Got a new Labrador, need advise.

Redzer7

Hey guys, just got a new labrador retriever pup, he's 3 months old.

Was just wondering if anybody has any advise for training him and if there's any vital information I should know? I've checked Google but I'd rather hear something from you lot, thanks for the help guys .

Toulouse

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/digital-dog-training-textbook

Pretty much everything you need to know but if you run into specific issues then you can always ask here.

I'd also advise getting him into a good puppy class as socalisation is the key right now and maybe some obedience when he's a little older. Reputable trainers can be found here http://apdt.ie/

There's also some helpful articles on that site too http://apdt.ie/index.php/articles/

Redzer7

Thanks for that, he keeps biting my hand etc and when I give him a tap on the nose and tell him to stop he goes for my hand again! Does anyone know how to stop him :pac:

Toulouse

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition

Perfectly normal doggy behaviour. Don't tap him on the nose please.

When he mouths just give a yelp, pull your hand away and stop giving him attention. When he has calmed down then you can play with him again, however if he mouths again then do the same thing. It's important that everyone in the house yelps and withdraws attention. He'll soon learn not to do it.

Dirk Gently

Redzer7 wrote: »

if there's any vital information I should know?

Hide all the food in your house, or anything that looks like food, or even stuff thats obviously not food. pick up all your socks

Redzer7

Dirk Gently wrote: »

Hide all the food in your house, or anything that looks like food, or even stuff thats obviously not food. pick up all your socks

Thanks I'll take it all on board haha, he seems to turn a deaf ear to me!
Can't wait till he stops biting me, not enjoying it at all haha.

Cherry Blossom

Redzer7 wrote: »

Can't wait till he stops biting me, not enjoying it at all haha.

Mouthing is how pups learn bite resistance and is a very important part of their development, basicly you don't want the pup to stop mouthing but to learn where the line is of how much pressure is permitted to be applied. It's all a game to him so when he nips too hard he'll learn that the game stops. Dogs use their mouths a lot to communicate and in future years if for any reason he should happen to snap at someone, this pressure threshold kicks in. Puppy teeth are a lot sharper than adult teeth so now is a better indicator to you of how far is too far. You should make the most of this stage as he will naturally stop mouthing as he gets older. Socialising the pup with other dogs will also help reinforce this, dogs can communicate with each other much better than we can.

Example: My old lab at 14 years old suddenly decided to take the opportunity of grabbing a rawhide chew stick the pup dropped which he could have choked on or damaged his mouth with, I decided to try and beat him too it and I ended up with my wrist in his mouth. As soon as his teeth touched skin he stopped applying pressure and looked absolutely horrified about what had happened. He had no intention of biting, my arm just got in the way as he tried to pick up the chew and he wasn't so sharp in his old age.

Redzer7

See this is why I love this forum
Thanks for the replies are obedience classes worth the money?

planetX

Redzer7 wrote: »

See this is why I love this forum
Thanks for the replies are obedience classes worth the money?

puppy socialisation classes are worth every penny - and they'll start you on the road with training. Also be sure to have the puppy out and about as much as possible meeting different people and dogs so he doesn't develop fears.
And take loads of puppy photos, they grow up before you know it...:(

Redzer7

Well just a bit of an update on the situation (Not that anyone cares :P)

Keano (dogs name :P) seems to be flying, he's being taught how to sit and how to stay, he's also stopped most of his biting.

He keeps biting the outsides of his bed though, is there any dog spray that I could possibly spray on the outsides so he won't like it? Currently trying to teach him to drop his toy bone on command but that's not going to smoothly, anyone got any ideas? Thanks all you've been great help I'll try get a picture up of Keano today!

Ms Tootsie

Redzer7 wrote: »

Well just a bit of an update on the situation (Not that anyone cares :P)

Keano (dogs name :P) seems to be flying, he's being taught how to sit and how to stay, he's also stopped most of his biting.

He keeps biting the outsides of his bed though, is there any dog spray that I could possibly spray on the outsides so he won't like it? Currently trying to teach him to drop his toy bone on command but that's not going to smoothly, anyone got any ideas? Thanks all you've been great help I'll try get a picture up of Keano today!

There is an anti-chew spray you can get. Costs about 3e in most pet shops and is the bees knees for stopping unwanted chewing. Frodo was making a meal of our banister until we got this.

There is no point getting the anti-chew spray though until you get something he can chew on. He will be teething and will need an outlet. Pick up a chew ring which is great for teething puppies. Again most pet shops do these as well as Woodies in their pet section.

Zulu

I've a 17month old Lab. If you need any help/advice feel free to PM me.

They take scorn really really badly, so i find the best way to train her is to try and calmly ignore the bad, and encourage the good.

For biting there are two schools. One is no biting, and the other is controlled biting. The vet and lots of other kept telling me: NO BITING. Human skin is sacrosanct. Don't encourage it. ...and to a point they may have been right.

I followed the other school, that of teaching her not to bite hard; teaching her to be gentle with her jaws. This has been moderately successful. We horse play, and she NEVER hurts me. She can carry an egg in her mouth. She's gentle gentle gentle. So to that end it's been really successful.
The problem lies with little kids. She's very very playful and friendly, so she's great with little ones. The only thing is, I've taught her that it's OK to use your mouth, so long as it's gentle. This works perfect with most sane people, but there have been one or two incidents of panicky overly protective mothers who mistaken her playfulness as actual biting.
Try and explain to a mother that the dog won't exert any pressure with those be canines. Now this isn't as big an issue as I'm making it out. She knows children, and she knows that horse play is what she does with me, but when she's really really really excited (she's still only a pup) she can forget.

So, in short tl;dr, have a long think about how you want to handle the playful biting.

Training the biting is simple. Yelp, stand up, fold your arms, turn your back, avoid eye contact for a good few mins. Leave the room if you have to. At that age, they HATE when play stops, so they learn very very very quickly not to hurt.

Take lots and lots of video clips on your phone buddy, they grow up really quick. I love looking back at the video clips I have.

Dirk Gently

Redzer7 wrote: »

Currently trying to teach him to drop his toy bone on command but that's not going to smoothly, anyone got any ideas?!

Get a piece of cheese. hold it in front of the dog, he'll drop the toy to get the cheese. When he drops the toy say "drop" and give him the cheese. He'll soon associate the word drop with letting go of whatever he has in his mouth, because thats how he gets his reward (the cheese). Labs are great, they'll do anything for food.

Zulu

Right get keano so rawhide bones, some old shoe, something that you don't mind him chewing. Don't bother with spray stuff.

When he's chewing something you don't want: a loud "AH-AH" followed by IMMEDIATELY giving him something you don't mind him chewing, then when he stare chewing that, "GOOD-BOY!" and lots of praise.

He's a smart chap (as you're quickly learning) so he'll pick this up in no time. Now, this is an investment in the future. Something(s) over the next few months is going to get destroyed. You'll just have to consider it a bad-debt, but he'll quickly learn to chew what you give him.
One thing he'll love is ice or frozen kongs! The ice helps the teething, so it'll be nicer to chew than the leg of your coffee table.

(oh and I forget to mention earlier, don't bother with the tap on the noise - if you really want to "correct" him just growl and look mad as hell, but to be honest, positive re-enforcement is far more effective with labs.)

Zulu

Redzer7 wrote: »

Currently trying to teach him to drop his toy bone on command but that's not going to smoothly, anyone got any ideas? Thanks all you've been great help I'll try get a picture up of Keano today!

...do us a favour - when you crack this, let me know. I find two of everything does the trick. Whatevers in my hand is better than whats in her mouth. She hasn't grasped the whole "bird in the hand..." thing yet

Redzer7

kaza2710 wrote: »

There is an anti-chew spray you can get. Costs about 3e in most pet shops and is the bees knees for stopping unwanted chewing. Frodo was making a meal of our banister until we got this.

There is no point getting the anti-chew spray though until you get something he can chew on. He will be teething and will need an outlet. Pick up a chew ring which is great for teething puppies. Again most pet shops do these as well as Woodies in their pet section.

Thanks, I'll visit the pet shop tomorrow so on my way home from college.
I have a chew toy already but sometimes he'd rather chew on the side of his basket.

Zulu wrote: »

I've a 17month old Lab. If you need any help/advice feel free to PM me.

They take scorn really really badly, so i find the best way to train her is to try and calmly ignore the bad, and encourage the good.

For biting there are two schools. One is no biting, and the other is controlled biting. The vet and lots of other kept telling me: NO BITING. Human skin is sacrosanct. Don't encourage it. ...and to a point they may have been right.

I followed the other school, that of teaching her not to bite hard; teaching her to be gentle with her jaws. This has been moderately successful. We horse play, and she NEVER hurts me. She can carry an egg in her mouth. She's gentle gentle gentle. So to that end it's been really successful.
The problem lies with little kids. She's very very playful and friendly, so she's great with little ones. The only thing is, I've taught her that it's OK to use your mouth, so long as it's gentle. This works perfect with most sane people, but there have been one or two incidents of panicky overly protective mothers who mistaken her playfulness as actual biting.
Try and explain to a mother that the dog won't exert any pressure with those be canines. Now this isn't as big an issue as I'm making it out. She knows children, and she knows that horse play is what she does with me, but when she's really really really excited (she's still only a pup) she can forget.

So, in short tl;dr, have a long think about how you want to handle the playful biting.

Training the biting is simple. Yelp, stand up, fold your arms, turn your back, avoid eye contact for a good few mins. Leave the room if you have to. At that age, they HATE when play stops, so they learn very very very quickly not to hurt.

Take lots and lots of video clips on your phone buddy, they grow up really quick. I love looking back at the video clips I have.

He's toned down his biting an awful lot which is great as I've only had him a couple of days. They couldn't be that bad when they get big are they everyone is telling me that haha.

When he wants to do "his business" he runs around in a circle which I find is hilarious but mad at the same time :pac: great way of telling me he wants to go out the back though,

Zulu

Redzer7 wrote: »

Thanks, I'll visit the pet shop tomorrow so on my way home from college.
I have a chew toy already but sometimes he'd rather chew on the side of his basket.

my advise? write the basket off. we didn't get her a proper bed for ages, and even now she'd eat a hard plastic one, or a basket. Also, he'll grow so quickly, he'll grow out of a bed in no time (unless you got a big one, and the chances of that surviving...). Perhaps get him something like this: http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_beds_baskets/dog_cushions_pillows_blankets/square_cushions/278459 until he's a little older and stopped teething? (we just gave her an old pillow)
Also, a lot of dogs, love to attack their own bed for some reason. Mine, when I arrive home, for some reason, drags hers all around the garden. Like "check out this!" :rolleyes:

He's toned down his biting an awful lot which is great as I've only had him a couple of days. They couldn't be that bad when they get big are they everyone is telling me that haha.

Nah they're not that bad at all. I just have developed a game with her that I probably shouldn't have :rolleyes:

When he wants to do "his business" he runs around in a circle which I find is hilarious but mad at the same time :pac: great way of telling me he wants to go out the back though,

Class, get that on video! :pac:

Ms Tootsie

New pups require pics once you have one you should post it on here

Cherry Blossom

I wouldn't spray anything on his bed, it will make his bed unpleasant to him and he'll just find something else to chew instead, like the leg of your table or something.

_Lady_

Ok so - anti-chew spray - you're having a laugh! pepper, mustard, anti-chew spray, chewing alternatives --> not a hope of them stopping him, if he wants to chew the saddle of the door, and he can, then he will! Mine did! We just had to play responsible with our house and cover/restrict as much as possible in the early days. We used sheets of MDF across doorways in his sleeping area when he was too young to sleep outside. He had three other options to chew on a puppy kong (which he got the measure of very quickly in the early days and is onto one of the toughest ones already), a chew ring (useless then, now however, very functional in his feeding bowl as the barrier between his hoover of a mouth and his nuts - he eats around the ring and actually chews before he swallows now - amazeballs! ) and he had a rope. He still loves his rope, but if there's timber there to be chewed on, he's there in a flash. Basket beds defo a no go.

Currently during the day when he's in the garden, he can be found to be gnawing on the door of his kennel (timber); the support plank that we use to hold up the washing line (timber) or the edge of the garden fence (timber!). In between all of this, he could play with any of his toys that are lying around and he has a bone out there that he's been working on for about 2 weeks.

When he was very young 10 weeks, he used to fall asleep in the sawdust in my OH's carpentry workshop so we think that's why he's so fond of the timber. You nearly wouldn't be able to see him in it - ultra cute!

Giving the alternative to chew on is the best option for us so far in battling the hand biting thing. When I'm brushing him he holds my hand in his mouth so he has control over the sticky bits that's really the only time I give in to him on it and he sits quietly then (wish I figured that one out when my mother was brushing my curls back in the day!!) He lets me know if I pull too hard so now I know to avoid those bits until I have a grip on his ear instead lol he loves the grooming but exactly like a child plays up for the good bits!!!

Defo going to try the cheese trick for the drop ball - thanks guys! Usually I'm frantically waving the other option to get him to drop the ball but sometimes I have to cup my hand around the scruff of his neck to get him to drop it as well - works but I'd prefer if he'd learn someday!!! :cool:

Cherry Blossom

LOL - delighted at my move to small dogs, memories of all the destruction caused by the bigger dogs are coming back to haunt me reading this thread

Zulu

it's the destruction that makes it all the better...
...once you get over the damage, upset, and cost.

Seb_bixby

I thought leave it to my pup by holding a treat in my closed hand and when he stopped trying to get it, he got the treat. When he was doing this the whole time I added the "leave it" command and told him go get it. Then I opened my hand with the trreat on it and started the whole thing again saying leave it and go get it when he could have it. Was much quicker to do get him to leave it this time. Then treat went on the floor and we did the same thing, he got the treat when he was told he could have it. Then threw the treat and told him to leave it and go get it.

I now use the command when I want him to leave something. Works well 90% of the time now even when he is at something outside we don't want him to eat. I know that he'll get better at it too. I use it now to play games with him. Throw a toy and he can go get it and bring it back, when he leaves it. It is thrown again for him and the game continues!! So in his mind, Leaving something equals treats and play. It won't happen over night but it great when they get it.

cliona88

Get pet insurance if you dont already have it. We got a lab and didn't bother with insurance. When she was three months old we found out she had hip and elbow displasia as well as osteoarthritis. It cost about 2000e to manage her condition. As labs are prone to this, all of them should be insured!

_Lady_

cliona88 wrote: »

Get pet insurance if you dont already have it. We got a lab and didn't bother with insurance. When she was three months old we found out she had hip and elbow displasia as well as osteoarthritis. It cost about 2000e to manage her condition. As labs are prone to this, all of them should be insured!

Hey Cliona, how did you find out, are there specific things to look out for? Thanks!

BengaLover

Best advice is ignore the accidents inside, praise and reward the evacuations outside.
Start as you mean to go on and dont compromise on decisions like allowing them on beds or couches- let your no mean no and do it consistently.
Use one word per command, Sit, Stay, Leave, Off.
Try not to associate human emotions with a new pup...try to imagine how the mother dog would treat her pups.
Treats should be worth it for them, some bits of her own dried dog food just wont do it, try some bacon rind, scraps of meat etc as a really worthy reward.

Our new Viszla's training is going really well, the sit command worked after 3 goes once a treat was in place.
Off, means off the couch, this took a few days, but now when she leaps up onto the one of 2 couches we have that she isnt allowed onto then all we have to do now is stand up and she'll get straight off.

We are trying to stop her barking at people and other dogs now, she is asking for them to play, but they dont see it that way..:D

Dirk Gently

I thought this would be appropriate for our new lab owning OP.

_Lady_

hahahaha BRILLIANT Dirk - how apt!