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People often receive conflicting advice on what they should be doing with a young Labrador puppy, when to start training a puppy and what can be accomplished.
Many authoritative working dog trainers and authors of books recommend not starting training until 6 months of age. The general advice is to ‘let them be a puppy’ and don’t start training too young.
But then many respectable trainers and books state you should (or can) start training your Labrador as soon as you get them home at just 8 weeks of age.
They’re very opposite views so which is it? 8 weeks or 6 months?
This is a very big difference and inevitably leads to questions such as: When should I start training my Labrador puppy? What can a Labrador learn at such a young age? Is my Labrador puppy too young to train?
Let’s discuss these two points of view…
Where Did the 6 Month Rule Come From?
According to an article from the Association of Professional Dog Trainers: What are Some of the Common Myths About Dog Training?. The main reason for holding off from formal training:
“…originated from “old school” training where heavy collar corrections were used and therefore it was preferred that a dog be at least old enough to withstand wearing the collar and dealing with the pressure of collar corrections and punishment during training sessions.“
The use of physical aversives and corrections such as this was universally agreed to be too hard on a young puppy.
It was also proven that whether a puppy started training at 8 weeks or 6 months, they would still be able to reach the same level of skill when an adult dog and so there wasn’t much to gain from starting training a working dog so young.
And so there was an unwritten rule that for the puppy’s sake formal training would be withheld until they matured and were mentally strong enough to endure the tough training.
But with the range of gentler, positive and aversive free training methods available today it’s possible to start training your puppy at a much younger age without causing any stress.
Where Does The Advice to Start At 8 Weeks Come From?
It’s more the fact ‘as soon as you get them home’ and 8 weeks happens to be the age at which it’s recommended a puppy is taken from it’s mother and litter-mates to go to a new home.
So owners don’t get their puppies before this age.
But this 8 weeks isn’t really an arbitrary number.
A puppy younger than 8 weeks old should be spending nearly all of its time with its mother and litter-mates because it learns so much about being a dog:
- Bite inhibition
- Canine Communication
- Pack Order
- Play
- How to accept discipline and more besides
So taking a puppy any earlier is wrong and detrimental to their development.
Also, before 8 weeks a puppy just doesn’t have the cognitive abilities to learn. Their brains aren’t formed enough to be able to learn much at this stage. So it’s wrong to even try.
UPDATE: We’ve been raising litters of puppies for the past few years and we start working on very basic skills as early as a few days old. We follow many of the guidelines set forth by a program called Puppy Culture.
But here’s an interesting idea to bear in mind about what happens after getting a puppy home at 8 weeks:
Every waking minute, of every single day, whether you mean to or not, you are training your Labrador puppy!
You Are Your Puppy’s Parent, Mentor, Pack Leader and Teacher
When you get your puppy home at 8 weeks, they know nothing about the world… Nothing!
Know that once you have your puppy, everything you do, everything they see, every good experience, bad experience, taste, smell, sight, reward and punishment trains them in some way.
All of these experiences are granted to them by you and they will be looking to you for guidance through these experiences.
Puppies are exactly like children. They cannot take care of themselves and are naïve to the world around them. But they’re highly observant and will be studying your every move as they learn about our world.
They take their cues from you to learn where they can go, where they should not, what they should be scared of, what they should not, what they can play with, what they can not…and on and on.
You’re teaching them every minute of every day, whether you mean to or not.
You may as well take advantage of this innocence, when they have no idea of what life is with no preconceived ideas, no habits formed or needing to be broken, to start training them to fit into the life that they will lead with the skills that they will need.
It’s far easier to prevent problems occurring and bad habits forming than it is to solve them later in life.
So, When To Start Training a Puppy?
I believe you should start to train your Labrador puppy as soon as you get them home, from 8 weeks of age.
With modern techniques such as clicker training, shaping and lure and reward training, there are fun and easy ways to get started when they’re young in a stress free and fun way.
They’re learning all the time anyway, so you may as well take advantage and throw in some useful training…but have fun with it along the way.
But I stress this important point, to make it fun!
Never ‘Correct’ Your Puppy Or Ask Too Much of Them
If you start training your puppy at 8 weeks old, you shouldn’t expect too much of them. And you certainly shouldn’t be correcting them.
You have to think of a puppy as a very young child. A puppy is just as impulsive, has just as little self-control and just as short an attention span.
You don’t expect a child to act all grown up, eating only what they’re supposed to, playing with only their toys, staying exactly where you ask them to and listening intently to your every word doing exactly as they’re told.
You need to think the same with a puppy. They are just like a child.
A puppy will eat what they like, when they like. Go where they can, when they can. Play with and chew on everything in sight whether it’s theirs or not. And they will not be able to listen to and act on your every word.
They will have a very short attention span and no self-control. But when you do have their attention, you’ll be surprised at what they can learn.
What Rules Should We Follow When Training a Young Labrador Puppy?
It’s very easy to expect too much too soon and end up causing your puppy stress, taking the fun out of it and doing more harm than good. So…
It’s very important that you never correct your puppy while they’re too young to understand or do not have the mental ability to control themselves. It would be totally unfair.
It’s very important to keep any training ‘game based’ and very short, just 1 to 3 minutes max. They have short attention spans and you don’t want to teach them to dislike training by making it hard and stressful.
QUICK TIP: A trick we learned raising guide dog puppies. While watching TV train your puppy during the commercial breaks. Commercial breaks are usually about 2-3 minutes long perfect time for training your pup!
It’s very important to keep training tasks simple, setting your puppy up to succeed while avoiding failure.
This means going very slowly and not expecting too much. Having many small wins is very encouraging. Many failures are frustrating and stressful and can kill a puppy’s enthusiasm for training and learning.
Just do very gentle training exercises for short periods of time. Hope you can have their attention but if they aren’t interested or make a mistake, let them be, don’t force it, play with them instead and try later.
What Can You Train A Labrador Puppy To Do?
Most people with a Labrador as a family pet will think of training as obedience commands and performing tricks.
But bearing in mind to ‘go slow and not expect too much’, you can’t expect a puppy to put the laundry in the basket or perform a 3 minute sit with children running around. But you can train them basic things such as:
- Sit
- Lie down
- Stay (for mere seconds…with no distractions! Keep it easy!)
- Roll over
- Crawl
- Give paw
- Basic retrieves
…and more besides!
A Highly Recommended Step-By-Step Course To Follow
If you’d like to enjoy the benefits of a step-by-step guide to follow, that details on video every step a professional trainer takes while raising a puppy from 8 weeks through to 1 year old, there’s a course we recommend.
Doggy Dan’s ‘The Online Dog Trainer‘ has a section named ‘Project Moses‘ where via 68 videos, Dan provides a road-map you can follow to raise your puppy correctly from the moment you get them home.
It shows you in real time what to do at what ages and stages of your puppy’s development so you’re never left wondering what to do and when.
You can see a professional dog trainer raising his puppy and showing every step along the way on video so you know how and when to train your puppy certain skills, and get shown on video exactly HOW to train your puppy too.
There’s much more to the course and site but instead of me waffling on, if interested you can check out all the benefits by clicking the following link:
Doggy Dan’s: The Online Dog Trainer
This is without doubt the best training course I’ve found online and I believe an invaluable tool for new owners to learn how to train their dog, being taught by a renowned professional at a fraction of the cost of hiring one yourself.
When To Start Training a Puppy – See What This Puppy Can Do At Just 16 Weeks!
Although I do think this puppy is quite advanced and obviously a talented learner, this video of a 16 week old Labrador puppy is an excellent example of what can be achieved.
As well as the above ‘fun’ training, you should also be teaching your puppy these other skills from the time you get them home:
- Crate training: So they have a place of their own to feel safe and secure or as an escape if they need it and as a management tool for your use.
- House training: As nobody wants a dog that toilets that in the home!
- Bite inhibition: Because for the first few weeks and maybe months, they WILL hurt when they bite and you need to train this out of them.
- LOTS of socialization to all sorts of people, places, other animals, sights and sounds. Because anything you don’t want your adult dog to fear must be shown to them as a puppy, within the first 14 weeks.
Conclusion
There’s differing opinions on the best age to start training a Labrador puppy and no one opinion or answer is correct. Ultimately it depends on you and when you wish to start.
You could leave your puppy to ‘just be a puppy’ and start training when they’re a few months old, or you could start right away when you get them home.
Usually if the dog is to live in a family unit, it’s best to start young as having even the smallest amount of control and manners in your puppy is important if you wish to take them places, meeting people.
But if you live out in the country, kennel your dogs outside and are fine with them just running free for a few months, they will soon catch up with the early starters and leaving them to mature before starting will not mean they cannot succeed in training.
Today’s gentle, reward based and aversive free training is kind enough on a puppy for you to start right away though if you wish.
Just be sure that you progress very slowly, never ask too much, do not correct and keep it fun.
In my opinion, in answer to the question ‘when to start training a puppy’, you should start at 8 to 10 weeks, as soon as you get your puppy home.
They will be eager to please, can learn a surprising amount, it’s fun for both of you and it’s quality time spent together that works to build the love and trust your puppy has for you, building a strong relationship.
QUICK RECOMMENDATION: We made 2 recommendations throughout this article:
- Your Labrador Retriever Puppy – This is a great place to start getting the basics of training your puppy.
- Doggy Dan’s: The Online Dog Trainer – It’s more expensive, but this is a great video based learning program that we highly recommend.
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39 comments
I have one Female and One Male Puppy. Male from Mumbai and Female from Trivandrum.
Male learned Potty habits and ensure not to dirty its cage but the Female always dirty the Cage even if was out for long time and even it did one time outside but at night it dirty the Cage. I do not know how to correct it. Every day I have to clean the cage.
I give food twice- once in the morning and one at Lunch. Both time the Female very fast in eating and very eager and it is very excited when it see the food and try to grab from hand. Both understand the names.
Both knows the word sit, shake hands etc and it goes to cage when it see treat in my hand.
Always goes straight to waste disposal area even after full stomach food.
Now both are above six months of age. Both are Labrador puppies.
Hi,
First, have you had her checked by a vet to make sure there isn’t a medical reason?
Secondly, is the crate the right size? if too large a dog may use one end as a toilet and the other to sleep in. It needs to be just big enough to stand without hitting her head, turn around in easily and lay down paws stretched out…but no bigger.
Third, although 6 months old, not all puppies are ‘completely’ house trained at this age. The vast majority are, but some are slower learners.
Do not allow any food in the 4 hours before bed, and take up her water bowl in the 2 hours before bed, and make sure you take her outside to empty herself last thing before going to bed.
Then put more efforts into house training her if you can. Lots of praise and reward every time she potty’s in the correct place, and for a while you have to prevent her pottying in the wrong place. You particularly need to prevent her soiling in her crate, so for a while this may mean setting an alarm and getting up in the middle of the night for a while to take her to the toilet spot until she gets out of the habit.
Finally, some dogs do it when crated because they’re stressed when in the crate. Are you sure she’s happy to be crated? Does she seem reluctant to go in? Show any signs of stress when in there etc.?
Hi
We are buying a lab puppy 7 weeks old. When should I start the house training? How often should I feed them ? This is my first dog . So please help me out .
Hi Kavitha,
Try to leave the puppy with the mother and littermates until 8 weeks old. That last week does wonders for your puppy’s development and really is quite a crucial week!
Regarding house training, I’ve just finished an article on this: How to house train a puppy, this will tell you all you need to know.
Regarding food, try to get the same food your breeder uses so your puppy doesn’t have to go through change which often ends in digestive upset for a few days. The food your breeder uses, or a food you source, will have instructions on how much to feed your puppy and how often. You’ll read advice on how often and what times to feed a puppy in the house training article I already linked to.
Good luck…have fun! The first few months are the sweetest :-)
Hii i have a labra he’s just 40 days old. I am absolutely clueless about raising him.since i have searched everywhere but all i found was related to 8 weekss or more…. He’s great but since he was taken away very early so i just wanna know how to help him out.
Hi Monika,
I don’t know of the circumstances and it may have been out of your control, but your puppy should still be with their mother until 8 weeks of age, a couple of days earlier at a push, but 40 days is just way too soon and can result in severe health and development problems.
Anyhow, unfortunately I’m totally unable to help you!
I have never had a puppy before 8 weeks of age and at 40 days they need very specialist care that I have no experience with and I don’t want to guess at it or give you wrong information. I can only suggest you please speak to a vet immediately and ask them their advice so you can provide the right care.
Sorry I can’t help :-(
Hello monica, have you got ang solution for your lab? I just got my 45 day old lab last evening. I would like to have a word with you regarding this situation.. You can contact me on xxxxxxxxxxx (Removed by Admin: Akshay, I removed your phone number because you do not want that on a frequently viewed webpage! You never know who may be reading. Monika, if you see this, please use the e-mail address found by clicking Akshays name.). I’ll be waiting for your call or message. And I’m new to puppy training too.
Hi I have a ten month chocolate lab. He is totally thick, house trained yes, will sit in front of food until told he may have it but as far as anything else he has no idea. He forgets to stop when running and hits wall or anything that gets in way, will not heal at all on lead, always looking for food on work tops including cooker of which he can turn on the gas so we have to turn gas off at mains if leaving him. Tried to get him to give pour now for months but still has no idea. Should I give in and actsept him as he is. He is after all grill with kids.???
Hi Gaynor,
No! Don’t give up! At 10 months old he isn’t even yet a teenager and you wouldn’t give up on a 9 or 10 year old boy! I have an 11yo son: He still runs into things, eats the things I say he shouldn’t from the worktops and runs away from my side when we’re out and about too! haha.
But in all seriousness, training isn’t a one and done thing, it’s an ongoing process. And growing up and during adolescence, dogs go through stages where they seem to forget everything, stages where they kick up against the rules to see what they can get away with, explore and do things they know they shouldn’t, basically all the things that you and I did (and most dogs and animals do) as a part of growing up.
By sticking to your training, being consistent and sticking to routines…and that’s key…he will eventually come out of growing pains and adolescence into an adult dog with ingrained training and learning that he will settle into and hopefully be a well mannered, well-behaved joy for you to marvel at and enjoy for the best part or more of another decade.
I know nothing of what training you do with him, how much, how often, how you go about it and so on. But obviously you’re not happy with the results you’re getting. The thing is, most labs can be trained ‘by the book’, by which I mean the common or garden methods that you read in books, or websites (like this one.) But not all dogs are the same and some dogs don’t respond as well as others. Also (and please, please don’t take offense as this is not meant that way) it may be that you aren’t using techniques, body language, signals, tone of voice and so on that he can understand or wants to respond to.
Would you be able to book a couple of house visit sessions with a professional dog trainer? I know they aren’t cheap but I think it will really help you. They can come to your house and see your boy in his environment, how he behaves, watch you try to command and guide him to do things and then advise and actually show you how to get the results you’re after. Train your dog and show you how to train your dog. In just two or three sessions you should be able to watch and copy exactly how they go about things to get results with your individual dog…and that’s the important part, with YOUR dog. Because what works with some may not work with others.
I think a couple of sessions like this will give you new found hope and confidence, and a plan to follow along with going forward. If you can see results, you’ll be more willing to carry on. But whatever you decide to do, definitely stick with it! Every dog can be trained. EVERY dog. Yours is no different, he just may need a little more time and a slightly adjusted change of plan from you.
Good luck Gaynor and let us know what you decide and how you get on.
Hello,
First of all, thank you very much for creating this equally helpful and accommodating website. I’m planning to get a puppy (Golden retriever) on February the 10th (2 months would have elapsed since he was born) and I have a few questions. Can I get him to a vet for a quick checkup while bringing him home? (The ride isn’t that long; 15 minutes max.) And should I put him in crate from the very first night? And if I do, at what intervals should I get him out in the night to go potty? What if he did it inside the crate during the night? I understood that night crating is different from day crating. So should can I start crate training him during the very next day?
Hi Paul,
I’m glad you’re finding the site useful!
I’ve just finished an article that you might find interesting that you can read by clicking here: Bringing home a new puppy.
I give my advice about taking puppy to the vet toward the end of the article, section 13 in the clickable table of contents. Basically, you ‘could’ take your puppy to the vet on the way home, but it’s best not to. (S)he will already be quite stressed and overwhelmed with everything going on without adding a visit to the vet to it. Also, the first examination will be more accurate when your puppy’s had some days to settle in and you’ve gathered some info to answer the vest questions after watching your puppy a few days. So I would wait if you can.
For my advice on crate training a puppy at night, please click here: Crate training overnight.
That should hopefully answer your questions, but if you need any further info, please do ask and I’ll be happy to clarify anything!
Hello,
This is an awesome site, thanks for the help thus far.
My family is considering getting either one or two Labrador puppies in the near future while our older lab (Lucky, 13 years of age and healthy) is still around. She is well trained; knows basic commands like sit, stay, come, leave it, crate, etc. Her best aspects training wise is that she does not need to be leashed when taken for walks (we mainly go through the woods away from cars), she is excellent at communicating with minimum vocals that she needs to go outside and relieve herself or is thirsty(by nudging or staring towards the door/ sink). We were hoping that Lucky would be able to assist in the training process and kind of show them the ropes. Do you think that there would be some level of indirect learning passed on from my older dog to the puppies?
Also, she looks to me as her main caregiver (literally follows me everywhere)… do you have any tips on ways I could introduce the puppies to her? I’m expecting she will have some initial feelings of resentment towards them and be territorial since she has been the only dog we have had, so I’d like to try aid this transition as best I can. Although in the end I feel like a lot of it will be them feeling each other out. Any other advice you could give on this situation would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much!
Hi Mike,
I’m glad you like the site that’s always nice to hear, thank you!
Getting a new puppy to live with an elderly dog can sometimes be good, sometimes be bad. It’s a lot like asking 80 year old grandparents to live with a toddler: Some will get all cantankerous, short-fused and hate the child, others will get a new lease of life, perk up and ‘feel young again’. Sometimes the elderly dog can retreat a bit and not want anything to do with the puppy, sometimes a ‘parenting instinct’ can kick in and they kind of adopt it. It depends a lot on the elderly dogs personality.
Does Lucky love the company of other dogs? Does she enjoy play with young dogs and puppies? If yes then I’d say go for it. If not, it might be a better idea to hold off. Is there a way you can test this by having her spend time with another puppy? This could be a good idea.
Anyway, do I have any advice for introducing a puppy to an older dog? I have nothing written myself…But I have some articles from other sites bookmarked that I think you’ll enjoy and find useful:
Young Dogs Can Learn From Older Well-Behaved Dogs – To answer can the older dog help train the puppy.
What to Expect: Introducing a Puppy to Your Adult Dogs – likely the best article I’ve seen on handling the introductions.
Old Dog, New Puppy – I particularly liked this article for it’s idea of giving the older dog special privileges, attention and respect to overcome a jealousy problem that existed. Make sure you read this one!
These next two I bookmarked for ‘useful bite-sized tips’:
Introducing new dog to existing dogs
How to Introduce a Puppy to Your Older Dog
Let us know if you do go ahead and how things go? And don’t forget to post a puppy pic on the Facebook page if you do ;-)
Hi! We have a Labrador puppy which we got it recently and he will be going 8 weeks this coming April 20, 2015. We have a problem about his biting habit. Can you please help us on what to do to this kind of habit because it’s somewhat disturbing to all of us at home. From the pants we wear, long skirts,and even to our legs, he likes to bite. We have already bought him a toy and bone chew for him to bite instead of other things, but still he kept on biting. Thank you very much in advance for helping.
Hi Ann,
That’s perfectly normal and 100% of Lab puppy owners go through this same thing, so don’t feel worried or that he’s doing it to spite you, he’s just being a puppy and exploring with his mouth.
Your puppy was learning bite inhibition from his mother and litter mates, now it’s your turn to continue the process and to teach him what he can and cannot chew on. I’m afraid I’ve not got anything written on how to train a puppy bite inhibition yet, so please see the following 2 articles from Karen Pryor which should help greatly:
http://www.clickertraining.com/how-to-survive-puppy-teething-and-nipping
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/725
Good luck!
Thanks for the great site and tips. We are looking at rescuing a seven month old lab. She has been at a very great and friendly kennel since she was three months old and her owner abandoned her there. I know the kennel has been working with her on basic commands and some crate training. I was wondering what tips you might have for us and our situation.
Hi Ryan,
I’ve loads of advice, yes. Everything on this site basically! So, carry on doing what you seem to be doing which is reading and learning as much as you can – on this site and many others you can find by Googling – and then putting into practice as much as you can. And of course love and enjoy time with your new family member :-)
(Sorry I can’t be more specific, but the question is a bit too vague and general for me to answer well!)
hi my i am about to buy a labrador pup could you give some advice how to keep it from pooping on the floor
Hi,
Follow the house training guide found in the training section :-)
All the best!
We have a 9week old lab puppy. He is doing well with basic commands but even after several walks a day and outside playtime he still nips our heels and attacks.
He is also trying to tear up everything in the house. Yes he has lots of play toys
Again, perfectly normal behavior and especially for a Lab, it’s just a stage we have to go through with puppies, they all explore the world with their mouths initially. All you can do is puppy proof your home as best you can, and supervise him and redirect his chewing onto suitable toys until he grows out of it.
Perfectly normal for such a young puppy. They are effectively a baby still with little self control. He will improve with age and training :-)
Hi,
I have puppy 10 months due to out of country I was not able to start his training now I want to start training so what to do from where to start? Please guide…
Regards,
Gaurav Trivedi
Hi Gaurav,
Just read all you can, learn all you can and get going! Start with simple sit, down and stay training, add duration, distance and distractions, progress slowly from there with any new tricks you’d like to add. Have a read of the articles in the training section (linked to in the menu at top of the page) and also check out some other sites. Youtube can also be a great resource, try searching for ‘Kikopup’ on there, she has a wealth of great video tutorials you could learn from.
Good luck and all the best!
Hi, A friends friend is giving away her Lab because of personal reasons.
He is 2 years old and white in colour. How do I train him, what type of food do I feed him, is he an outside dog, can he be a guard dog? and will he be able to get on with my cats? I had a chow chow he was an amazing dog with the most beautiful nature, loving and adorable. I had to put him to sleep because he had very bad arthritis in the spine and he was 14 year old. I still pine for him as I loved him very much. Many Thanks
Hi Sandy,
That’s a lot of questions! Please look through the category pages linked to in the menu at the top of the page, there’s lots of info there that will answer all your questions, spread out over many articles. Get a cup of tea, settle down and have a little read :-)
Good luck and all the best!
Hi Friends,
We brought a lab puppy ( As its our first pet) as it was 2 weeks old and currently its 3 months old.We basically are pure vegetarian peoples. Initially we had lot problems in understanding it and its nature. We are encountering few problems such as puppy bites. When it sees me or my wife it starts biting, but its very obedient to my parents ( Never bit a single time). Please help me how to over come puppy bites. The intensity of bite is getting worst day by day and we don’t wanna punish it as we understand its very young to know what he is doing. Please suggest
Hi Pawan,
Hopefully this article helps you: https://www.labradortraininghq.com/labrador-behavior/how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-biting-and-nipping/
All the best!
hi
i have a 45 days old lab puppy, got him home last week. he is quite active and i am worried about his diet , he has lost about 300gms within a week. he eats only once a day and sometimes twice. i give him the same kibbles the breeder gave him . what can i do to improve his diet?
can i include milk in the puppy’s diet? how can i help him regain his lost weight?
Hi Joseph,
He should be eating 3 or 4 smaller meals per day and it’s strange he’s only eating one time. I can only suggest you get him to a vet because I cannot possibly say what may be causing this and if I give the wrong advice it could be disastrous. Please take him to see a vet and get a professional, qualifeid opinion.
Best of luck!
thanks for answering. i got him to the vet a yesterday , the vet told me he is fine and said i should break his meals to 4-5 times a day, and its totally fine if he skips a meal. i very strongly feel that he needs more nourishment apart from the kibbles (i give him pedigree mother and pup) he was very fat and heavy when i got him home and now he is quite thin. i am worried.
since he is very small i cant feed him snacks.
also my pup sleeps all day and is awake late night , he barks and tries to get my attention, though he has many toys he still wants me to be with him and i am completely exhausted at that point of time, i have no choice but to leave him alone . is it bad for the puppy if i leave him unattended?
i havent crated him yet, he is too small and so i let him roam around the hall
I have a labrador retriever golden colour, one and half years old. It is not barking. any reason for that. please explain if any one knows.
Hi,
I am just giving a background on my pet lab to start with.
“In mid-Aug this year, I got a 44 days old male fawn lab pup, he was weighing 2.5 Kg at that time. From day one my pup is active and having his food 3 times a day. He is very active, bites, eats and licks everything which reaches his mouth. Probably because of this in 2nd week of bringing him home he had diarrhea and it was a nightmare for me for a week. We immediately took him to vet and he was completely fine in a week.
I could able to train him on commands like sit, sleep, shake hands and even Hi Five. But as we live in a flat in 10th Floor and also due to my busy schedule and my wife currently 9 month pregnant we are unable to take him regularly outside for a walk (which I know is necessary) for his discharge.
He is crazy for food, and become restless at exact time of his food time. Now he is 4 months old and all his initial 3 vaccinations has been done. He weighs 17 Kgs now and is healthy. He becomes hyper active when he sees or meets children. I have to keep a close watch and a tight hold on his leash whenever he is around children.
Most of the time we keep him in his crate which is large enough for him to stand and can easily stress his legs. Only for giving him food and potty we take him out and sometimes for playing with him. Rest of the time he lives in the crate only and he is comfortable in it.”
Now my questions are:
1. Currently we are collecting his potty and urine discharge by directly placing a container beneath him as we know by now that when he is ready for discharge. The problem is that we don’t want to make this as a practice and want to find a solution to this. Whenever he is in his crate he do notify us for his nature calls and never dirty his crate. We want him to also notify us when he is not in his crate and we can take him to bathroom or find a different way. We are also thinking of train him to do it on a potty pot or container which can be cleared by us later and will be a one time activity for us. But we are not sure if this will work out. Do you have any idea how others deal with their pets having same situation.
2. He still bites while playing or cuddling and I am worried, as, soon, we will be having our baby. My lab should not hurt the baby or get jealous. How to make him friendly and train him how to be around a baby.
My vet and the pet shop owner both are saying that he is too young for giving training and should wait till he gets to 5-6 months old. So please suggest if you can advise for any other alternatives.
Please advise.
Thanks!!
Mny thanks for the site. In India pups are always provided at 40 days as a standard. I wish i’d read your site earlier and followed your advice on taking our lab put at 8 weeks. He came to us at 40 days and is now going to turn 12 weeks tomorrow. We love him to death and is spoilt silly. He is the new baby in the family and asks for attention when he doesnt get it like when we have to leave him some time and go downstairs. He is super chatty and tries to communicate all the time. The problem though is he is a barky and neighbours arent taking well to all the noise. Am not sure if there is anything i can do about it. Please help.
I am a bachelor staying alone working for 8hrs. Planning to buy a lab or Doberman dog. I don’t know what to expect so please give me a heads up.
I love this long type of article. Keep it up
We have a four month old English chocolate lab puppy. Sadly she tore a ligament in her elbow at puppy preschool while rough housing with another puppy. The orthopaedic vet recommended two weeks strict rest so during the day when we are at work she has extremely limited access to the outdoors (2.4m x 2.4m fenced area) and is on leash in the backyard at other times. Is there any way to stop the zoomies??? Even in a small room she tears around like an insane person on speed at least twice a day! She is generally very well behaved, knows how to sit, lie down, shake hands, leave it (not consistently given she is only 4 months but most of the time), and had just started leash training until she got diagnosed.
I’m sorry to hear about the torn ligament. Your vet might have some good suggestions for controlling the zoomies. A few things we do with our dogs is shorten and stand on their leash so they can’t run around like crazy or confinement in the crate when they get the crazy zoommie mode.