One of your responsibilities as a dog owner is to ensure that you have a well-trained dog. As any trainer will tell you, although dogs are trainable at any age, the best time to train them is when they are still puppies.
Because they are intelligent and thus highly trainable, Labrador Retrievers are best trained at a young age. The American Kennel Club gave an overview of the important Lab puppy milestones that you should look out for and the training that you need to give them during these stages.
Milestone: 8 Weeks (Two Months)
At eight weeks or two months of age, your Lab puppy is already self-sufficient enough to leave their mother and the litter to survive. At this stage, it is capable of taking cues and has learned canine behaviors through its interactions with its mother and siblings.
During this period, the key milestones that you need to look out for are:
1) Puppy proofing the home
Your puppy would tend to explore its new world with its mouth, so chewing and eating anything that catches their sight can be a problem. Start by puppy proofing the home. Stock up on chew toys so they don’t gnaw on the furniture.
Precious items should be kept out of the dog’s reach. Learn about the proper foods to give your puppy and about possible plants in the home which may be poisonous when ingested. If there are poisonous plants, they should be removed immediately.
2) Potty training
Potty training should be initiated as soon as you bring your puppy home. Start by bringing your puppy outside the house immediately as soon as they wake up and then every 30 minutes.
Set a spot in your garden or inside your house/apartment where it will do its business. Keep them motivated to do their toilet in the right spots by rewarding them with treats.
3) Socialization
It is important that you get your puppy acquainted with the other people and/or pets in your house. In the presence of other pets, make sure that you monitor first their interactions with each other.
Gentle correction must be done to prevent your older pets and puppy from getting hostile to one another. Older dogs should always retain their alpha status in the home, so feed them first and then the puppy next.
4) Grooming
Accustom your puppy to being groomed this early. This would include baths, trimming nails, and cleaning its ears. Doing so will prevent potential future problems, such as not wanting to be touched during a pre-grooming inspection or hating baths/water. Labs should only be groomed once a month.
5) Basic Training
You can already start teaching your puppy to heed basic commands, namely “Sit”, “Down”, “Stand”, and “Heel.” You can also start walking your puppy on a leash, but these walks should only be kept short at around 10 minutes duration.
To prevent potential injuries, do not jog or run with your puppy, nor should you allow it to jump up and down.
Milestone: 3-6 Months
The period of three to six months for your puppy means that you can gradually advance its training, so that it is capable of accomplishing higher level activities and complex commands.
1) Teething
Your puppy may continue to chew because of irritation in its mouth due to teething. Make sure that you check its teeth frequently to see if a tooth has come loose or fallen out, especially at age four to five months. In some cases, you may need to extract a loose tooth yourself.
2) Walking up and down the stairs
You can begin teaching your puppy to walk up and down stairs starting at age four months and above. You can put a soft carpet on your stairs for better traction and prevent potential injuries.
3) Swimming
Remember that Labs are retrieving dogs, so that it is in their nature to jump into bodies of water to fetch game or toys. It is recommended that puppies already be taught how to swim as early as three months of age.
4) Obedience Training Classes
As soon as your puppy has completed its first round of vaccinations, you can already enroll them in obedience training classes. Aside from being taught more complex commands, they undergo further socialization since they are being introduced to other dogs in these classes.
5) Leash Walking
You can gradually increase the duration of your leash walks after six months. However, because their bones and joints are still developing, you should not run or jog with your puppy.
6) Command Training
At this stage, you can teach your puppy the “Leave it” and “Wait” commands. “Leave it” instructs your puppy to release whatever it is holding inside its mouth. The command also prevents your puppy from eating whatever catches their eye.
Because your puppy is more energetic at this stage, you can teach the command “Wait” so that it will stop and wait for you to catch up with it. “Wait” also instructs them to hold up while you inspect certain foods on whether it is safe or not to eat.
Milestone: 7-11 Months
During this period, you can already expect your dog to begin its sexual maturation. Full sexual maturity may take place at the seventh month or until up to the 22nd month (almost two years old).
For female Labs, owners should get ready for their dog’s first period by stocking up on diapers. Consider limiting their training activities during this time.
Neutering or spaying should be discussed with your vet. Current recommendations for these procedures to be done is at 18 months or older to allow for full closure of your puppy’s growth plates.
Milestone: 12 Months
On your puppy’s first birthday, you can already transition them from puppy food to adult dog food. Make sure to consult with your vet on the best feeding schedules for your dog.
Because your dog is fully developed at this time, you can already take it outside for 30-minute to hour long walks. It is also safe to run and jog with it.
Look out for these important milestones in your puppy’s life to ensure relatively trouble-free training of your Lab.
