Although Labradors love the outdoors, your dog is likely to spend much of its life with you in your home. Make sure that it understands basic “house rules”, and provide it with its own personal space to retire to. Give your pet satisfying time and attention, but always on your own terms.
Learning to Wait Patently:
You are the leader of the pack, and you decide what happens and when. Do not respond to your dog’s demand for attention or let it initiate activities. Every dog should have some private space – a bed or a crate that it can call its own. Your Labrador will learn to retire happily to its “den” while you are relaxing or busy with household chores.
Spending Quality Time Together:
Nurturing the bond between you and your dog is not only enjoyable, but strongly reinforces basic obedience. Set aside time each day to offer your Labrador some indoor physical and mental activity. Vary the hour and type of play or your dog will expect a certain game at a given time.
Accepting Strangers at Home:
Although Labradors are inclined to enjoy visitors, ensure your dog is not a nuisance by training it to sit when a guest arrives. This will discourage territorial guarding and help curb any over-excitement. Ask visitors initially to disregard your pet, to instill a sense of calm. Always reward good behavior with approving words, a gentle stroke, or a favorite treat.
Relinquishing a Forbidden Item:
Labradors are inveterate retrievers and often take items they find, especially those with attractive odours, back to their beds. Train your dog, using food rewards, to drop and surrender objects on command. A possessive dog should be taught that even its toys ultimately belong to you.
Understanding what is wrong:
Use a stern voice and an assertive stance to admonish your dog when it does, something wrong. Reprimand on the spot; otherwise it will not understand why you are angry.
Follow simple Retraining Rules:
Remember the principles of basic training and always go back to those if problems develop in adulthood. Virtually all undesirable behavior can be corrected if your dog understands simple obedience – to come, sit, lie down, and stay. Everything else is window dressing. Labrador Retrievers are more trainable than many other breeds and have a good but limited ability to understand language. Be careful not to overload your dog with information; use short, sharp words, and issue commands only when you know that you can enforce them.
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