Boarded Professional Training

When your puppy reaches the appropriate age (as early as 16 weeks), you may decide to board your dog with a trainer to provide the best training possible.  We provide this service as well for a rate of $500/month, which includes room, board, and training.  Basic obedience training generally takes about a month. Contact us for more information.

· Home Dog by Richard Wolters

· Water Dog by Richard Wolters

· Video: Ten Minute Retriever

· Labrador Retrievers for Dummies

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The best way to house train your puppy is a method known as “crate training.”  Provide a small pet carrier-type kennel for your puppy, which is suitable to his size (not too big).  Puppies will not soil their bed if they can help it.  Put the puppy in here to sleep at night and take him out immediately in the morning, carrying him directly from the crate to the place you intend him to use the restroom, and encourage him to do so.  We prefer to use the “go potty” command. This will create a good habit. Do not leave the puppy in the kennel any longer than four hours at any point in time.  Many puppies will whine when they need to use the bathroom.

In order to properly house train the puppy, consistently keep him in the crate when he is indoors if you are not interacting with him or watching him closely.  Be sure to take him outside immediately if it appears that he “needs to go” (sniffing intently, etc.).   Do not punish a puppy for making a mess prior to 12-18 weeks, this will impair the bond the puppy has with the owner and causes mistrust.   The key to fair training and discipline is consistency.  One-hundred percent of this responsibility is up to the owner.  Puppies do not yet have the cognitive development necessary to understand harsh discipline.  Never strike or speak harshly to a young puppy. 

Puppy basics

House training

Feeding

Feed puppy ONE CUP of food 2x daily at first and follow package instructions according to weight as puppy grows.  We do not recommend leaving food out all the time, as labs tend to overeat, this develops picky eating, is inconvenient and less healthy for the dog (as flies will get in the food if left out).  Provide fresh water at all times.  A properly fed lab will have a shiny, healthy coat, ribs should not show, and there should be a slightly noticeable waist between the abdominal region and the hip.  Monitor dog’s appearance and increase or decrease feeding as necessary.  All dogs are different, and package instructions are a basis, not a rule, when feeding.  We currently feed our dogs DIAMOND puppy food, which is available at farm supply/feed stores.  It is a high quality/low cost food, which is comparable to IAMS or EUKANUBA, or SCIENCE DIET.  We recommend any of these foods.

Play

Puppies will learn to retrieve quickly if a toy is drug along the ground at eye level.  Use a ball or training dummy and encourage puppy to bring it back to you will lots of praise.  While puppy is young, don’t exceed 3-4 retrieves at a time to encourage their desire for retrieving.  If you intend to use your dog for hunting, introduce puppy to scents of birds ( i.e. toys made from feathers, etc), but do not allow them to play “tug of war” or chew on retrieving toys–this will cause them to develop a “hard mouth.”  (For example, our dogs have soft mouths, and regularly retrieve our live pet ducks without causing any injury).

Red River Retrievers

Healthy, happy Labs—from our home to yours

 

Training your dog