How To Train A Labrador

Labrador Retrievers are considered one of the most intelligent and easily trained of all dogs.  Labs are widely used around the world as guide dogs for the blind, service dogs, military dogs, sniffer dogs for explosives and other detection work, search and rescue dogs, and therapy dogs.  They excel at any kind of work that requires intelligence, training and a steady temperament.

You and your Lab can pursue any kind of training that interests you.  Most training begins with basic obedience training.  Later, if you like, you can continue with agility, rally, flyball, canine freestyle (dancing with dogs), dock jumping, frisbee, tracking, hunting and retrieving work, therapy work, and so on. There’s no limit to what you can do with your Labrador Retriever.  Or, you can simply enjoy your dog as a well-trained family companion.

Since they are so intelligent and easy to train, Labs enjoy training and they take to it very quickly.  Whether you teach your dog at home or join a class, you’ll probably be surprised by how quickly your Lab learns.  He’ll probably let you know that he wants you to teach him more.  It should be very easy to teach him tricks, too, if you like to entertain your family and friends.

Labrador Puppy Training

When you first get your Labrador puppy you can begin his training by socializing him as soon as he’s had all his vaccinations.  Socialization helps to build confidence in a young dog.  Take him places where he will meet other friendly dogs on leash and friendly people will pet him such as pet stores and parks.  Socialization at a young age will help your puppy grow into a confident adult dog and prevent problems such as separation anxiety later.

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You can also enroll your puppy in a puppy preschool or puppy kindergarten class.  These classes are often offered by animal shelters, kennel clubs, pet stores and dog trainers.  They allow puppies of approximately the same age to interact with each other, play, be petted by the friendly owners, and socialize.  The puppies will also learn some basic manners and obedience in some classes, depending on the trainer.

Once your puppy is well-socialized you can start thinking about some basic obedience training.

Obedience Training

Labrador Retrievers usually learn very quickly when you begin teaching them basic obedience training.  As with most dogs, they respond very well to positive reinforcement, including clicker training. They like reward-based training and are apt to be very food-motivated.  They also like receiving praise and enjoy pleasing their owners.

You can choose to teach your dog obedience training yourself or enroll in a class.  There are many good DVDs, CDs, books and other resources that make it easy to teach a dog at home.  If you run into problems you can always contact a trainer for help.

If you plan to enroll in a class for training it’s a good idea to talk to the trainer or visit the class to make sure that you and your dog would enjoy it.  Trainers use different methods so you will want to make sure that you like this particular trainer’s way of teaching.  You can also talk to people taking the class to see how they like it.  If you have friends who have taken a training class, then ask them who the trainer was and how they liked it.

Most animal shelters, kennel clubs and pet stores offer basic obedience classes.  You can also talk to private trainers.  Many offer group sessions and some offer private lessons and will even come to your home.

Labrador Retrievers are such intelligent and versatile dogs that you should be able to accomplish any training goals you set for yourself and your dog.  The key is to practice regularly. If you work with your dog on a regular basis then you should have a dog you can really be proud of, and your Lab will be a credit to both of you.

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