Training a Labrador the right way it is very similar to training any dog. The one thing you want to start doing right away is socialising your new pup. It's important they learn how to interact with people and other dogs, cats and animals in general. Teach them the proper way to great people; if you don't want them to jump on people's legs, then now is the time to start that reinforcement. Trust me, you don't want a dog who constantly barks at everyone even if it's family members.

Training a Labrador the Right Way

During the 8-14 week period your Lab is susceptible to imprinting. Meaning your Lab is very open to all forms of learning. Now is the time to train your Lab not to bite, not to jump, etc. It's also very important to teach your Lab to do what you want with a commanding but gentle voice. Yelling and hitting will only teach him to be afraid and cower from you. Be firm and realise it will take time and continual reinforcement for your Lab to learn what you want. This is where people go wrong. They give their dog what it wants when it wants it. The master is you, not the dog. You have to be the Alpha male.

Take your Lab with you when you go out. Let him learn how to stay in the car and not be afraid; let him realise you will return. Leaving him alone in a big house where noises and who knows what can scare him may cause him to become a dog with anxiety problems.

In the beginning try to limit how much time he is alone. If you can't come home in the middle of the day, even for a few minutes have a friend drop by to walk him and visit.

Be sure to introduce your Lab to friends, family and neighbours. Take him to the dog park to interact with other dogs, it's this social interaction that will make your Lab comfortable in this big old world.

When you're going to take a short run to the store or the gym, start to crate your Lab. Wait until he can go at least a couple hours without making a mess. When you put a dog in a crate, it becomes their home. Don't use the crate as punishment and you shouldn't have any trouble getting him to go in whenever you need. Eventually put your Lab in the crate overnight. This will reinforce it's his "house" and he's safe when he's in there.

Clicker Training and Obedience

Training your lab at 12 weeks with a clicker is a simple and easy way to reinforce your commands. It's a great way to start obedience training while he's young enough to imprint.

Teaching him/her to stay off the couch or out of the kitchen should be done now. Everyone is the house should use the same commands and follow through for the best training results.

Using the Clicker method will allow you to reinforce your commands such as "sit", "down, "shake" and "stay". There are many commands to teach your Labrador, many of them for fun and some for safety as will be evident when you begin leash training.

Continue training as they Age

Spend as much time as possible with your Lab, always being consistent with your commands and delivery. If you are training an older Lab, say over two years of age, use the same methods outlined above but remember you can teach an old dog new tricks, you'll just have to use a lot more patience!

After training your Labrador the right way, if you are not seeing the results you wanted, make sure you have identified yourself as the alpha. Use strong, consistent commands and always follow through. If you do this enough your Lab will learn you are in charge and you should enjoy a long close friendship. Not to mention, you will never have to worry about being embarrassed in public. These are the basics of how to train your Labrador the right way.

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