Dog Training Tips for Labrador Retriever Puppies
Lab Breeder on Alpha Dog, Digging, Pulling, and Breaking Bad Habits
Nov 11, 2009
Here are dog training tips for Labrador Retriever puppies, and why an owner must be an “alpha leader”. There are easy ways to stop a dog from digging or to teach a puppy not to pull on a leash. Stop these bad habits while the dog is young.
Alpha Dog
According to Jim Young, a Labrador Retriever breeder for 30 years, the trick to training any dog is to become the alpha leader. There is no other way.
Dogs come from packs (families) and all dogs in the pack are one of two types:
- A leader
- A follower
All baby puppies in a litter will play and bite each other in order to find their position within the hierarchy of their pack. With young pups, the mother is the alpha leader. When a puppy bites his mother, she will snap at him, quickly, and then it’s over.
See this on a video of a dog teaching her puppies. (People should not hold a dog's head down like the mother in the video.)
Once a puppy knows that mom is the alpha leader, he will watch her to learn how to behave.
Alpha Leader
The human owner of a new puppy must adopt the role of the “mother dog” or alpha dog / alpha leader. The mother dog is the teacher and she must stay in charge, otherwise her puppy will become her leader.
New owners need to become the alpha leader and show the new dog that they are in charge. A pup doesn’t need to be spanked. A Labrador Retriever puppy will want to do what his leader says, if he can figure out what that is.
Read about great chocolate, yellow, and black Lab names.
Training Dogs
One reason that a mother alpha dog has an easy time, teaching her young pups to obey, is that she spends most of the day with them. So, in order to train a lab puppy, try to spend a lot of time with him (or her) and try to be consistent.
Dog Treats
Labrador Retrievers will do just about anything for a dog treat. Most Labrador puppies love food. Try a brand like:
- Tillman’s Training Tips (dog treats that smell like pepperoni)
- Pet Botanics Training Reward (dog candy that smells like Slim Jims)
Digging in Yard
Digging is a natural activity for a dog. To keep a little girl (or boy) Labrador puppy from digging in the roses, she must have a doggie digging box of her own. It's easy to make a digging box.
Dog Digging Box:
- Make a wooden frame with 2x6 or 2x8 pieces of lumber and put it on the ground.
- Fill this with dirt.
- Bury dog toys in the dirt
Take the puppy to the digging box and show her some toys. Then help her find the rest of the toys by digging with her. Later in the day, when the owner sees the little girl dog digging in the yard, take her to the digging box and praise her when she digs in the right place.
(To take a cute picture for a Christmas card, see these dog Santa hats.)
Dog Leash Pulling
Many dogs pull their masters by the leash when out on a walk. According to Young, the Labrador breeder:
“In dog thinking, it goes something like this, ‘I pull, human follows…oh boy! Let’s go for a walk!’... And when that leash is attached to him, he pulls and you follow. This is a learned behavior that you have taught him.” If the human is not the leader, then the dog is.
Walking on Leash
When a puppy is on a walk and is pulling his owner, the owner should pull back, gently, on the leash until the dog is back with the owner. Then the owner should let the leash go loose, again.
- Repeat this pulling and releasing (about 6 times during the walk) until the dog puts up less resistance.
- When the puppy puts up less resistance, the owner should praise the dog and give him a training treat.
- If it took 6 times, pulling the puppy back, to give the owner control, it will probably take 6 additional times before the dog starts to understand what the alpha leader (human) wants.
Just like the mother alpha dog, the alpha leader (human) must be consistent. If the dog is allowed to pull the owner later on, it will become a war of wills as the puppy tries to reassert himself as the alpha dog.
It is so easy to train these cute Labrador Retriever puppies because they are so smart. All one needs is a lab puppy, dog treats, a bit of time, and lots of love.
Check out cute Labrador Retriever puppies bred by Jim Young at walabs.com. Click around the site to read Jim's story about why he breeds labs, and to view the puppy cams. (The author's dog, Rocco, came from Walabs in Toledo WA, near Portland OR. - ps Jim pointed out that a dog can actually be: a leader, follower, or a sibling. I'll write about that soon.)
Read more about dogs and training puppies
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