How to Train a Labrador
The Labrador retriever is a relatively simple dog. Not only does he 'asks' few questions, but he also has plenty of love to share. However, if a dog breed had an emotional intelligence capability that breed would be the Labrador. These dogs were originally bred as hunting dogs, to retrieve dead or injured birds, thus their name. The Labrador is still widely used for these purposes and is also a common family pet.
This dog breed is extremely trainable and is of great assistance to seeing impaired people as well as to police officers. In other words, you can not only teach your dog a lot of tricks and therefore have a lot of fun together, but also teach him to be a better companion around the house, not causing any troubles.
Training your Labrador starts with monitoring his behavior around food. Most dogs of this breed are hungry all the time. Therefore, if you don't keep a strict eye on your dog's diet, he may put on a lot of weight, putting strain on organs and joints. Luckily, Labradors tend to accept almost all types of foods. That's why even cherry tomatoes and carrots can be good training treats.
Teach your dog to focus. The majority of Labradors, especially the female ones tend to scare easily, that is, they develop a spooking behavior – barking or growling at a stimulus. If not overcame, this can turn into a sort of a bad habit.
Preventing this behavior is of crucial importance. The element of surprise can be taken away by distracting the dog from everything, which can cause a reaction. When you are out with the dog, encourage him to regularly look at you. Whenever he does, reward him with a treat. Practice this type of keeping the attention by using various treats and withhold the reward gradually. Use this method until the dog learns to focus.
You will also need to teach your dog how to greet and behave in a social manner. Labradors jump at every person possible if not trained otherwise. This is because Labradors enjoy human contact which is why they are so overly joyous. However, if you don't control that behavior, your puppy will grow up and become a bouncy and uncontrollable adult dog.
When the dog is still a small puppy, jumping is, in a way, encouraged, as there is nothing cuter than to see a small bouncing doggie in play. However, your Labrador grows up and this behavior establishes until you end up with a seventy pound dog that jumps all the time and you don't know how to deal with.
Luckily, teaching your four legged friend to stay on his paws when he has to requires a minimal effort. Teach him a sort of alternative behavior. It could be quite easy with some positive reinforcement and food reward. Teach your Labrador to greet while sitting rather than to jump at people whenever he is glad to see them. You can utilize the Clicking training method, which can bring great results. Of course, as already noted, food rewards will greatly help, but they need to be given up to a certain point. And if your Labrador jumps at the food, turn away and hold the treat above your head. This will make the dog realize that jumping will simply not help. After that, only a certain command word, like the obvious 'Sit' has to be more than enough to stop your dog from jumping.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate link(s), which may result in compensation for AllAboutLabradors.blogspot.com. For more information about All About Labradors please read our Disclaimer and Disclosure Policies. We've shared this information to inform you of your option to either use our affiliated links or to go directly to the site of interest.
This dog breed is extremely trainable and is of great assistance to seeing impaired people as well as to police officers. In other words, you can not only teach your dog a lot of tricks and therefore have a lot of fun together, but also teach him to be a better companion around the house, not causing any troubles.
Training your Labrador starts with monitoring his behavior around food. Most dogs of this breed are hungry all the time. Therefore, if you don't keep a strict eye on your dog's diet, he may put on a lot of weight, putting strain on organs and joints. Luckily, Labradors tend to accept almost all types of foods. That's why even cherry tomatoes and carrots can be good training treats.
Teach your dog to focus. The majority of Labradors, especially the female ones tend to scare easily, that is, they develop a spooking behavior – barking or growling at a stimulus. If not overcame, this can turn into a sort of a bad habit.
Preventing this behavior is of crucial importance. The element of surprise can be taken away by distracting the dog from everything, which can cause a reaction. When you are out with the dog, encourage him to regularly look at you. Whenever he does, reward him with a treat. Practice this type of keeping the attention by using various treats and withhold the reward gradually. Use this method until the dog learns to focus.
You will also need to teach your dog how to greet and behave in a social manner. Labradors jump at every person possible if not trained otherwise. This is because Labradors enjoy human contact which is why they are so overly joyous. However, if you don't control that behavior, your puppy will grow up and become a bouncy and uncontrollable adult dog.
When the dog is still a small puppy, jumping is, in a way, encouraged, as there is nothing cuter than to see a small bouncing doggie in play. However, your Labrador grows up and this behavior establishes until you end up with a seventy pound dog that jumps all the time and you don't know how to deal with.
Luckily, teaching your four legged friend to stay on his paws when he has to requires a minimal effort. Teach him a sort of alternative behavior. It could be quite easy with some positive reinforcement and food reward. Teach your Labrador to greet while sitting rather than to jump at people whenever he is glad to see them. You can utilize the Clicking training method, which can bring great results. Of course, as already noted, food rewards will greatly help, but they need to be given up to a certain point. And if your Labrador jumps at the food, turn away and hold the treat above your head. This will make the dog realize that jumping will simply not help. After that, only a certain command word, like the obvious 'Sit' has to be more than enough to stop your dog from jumping.
The article has been provided by Angela Harpert - a devoted mom and wife who gladly shares her Colliers Wood house moving experience and other family tricks for happiness, among which how to deal the boys and the labradors.
Labrador Retriever Training Help:
- The Everything Labrador Retriever Book
- The Labrador Shooting Dog: Training the Labrador Retriever as an All-Around Sporting Dog
- Labrador Puppy Training: The Ultimate Guide on Labrador Puppies
- Labrador Retriever DVD + Dog & Puppy Training Bonus
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate link(s), which may result in compensation for AllAboutLabradors.blogspot.com. For more information about All About Labradors please read our Disclaimer and Disclosure Policies. We've shared this information to inform you of your option to either use our affiliated links or to go directly to the site of interest.
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1 comments:
I love labs! I currently have a shih-tzu because we live in a town home but as soon as we have a big enough yard to hold a lab we're going to get two Labradors! We just don't think it's fair to have them couped up in a small town home! Thanks for your blog!
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