Puppy Training Tips
You can start training your puppy practically as soon as you get him home. You can take him to puppy training classes of course, but it isn’t so hard to learn puppy training techniques and teach him yourself. Dogs are like children and learn quickly through games. Try to play with your puppy as often as you can, and if possible get down on the floor with him. That way a bond will be established between you and the puppy and you can strengthen it through training. When he is about eight weeks ancient your puppy will be ancient enough to start learning how to retrieve things, bring them to you and lay them at your feet. He will find this fun and delight in playing “fetch” for the rest of his life.
The best way to teach him this game is to keep him on a 10-foot leash. Rather than using a stick, use a toy he is familiar with or a soft ball. It is vital to ensure that it isn’t too small, to prevent him from swallowing it. Take the toy and wave it in the air around his head to catch his attention, and then throw it at a distance of about 5 feet. Be careful not to throw it further than that or he might injure himself when he suddenly reaches the end of the leash. Make sure you use his name, for example “Prince, fetch!”
Run after him as he goes after the toy and give him a bit of praise, especially if he picks it up, but do not praise him too much at this point. If he fails to pick it up with his mouth, shake it in front of him until he does, and then return to where you were, trying to get him to follow you. Should he drop the toy you must make him pick it up again. When he brings it back, get the toy out of his mouth saying “Out” as you do so, so that he will learn to recognize this command. After that you can lavish all the praise you want on him.
It is vital when training a new puppy to make sure he always has fun with this game and that it is not a source of stress for him. Small by small he will start to know what you want and what he needs to do to get praise from you. Once you no longer have to go towards the toy to get him to retrieve, you can start to throw it in other directions.
Although Labrador retrievers are excellent swimmers, this is something they need to learn, and they need to strengthen their swimming muscles through exercise. It is not a excellent thought to push your puppy into the water or make him go in. When he is about three months ancient you can encourage him to enter a pond or lake and he will quickly know what to do. You can help him get started by wading in with him at the beginning, and if he sees other dogs having fun in the water that will encourage him to get in on the fun.
Puppies that are raised by the sea become fantastic sea-lovers, but you have to be sure to protect a young puppy from huge waves. Take him to the shallow part of a sheltered bay to start with. When you throw an object make sure it does not fall into deep water as it is simple to misjudge distances and your puppy might not be able to swim back if the object is too far away, and risks drowning from exhaustion.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s safe to let your puppy swim in your pool. He might go in alone when you are not looking and not be able to climb out when he gets tired.
Tagged with: Puppy • Tips • Training
Filed under: Training a Puppy
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Leave a Reply