Perhaps the earliest form of training that you will give to your Labrador Retriever is house training or potty training.
In fact, it is the very first lesson that you will teach your pup as soon as you bring it home. Once you get out of the car, you need to carry your puppy over to your chosen spot in your backyard or garden and wait for it to do its business, all the while repeating key commands like “go potty” or “go wee/poo”. Once it’s done, give it a praise like “good puppy” and a small treat. This is the first of many steps that you need to take to potty training your puppy.
Why You Need To Potty Train Your Labrador Retriever Puppy
Potty training is a necessary procedure in your Lab puppy’s growth and development for the following reasons:
1) You need your puppy to develop both bladder and bowel control so as to gradually minimize “accidents”.
2) Prevent messes and odors inside the house
3) Prevent pee or fecal matter from accumulating in areas of the home wherein they could be health hazards (like in the kitchen where food is being prepared)
4) Prevent bad, unsafe habits from developing in your puppy, such as coprophagia (eating their own feces)
When Should You Potty Train Your Labrador Retriever Puppy?
No breeder will allow you to bring home a puppy until they are eight to nine weeks of age. From birth to 7 weeks of age, the puppy needs to be with its mother and littermates to learn how to be a dog, including how to socialize with other dogs.
At this age, they can already be taught basic commands and a regular house routine, which includes potty training.
The best times to potty train your Lab puppy are:
- After eating or drinking
- After playing
- After a nap
- After waking up in the morning
You need to recognize the signs that the puppy is ready to go potty, particularly circling, sniffing, and/or scratching a spot on the floor or a particular area in your garden or backyard before squatting or raising its hind leg.
Ideally, you should be the one to pick out your puppy’s potty spot and bring them there whenever they start showing these signs. Your chosen spot should be accessible to your pup, easy to clean, and any foul odors will not be smelled by both family members and neighbors. If you are planning to have your puppy do its business in the garden/backyard, choose a spot away from prized lawns or plants as their pee can cause them to turn yellow, wither, and die.
Frequency of Potty Breaks
You may observe that the younger the puppy is, the more frequent will be its potty breaks.
The rule of thumb is that puppies can hold their bladders for one hour for every month of age. So an eight-week old (two months old) puppy can go without peeing for two hours or less while a 12-week old (three months old) puppy can hold it in for three hours.
However, it is strongly advised that you give your puppies more potty opportunities, preferably every hour, in order to prevent “accidents”.
Crate Training
Your first attempts at potty training will begin indoors, and crate training is the most effective method by which you can attain this goal.
While crate training “teaches” your puppy to have a personal or “safe space” for itself in the form of the crate, it works as a potty training method on the promise that your pup will not wee or poop in its territory.
Here are the steps on crate training your puppy:
1) Get a crate that is spacious enough for your puppy to move around a bit, stand, and lie down comfortably, but not too large so that it is able to relieve itself inside. If the crate is too large, you can make it smaller with a divider.
2) Place toys and dog treats inside the crate and close the door.
3) Let your puppy sniff outside the crate. Once it smells the treats inside and whines or scratches at the door to be let in, praise your pup and give it a reward, and then open the door to let it inside.
4) Leave the door open at first. If your puppy goes out of the crate, toss a few treats inside so that it will go back in. Make it a point to reward your puppy whenever it goes back inside the crate.
5) Next, close the crate door. Don’t let your puppy out if it starts to whine or bark. If it quiets down, give it a reward.
6) During this exercise, always say the word “crate” so that your puppy will know that it should go inside the crate.
7) Gradually increase the puppy’s time inside the crate. However, they should not stay inside for more than 30 minutes since the puppy may not be able to hold it in and have an accident inside the crate.
8) Never force or yell at your puppy to go inside the crate because they will learn to view the crate as punishment.
Paper Training
If you are unable to supervise your puppy’s crate training due to work, another option is paper training. Here’s how you go about it:
1) Choose a potty spot inside your house. It should be easy clean and have no carpeting.
2) Place newspapers over the whole floor area.
3) Always remove the soiled papers in the morning and evening, or more frequently when you are at home.
4) You will observe that the puppy relieves itself in one spot on the floor more often. Gradually remove the papers until you have that one specific spot for the puppy to use.
A variation of paper training is to use an artificial grass pad. Some puppies are accustomed to peeing or pooping on certain surfaces. Using an artificial grass pad can help your puppy get used to the feel of grass beneath their feet, especially if you are planning to allow them to go potty outside the house.
Other Tips to Keep In Mind
While potty training your puppy, there are other tips that you need to remember:
1) If you will be using the crate for more than two to three hours, provide your puppy with fresh water from a feeder or dispenser.
2) Don’t keep your puppy confined inside the crate for more than four hours.
3) Don’t take your puppy to go potty outdoors until it has completed its required vaccinations since you might end up exposing it to various diseases.
4) If your puppy keeps leaving messes in other parts of the house, you can limit their movement to their potty spot by using a playpen or barrier gates.
5) Never punish your puppy. Instead, clap loudly if you catch it making a mess.
6) Walk outside for a longer period of time with your puppy so that it can fully explore its surroundings and find a spot where I can relieve itself fully.
7) Always clean up their messes immediately so as to not leave any odors. Strong odors can make a puppy believe that the smelly area is its potty space. Use enzymatic cleansers for cleaning. These cleansers are more effective than ammonia-based ones because they get rid of odors faster.
Potty training is an important task that may take weeks or even months. Always remember not to punish your puppy in case of “accidents” as this may undermine the success of your training.
