Useful Labrador Training Tips For You and Your Dog
Training a Labrador is as easy as walking around the park. In fact, training your Labrador will make you walk around the park. These brawny dogs love to go outside and playing catch with his or her owner. If you want to train your dog to follow whatever you want them to do, then get up, grab your Labs and head to the park, or you can just go out at the backyard.
Labradors are deemed the most obedient dogs on earth. Why is that so? Simply because they desire to please their owners. If they want to please you and make you proud, then they will do their best to follow you. They are energetic and love the outside so training all day long will not be a problem to them.
But wait. Before you go out and teach your Labs how to sit, stand, catch, crawl and stay, know first a few things so that you will have a smooth and productive training. Being able to know more about your Labrador retriever would help you know how to deal with them as well as how to please them. Remember, it is not enough that they want to please you and do what you want. You also have to encourage and make them happy. That way, you will gain their trust and would follow whatever you tell them to do.
So, here are the tips on how to train your Labrador effectively.
Labradors are flexible breed. They can go outside and enjoy the sun for a long time. They can swim well and love the cool waters. They can do tricks and get used to different people. But, as active as they can be, they can still become bored and lonely once you leave them alone for so long. So, what you need to do first is schedule a time each day to spend with your Labs. You can take him or her for a walk at least an hour or teach him or her tricks for about an hour. That way, they will not be left out, which will eventually make them aggressive if they do.
Once you have a Labrador puppy in your house, feed him or her first what he or she normally eats. Then, gradually introduce him or her some solid foods or other dog foods that he or she might like. If your Labs get used to what you feed him or her, you can switch to the dog food you desire.
Before teaching your Labs some tricks like sit, stand, roll over, stay and catch, it is important to train him or her first the basics. That includes potty training and housebreaking. When teaching your Labrador where to “go”, confine them first in a certain area so he or she can hold on to it and not scatter them around. You can use a dog crate or a dog pen for this. Confine them first in the crate or pen for a few hours. Let him or her hold on to it. Then, let him or her outside so he or she can “go”. This will teach your Labs the proper place to do his or her personal stuff.
Tricks like sit, stay, catch and stand can be trained to your dog by means of positive enforcement. It simply means that for your dog to follow you, you have to give him or her reward for doing something right. That will encourage your Labs to continue on what he or she is doing and make it a habit.
For example, if you want your dog to sit, have a treat in your hand and let him follow it with his or her eyes. Then say sit repeatedly with a hand gesture to guide him or her how to sit. If your Labs can do it, reward him a treat and say good dog.
You can do this also when you teach him or her to stand, stay, crawl, lie down and some other good dog tricks. Just always remember to guide them on how to do it, use a treat to encourage them and always say, “Good dog” to make your Labs proud.
For a practical example of a Labrador training, see this video:
