New Puppy Training Tips

[AdamW]

It is also a good chuckle when folks say "X breed is so easy/hard to train" or "When they turn X years old they really start to calm down in general" etc. Breeding trumps breed. There are awesome Labs and Meth-Labs. Same for Collies, bird dogs and every other breed.

 

[beachbunny]

be real careful introducing them to guns,don't go to loud to fast ,22's close by when they are eating is how i've done it and i'm on my 4th lab.
the best breed ever

 

[MuleyFever]

About in the maker for another dog. I don't want to hijack but since crate training was mentioned how do you guys feel about crating all day while at work?

 

[Pontius]

About in the maker for another dog. I don't want to hijack but since crate training was mentioned how do you guys feel about crating all day while at work?

It's been proven possible. Seems a ridiculous plan for a high powered gun dog. And since I personally don't like to hold it for 10 hours, we choose a different path: a doggie door and a fence can be put up in two afternoons.

 

[BigDog00]

First and foremost BE CONSISTENT! Keep the pup in the kennel at night. And I wouldn't start training for a couple weeks, but I absolutely would NOT wait to start for a couple months. Around 9-10 weeks old is where I have started with my pups. Do yourself a favor and get Bill Hillmans DVD for puppys. Even if you don't plan on hunting you still need to teach obedience early. I would also highly recommend going over to the retriever training forums (google it). Those guys over there will be your best help and there is a ton of information over there.

 

[BigDog00]

About in the maker for another dog. I don't want to hijack but since crate training was mentioned how do you guys feel about crating all day while at work?

When they're babies I would try to let them out at lunch (first few weeks). After that I wouldn't worry about it. Our pups have always been in the crate for 8 hours while we're at work. Just exercise them when you get home. I don't trust them out alone for that long until they're older.

 

[BroodBuster]

About in the maker for another dog. I don't want to hijack but since crate training was mentioned how do you guys feel about crating all day while at work?

Don't do it as you'll end up with a poop eater. Pups would rather eat poop than sleep in it.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Regarding training her to be alright around loud noises, i concur with the advice stated above, but if firing a gun off while your pup is eating is not feasible, you can take a couple short pieces of 2x4 and clap them together while she's eating. I would highly suggest that whatever you do, if you plan on using firearms around your dog, start early at getting her used to those types of loud noises. I made the mistake of not doing that with my first lab and for the rest of her life, any loud crack would send her running for the hills. I'm fortunate in that I live about 2 miles away from our local gun range, so for my current lab, all it took was a couple trips to the gun range, when she was just a pup, and walking her around on a leash, behind what sounded like a firefight, and now she never even flinches to the sound of a gun going off.


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[fngTony]

Congratulations! Good looking pup! Crate training and potty training went together well with our Golden. Remember dogs like having a den. Cover the sides and top, their instincts like that. We removed the back of a kennel, put it up on the wall with a doggy door so she can come and go. Also gives us the option to lock the doggy door and still have a solid kennel.

 

[Jimbob]

1. crate training is a life saver. Start now. All day is a long time for a pup and not good. If you train well then leaving home alone for the day is no problem and you won't even have to close the crate door. At a year and half my last two dogs were fine in the house with their crate door open.

2. Pee and poop only happens outside. You make the schedule and you are responsible for getting them out when they need. Right after waking up, after some play, be aware of them walking in circles or leaving you they probably are about to do it. Also get up in the night and take them out, it sucks but helps

3. My training principle is well researched and simple. Praise good behaviour instantly and punish bad behaviour instantly. Punishment must be instant and consistent. You have but a few seconds after the bad behaviour to correct it, after that the doing doesn't know what he/she is being punished for. Also it must be consistent. If the pup can jump up sometimes but not others it will always jump up and take their chance. If they can not come sometimes then they will only come when they feel like it. Therefore a training tool like a shock collar and a pinch collar are extremely effective. They let you speak the dogs language and they give you the ability to instantly correct behaviour.

4. Obviously scale your correction based on the pups age. I would not use a shock or pinch collar on a young pup. This is where your judgement comes in. Just don't give the dog an opportunity to misbehave and not receive correction. You can't just start training when they have matured but have been allowed to do what they want all their life.

5. Its all about a time investment. If you are not on top of things ALWAYS for just about the first two years then you will not have that amazing dog that you want.

I had a golden retriever that I could leave home alone with his box of treats open and on the ground and he wouldn't touch them. It was so ingrained in his head that he can only have a treat when I got them that even when I was not around he knew not to touch them. Also I messed up with that dog and brought him to a fire work show when he was young and he was gun shy the rest of his life.

Good luck.

 

[ben h]

I'm on about my 6th Labrador. I wouldn't start serious training for a few months, but they'll pick up on basic stuff pretty quickly. I would for sure get a good shock collar for training, it makes it so much easier and keeps them safe (stopping them from darting into the road or something). If you're going to be doing waterfowl hunting I highly suggest teaching it hand signals, which works great for downed birds the dog didn't see. My last few dogs this was pretty easy to teach, however my newest lab (he's AKC papered, but I think he's mixed with a pointer or something) is the hardest lab I've ever trained and is really resistant to learning and he's pretty aggressive towards other dogs. I've only had one dog that was gun shy and I got her when she was about 6 months old and I think she was from an abused home which caused her to be gun shy. I think it's pretty rare that a lab will be gun shy, but it does happen.

One more thing, you leave stuff on the floor, consider it gone. A puppy can chew through some crazy stuff....and fast.