Labrador Retriever Training: How to Do It the Right Way

Apart from having fun with their pet labrador, dog owners should know that their top priority is to provide proper labrador retriever training at the same time keep these four-legged friends physically fit. There are many methods and tools said to be effective in training, however, owners need to make sure which among these methods is best suited for a particular labrador.

Appropriate training starts the moment you bring your new pet home. But training at this point in time does not necessarily mean involving complicated lessons like teaching how to play fetch or rollover. A new pet, be a puppy of around two months or an adult dog from the shelter, should be given the opportunity to socialize and to adjust to the new environment you brought him into. Let him meet or see other pets, people, things and places one at a time and make every encounter with them positive as much as possible.

Labrador retrievers are usually even-tempered dogs hence harsh or punishment-based labrador retriever training is not really necessary. These methods can potentially create negative effects to your training objectives and to your pet in general instead of improve the situation. With right timing, consistency and determination, you will be fine with positive reinforcement training, a training method in which a dog is rewarded for doing good behavior to motivate him to exhibit that same behavior again. Rewards, also called positive reinforcers include food treats, toys, praise and time to play with the owner or other dogs. Food rewards should be enticing and truly rewarding while toys should not be too small nor contain parts that can easily break. Toys with pointed or sharp parts should also be avoided to prevent injuries.

Positive reinforcement is also a great method to use during potty training. If you reward your pet for doing his business every time you take him to the right spot, he will eventually figure out that he gets good things for doing that particular behavior. This in turn will motivate him to continue doing what he has been doing and will soon help him develop regular potty schedule.

While you are training your pet where and when to urinate and defecate, you can also start training the basic obedience. Start with the very important labrador retriever training commands like stay, sit, come and down for they are not only helpful in keeping your pet safe but also serve as foundation of more complicated tricks like fetch, crawl, roll over and others.

Appropriate Labrador Retriever training is an important part of dog ownership. Kate Truman shares tips to help you make Labrador Retriever training easy.