Labrador Training Tips- Should You Punish Your Labrador Retrievers?

Labrador Retrievers are popular dogs, being able to perform roles such as assistance dogs. They would surely enjoy activities to stimulate their minds and body, being intelligent and energetic dogs they are. But despite their large size and exceptional abilities in working and detection, Labrador Retrievers are also ideal and loyal companions.

This breed responds well to praise and positive attention but we cannot deny the fact that they sometimes commit mistakes. However, you should always bear in mind that a dog will never do anything on purpose, and besides he is not even aware whether what he is doing is right or wrong. Additionally, a dog isn't aware of the consequences of his actions. It is for you as dog owner to understand your dog's behavior and how to deal with it.

Mistakes committed should be corrected at once to prevent your pet from doing it again. You should make him understand that what he did is wrong and you are not very happy with what he did. There are many methods to train a dog as well as approaches to correct his mistakes. These vary depending on the owner or trainer, some still believe that training a dog should be done in humane way. But there are some who would rather verbally or physically punish their dogs. Verbal punishment includes shouting or using an angry tone to your dog while kicking, hitting, rubbing his nose in the carpet and other forced actions fall under physical punishment.

If you come home and hit your dog after you found out that he urinated in the living room floor, you will not make him understand why he is being hit. He may not even realize that it is his punishment for doing something unacceptable which took place hours ago. The result of this however is not a well-trained dog but a confused and scared dog. He will associate your return with hitting or yelling and will make him scared of you returning home. Of course you do not want this to happen, don't you?

"How should I correct my dog's behavior if I am not going to punish him for the mistake he committed?" Dog owners would probably ask that question. There are training methods effective in modifying a dog's behavior without inflicting physical pain. Use praise and positive attention to correct Labrador Retrievers. Your gentle words and tone as well as your loving touch will encourage them to behave properly. You can also modify your dog's behavior through perceived punishment. If you caught your dog doing something unacceptable, you may want to create a sudden loud noise to refrain him from doing it. In time, he will realize that the loud noise occurs every time he is not behaving properly. The point here is that, this perceived punishment does not appear to come from you but somewhere. And also, he is not physically or emotionally tortured.

Just treat your dogs right and they will surely reward you with happiness and lifetime friendship.