Labrador Puppy Training

puppy-training

Labrador puppy training is all about laying the foundations for good manners and great obedience skills as your dog grows and develops. Training your Labrador puppy should all be positive and rewarding. Catching those moments of great behavior and encouraging them, or setting your puppy up to win with simple training games. Along with that all important puppy potty training, of course.

Welcome to our Labrador Puppy Training Center. This is your portal to training a happy and obedient puppy, with expert advice and clear instructions for new puppy parents. Training your puppy should be fun, and we’ll help to make sure that it is!

Contents

Puppy Potty & Crate Training

For many puppy owners, potty training or house training, is the top priority for the first few weeks. You’ll want to know how long it will take, what the best methods are, and how to deal with any problems that arise.

Some of you may want to use a crate, and some of you may need information on potty training a puppy when you work.

All this is covered in our three key articles:

Stop Your Puppy Biting

Biting can be a big shock to new puppy parents. Not just how hard and how much puppies bite, but how aggressive they sound when they do it and how much it hurts. Those tiny teeth are sharp!

Start Puppy Obedience Training Now!

If you are going to train your puppy with modern positive reinforcement methods, you can start training your puppy as soon as you bring him home at 8 weeks old. The methods we give you on this website do not involve any force and won’t cause puppies any stress. So it is fine for you to get started straight away.

This is important for any large dog that lives indoors with his family. A five or six month old Labrador is quite strong and will be up to all kinds of mischief if he is not given some training and boundaries

Puppy Training Methods

In the past, serious dog training did not begin until puppies were 5 or 6 months old. This is because dog training involved quite a lot of corrections and firm handling. Fortunately, times have changed, and dog training has moved on.

Most dog trainers now use predominantly modern positive reinforcement training methods and a growing number are what we call force-free trainers. Here is some more information about training methods, and getting off to a good start with your puppy:

Moving On With Puppy Training

Here are some great basic obedience skills you can start to introduce as your puppy develops:

164 COMMENTS

  1. I have a AKC yellow lab puppy that is 11 weeks old. We have been working with him since the first day we got him at 6 weeks old on potty training and retrieving. The retrieving part is working.. the potty training is not. He does not mess in his kennel or his play pen, but does in the house. We take him outside and he will go, then come inside and go again 5 minutes later.

  2. Can you advise me which whistle is suitable for training a 9 week Labrador puppy. He responds to my whistle but only when very near. I know whistles vary in pitch depending on which breed you are using them with. I have your book Total Recall and want to get started as he is very biddable so far. Thanks

  3. Hi, my pup is now 5 months, he is fully house trained, but if I have to leave him in the house I nearly always come home to accidents. I always ensure he has been walked and had access to the garden to do his business before I leave him. I don’t leave him often, but when I do I always leave him in the kitchen with the radio on, his bed, toys and even a Kong with treats in it. Is it to late to crate/cage train him or can you offer any other advice? Many thanks.

  4. one of my distant relative is giving his lab puppy to me…he is 3months old…after i take him will i be able to train him?what if i call him by another name?will that be any problem?? plz help

    • Changing his name will be fine. Just use his new name followed by his old name for a week or so. Then gradually drop the old name as he responds to the new. Pippa

  5. Hi Pippa
    I have a 5 months old lab pup and how to train him to snif??? and he avoids to walk.. how to make him to have a long walk for atleast once a day.. i think its serious.. pls suggest and post some videos to train him…

    Waiting for your answer
    Prasad.

  6. I’ll bring home an 8 week old Chocolate Lab in mid Feb. It doesn’t get that cold here so I’ll leave him outside in a fenced yard while I’m at work. I may not be able to get home to him everyday during work hours. He’ll have access to water and a Dogigloo. I will play with and crate train him when I am home. Will this work? Thanks for your opinion and guidance.

    • Some dogs live very happily in kennels, provided that they have a warm, dry place to sleep, shelter from sun and wind, space to run about and fresh water to drink. Having said that, some puppies can find it hard being kennelled alone all day and will howl and bark whilst you are out. A lot will depend on the state of your yard. A kennel run (or in this case your yard fence) needs to be very secure, at least six foot high and strong enough to keep your dog in (and predators or thieves out). You also need to check the run very carefully indeed to make sure there is nothing for your puppy to swallow and choke on, and nothing sharp that he can hurt himself on. Pippa

  7. I could use some advice. We have a 13 week old lab puppy- and he is very smart. He is using a bell to go outside to potty. He goes to work with me every day and uses the bell there as well. My issue is – twice, when my 10 year old son has been playing with the puppy- within my eyesight, the puppy pees on the floor in multiple places, any idea why? Even after calm time, he will pee on the floor 2 or 3 times. Could he be getting too worked up or excited to remember at this age?

  8. hey Pippa
    my 1 month old Labrador has a very bad habit of teething. Also some times he has a very stinky breath. pls tell me what to do.?? Its breath is unbearable. pls suggest suitable methods for
    prevention of bad breath and teething.
    this is really serious.
    waiting for the answer
    Shivangi

  9. hi
    my 1 month old golden Labrador has a very bad habit of teething. He also pees any where hi wants to even though he now recogonizes his bed,blanket and food bowl. what should I do to remove his teething habit and to stop him to pee anywhere he wants? punish him? pls help.
    ps. pls write to me and pls don’t give me links.

    • Your one month old puppy should be with it’s mother. If you cannot return it, then you need to contact a vet for advice. There is no point in me writing out the exact same explanations and information multiple times, which is why I provide links to the many articles on this website, that are there to help you.

  10. First, I find your site very helpful! Thank you for that.
    I was in the mearket for a family/ duck hunting dog.
    I came acrossed a rescue site , and though it would be best to take on a rescues rather than buy one from a breeder . Anyways he is a yellow lab 1 yr 8 mounths, seems he is very smart, but pryer owns just let him run wild so training is a bite rougher than training my sherpeard , you have any tips for training older pups?
    Thanks
    Jeremy

  11. Hey pippa…
    I have a 9 month old puppy. Hes very cheerful and active. The only problem m facing is that hes into too much of mouthing. When taken out for a walk, he eats mud n other stuff. Also when at home he bites us even. He has his teeth now. Wonder how to control his biting habbit. Pls help…

    Sruthi

  12. I have a 15 month old lab. One of the problems we are having is that he continues to grab food if not paying attention off the table. This is serious and I don’t know how to break him of this habit. We don’t want to hit him but nothing seems to work. He can’t be trusted with any food left unattended..please help.

  13. hi i am going to say about my pet she is 25 days but she always she trries me to catch me and she is pulling me a lot what i can do?

  14. Hi, I am about to get a lab just before Xmas . She will be 8 weeks old . My hubby and I have to work full time hours for next few months what advise do you have as to helping her no be all lonely till we get home ?

  15. Hello! need some advice here…. I have a 6 year old female Lab and since our 8 year old male Lab passed away last week, we plan to add a 2-3 month old male Lab or Golden Retriever pup to our family. Would be be advisable and would my female adult Lab adjust to the pup being introduced? Any advice on this would be appreciated.

  16. Hi…..i have a 5 week old female black lab i am feeding her kibbles is this good for her health and what should i do to make her healthy and maintain her good health

  17. Dear,
    Can any one suggest me how to stop hyperness of my Lab. she gets very hyper start licking when she sees any one on the public road or any one comes to my place. more over she never ever barks to any human not even stray dogs or animals. is any thing wrong in her or i have to give her some kind of training. i am little bit confused please suggest.

  18. hi i am getting a lab pup as soon as he is ready. I have owned a dog before but am reay keen to get the training right. please advise on where to start. many thanks

  19. Hi Pippa

    Thanks, not sure what happened here as all of my post hasnt come out, but basically i wanted to know whether you recommend using a puppy pad to begin with then moving it closer to the door and eventully going outside or whether you think best to start training outside straight away, I will be using the crate as well. I only ask as 2 days a week he will be left on his own as i work part time and someone cant let him out until lunch so dont want him to get so desperate that he makes has accident inside whereas if he has a pad may help him???? What do you recommend?

    Thanks
    Alicia

  20. We are picking up our Labrador puppy in a couple and obviously we are extremely excited! I’ve tried to be super organised and read through a lot of your articles on what to and what not to do

  21. Hi Pippa, Please can you tell me when i can expect our 14week old lab to be able to hold his need for a wee during the day for the same period of time that he can,during the night? We are crating him and he is quite happy in there. He now goes upto around 7 hours during the night and so i assumed he would be ok for upto that period during the day. The longest he is left for is 7 hours, 4 days a week. So i stopped going home in my lunchbreak (after 4 hrs) and letting him go to the toilet outside, but after discovering a wet bed everyday following that, i started checking him after 4hour, 5 hour and 6 hour periods and its wet everytime. Do i need to start going home again at lunchtimes? If so how long is it likely to be before he gets it? I give him newly washed bedding everytime i come home to find his bed wet and spray his crate base with the odour stuff so i am really hoping that its not a habit he has gotton into, as he never does it when we are home and he does go in his crate for a nap voluntarily sometimes. I remember you saying a few weeks ago that its unlikely that a pup can hold his bladder for a whole night until he is about 13 weeks old, so i was elated when hestarted to a couple of weeks ago, but i am now confused and dont know what to do for the best.

    • Hi Louise, just like people, dogs need far more opportunities to toilet during the day than at night. Some adult dogs may cope if denied opportunity to toilet for seven hours in an emergency, but no dog should ever be left for this long as a matter of course!

      Puppies need company, opportunities to play, exercise and go to the toilet at regular intervals. It is completely inappropriate to crate any dog, even an adult, for the entire working day. And small puppies should not be crated for more than an hour or two during the day.

      If you want to go back to working full days, you need to arrange for someone else to care for your puppy during the day.

      Best wishes,
      Pippa

  22. Hello- my lab is 6 months old and yet to go to puppy school. She does the basics like sit and fetches toys on command but i want her to be properly trained. When we interact with other dogs and people she isn’t use to it she jumps up and gets overly excited. Is it to late to take her to school? i want her to be around other dogs more.what do you recommend?

  23. hi, i have a 6month old lab pup, she is struggerling to go to the toilet she keeps trying but no joy, she is eating and drinking fine, and seems to be herself.. just wanted some advise please?

  24. Hi my 17 week old choc lab is making a big mess in the middle of the nite in her cage. Im really tired off waking up to cleaning the dog and the cage evry morning she doesnt seem to be learning can anybody help me please.

    • Hi Ryan, you will need to set your alarm for a few nights and get up to let your dog out before she needs to empty herself. You can also help by making sure you do not feed her for the four hours before you put her to bed for the night. There are several articles on housetraining in the puppy care section in the Puppies Menu at the top of the page.
      Pippa

  25. Hi pippa

    i have a 9 month old male labrador. My problems with it are
    1) More shedding of the hair( toooooooooooo muchhhhhhhhhhhh)
    (For your info: I had taken it to my vet and he suggested some syrups but of no use.)
    2) He is eating his own faeces when no one is around and he is also eating what ever is in near to him( things which he ate in last 10 days: Curtains, bed spreads, door mats, door watchers, cycle tyre etc…. he even swallows some of that and vomits.)

    Please suggest me in this issue. Waiting for Your reply eagerly

    Thanks in Advance pippa.

    • Hi, you can find articles on poo eating and eating rubbish, in the behaviour section. Shedding is normal I’m afraid, regular grooming helps reduce the amount that falls in your house. Pippa

    • I would not leave him unsupervised in the yard to eat his poop. I also would not leave him unsupervised in the house until he learns what are his toys and what are NOT. Teach him an interrupter command (kikopup on Youtube has a demo of this). Make a kissing sound and then reward him when he gives you eye contact. That way when you catch him doing or chewing something he should not be, you can direct him towards his own toys. Make it positive. Also teach him the “leave it” command. It does not seem like he is learning what are his toys and what is off limits. Labs are smart. Teach him what to chew. And I would crate him for a portion of the day or put him in a 4 x 4 pen if you cant watch him more closely and of course spend quality time too.

  26. My dad is thinking of building her a fenced off area in the backyard to train her and keep her out of mischief. Is that a good idea? She pulls whenever we walk her and she fights with any dog she sees on the road! What to do?

  27. Alexis also bites everything she sees, throws water out of her bowl, dumps the water on her by sticking herself in the bucket, bites up pommescythe from my dad’s tree and rolls it into the pool and mashes up all her toys! Please help me!

  28. My Labrador Alexis keeps trying to bite my hand or foot every time I go outside to play with her and my other dog , who is a Golden Retriever, Alex. Whenever my dad and me try to train her, she keeps thinking everything is a game and she has been biting and playing ever since we brought her home! I read an article that said puppies are supposed to stop biting by five months but I am worried for her because I am afraid she will still be biting when she is an adult. She chases the other dog around trying to bite him on the ear and keeps annoying him! How do I get her to take her training seriously instead of fooling around and annoying Alex? I am scared of her and for her!

    • Hi Arielle, your puppy is still very much a baby, and her behaviour is fairly normal. Check out the articles in the puppy behaviour and training sections for more information. Pippa

  29. Hi,
    i have 4 month old female Labrador. i want to train him so send me some link of articles so that i can train her properly.
    Regards
    Rohit

  30. Hi I have a 4 month old lab cross collie and he is forever chasing everyone tht comes and biting them how can I stop this plz thanks xx

  31. Hi,

    I have just got a male Labrador 4 month old and he eat a lot thrice a day and go for potty immediately. Hope this not a disease.

    Regards
    Shammi

  32. I have 1.15 months old labrador puppy. he always potty in house, my sister schold him.is this right/. please help me about potty

  33. Hi, I have a 4 months old puppy yellow / Golden Labrador who is to friendly with strangers I am worried what should I do? Please suggest . My friend’s thinks that he is an under nourish pup he ways 4.6 kg.

    • Hi Keshav, I cannot teach you how to train a dog in a comments box! You need to read the articles in the training section, and ask specific questions if there is anything you don’t understand. You can also join the forum for help and support, and you can buy my book Total Recall, which gives you lots of information on training generally, and teaches you how to get your dog to come back each time you call him. Good luck with your puppy

  34. Hi, I have a 7 month old black lab with a recall issue.
    Upto about 6 months he came back on every recall command, I even changed his recall to “ball” as this seemed to be his favourite play thing.
    Since he has turned 7 months, no recall command seem to work. Everything he sees is more interesting (even dangers)
    Can anyone suggest anything?
    John

      • Thanks for directing me to the recall page. I have tried what the page instructs but, this only seems to work on a 10m training lead. When I take him off lead he either ignores me after looking at me, or he runs like an absolute lunatic darting past me. I will persevere with your instructions but, if you are able to offer anything else it would be appreciated.

  35. Hi Pippa.
    I was wondering if your Rachael is one of Tom’s (of Wylanbriar) puppies? We have an 11 week old pup called Hugo who is one of Tom’s and Peppers? I have been watching your video about recall and it really works, we too have a gun dog whistle. It’s early days but we are trying to train and socialise Hugo as much as possible.
    Thanks for all the information on this site – it’s fab!
    Charlotte & Neil Petersen.

  36. hi
    i have 1year 4 months lab black.
    it does not bark to the strangers and it ll be friendly with strangers .

    can you please guide me how to train whats the problem with my pet???

  37. I HAVE 10 MNTHS BLACK LAB. FEEDING HIM TWO TIME WITH BOILED CHICKEN/MEAT MIXED WITH SOYA POWDER. IS IT GOOD FOR HIS HEALTH?

    • Your puppy is too young to leave its mother. Please take it back to the breeder, or contact your local vet as soon as possible.
      Pippa

  38. Just wondering whether or not you can leave your puppy at home for a couple of hours at a time. Both my wife (3days) and I work but one can pop home every couple of hours to let the puppy out for a run etc.

    Would this be ok or not?

    Advice appreciated

    • Keeping a dog whist working is a contentious issue. You will get a different answer from everyone you ask when you say ” how long can I leave my puppy”
      Very tiny puppies sleep a lot, but that phase does not last long. And puppies vary greatly in how quickly they get good control of their bladders.
      Presumably his time out of the crate will be brief if you have to get back to work.

      Some puppies over three months old or so will last two hours without a wee if left in a fairly small crate. But if you then repeat the process several times during the day, each time leaving the puppy for that amount of time, he may get upset. If he gets upset he will howl and probably wet himself.
      To be fair, being shut in a small crate all day with just a few brief outings into the garden for a wee, is not the best start. If you leave him in a bigger space, a large crate or puppy pen it will be harder to house-train him and he will still be lonely. A lot depends on the temperament of your puppy, and on how old he is when you start to leave him.

      Getting a friend or dog sitter to have him for part of the day might be a better option.

      Pippa

LEAVE A REPLY