing your pup, you should also be training them to have good manners. There are various manners that can be useful and this does include ensuring that your pup is not going to jump on people. You also need to focus on play biting. Play biting is a common aspect of puppies growing up and will usually just be a phase. However, you do need to address it the right way. It’s important to ensure that it doesn’t become a habit.
House Training
House training is a unique issue because it’s something that you are going to want to master as quickly as possible. It could be one of the first aspects you focus on when training your puppy and there’s just one problem. A pup under 12 weeks does not have a good level of control of their bowels or bladder. So, while theoretically, you could train them to want to hold it, that doesn’t mean they will be able to. This is why a lab pup of this age that eliminates inside the home should not be harshly reprimanded.
Basic Instruction Training
Once you have mastered both household manors and socialization, you can move onto some basic instructions. This includes the classic examples of:
Sit
Stay
Lie Down
Come
Heel
Our lab pups will usually be able to learn these somewhere between 8 and 10 weeks. Some puppies will learn sooner however there are a few important considerations. First, make sure that you don’t ask a pup to sit for more than a couple seconds. They will find it incredibly difficult to stay calm. However, if you are keen to get them to stay still even during distractions, consider teaching your pup to sit for meals. It’s possible to begin this process as early as eight weeks.
Advanced Training
You might want to start getting your lab active immediately. You have probably already heard that labs are energetic and love to run. This is true, however, there are some considerations. First, you shouldn’t attempt long-distance running with a lab until they are six months. The reason for this is not due to any cognitive issue and is entirely based on physical attributes. Their leg bones are not fully developed until six months and labs are more at risk of developing issues with their joints.
You should also make sure that you are not trying to play fetch and retrieve with your Labrador every single day. A young puppy may not always master the retrieval aspect immediately. This doesn’t mean that they’re not going to learn it. It will usually kick in somewhere in the future as long as you are consistent and patient.
Before this, you need to focus on the calmer commands that we have already referenced. These are far more difficult once your lab has passed into the puberty stage because they are more energetic and have adolescent hormones playing havoc with their level of control.
We hope this helps you understand when you should start training your lab pup and why this is important. Remember, labs can’t learn without your assistance. If you want the best results, you need to put the effort in and make sure that you are teaching your Labrador puppy the skills that you want them to know. Since Labradors are an intelligent breed there are far fewer limits on what you can teach them. In terms of dog training, you will be able to help your pup master basic and advanced skills as long as you form the right bond and commitment.
