Took the pluge and have a pup on the way! Advice needed...

Hey guys,

I finally put a deposit on a Black Lab pup that was born a couple days ago and will be coming home in 8 weeks. This dog will be a mix of a pet and waterfowl dog. Any advice on the training or house breaking part is appreciated. Will be working with a few guys from work who have trained hunting dogs before and still hunt over very good dogs. Any Food recommendations etc. We have a lot to learn together and looking forward to the training part and getting each other ready for hunting season. Will post pictures and keep everyone up to date on the progress.

Thanks for your input in advance.

Congrats! Very exciting time. Crate train from the beginning you won't be sorry!

What goosman said!!

Congratulations.

Get lots of sleep before pup arrives. :)

I suggest you stick to what the breeder is feeding for the first couple weeks. Pup will have to make enough adjustments without getting a food change.

house training : This is what has always worked well for me. It is a drag but worth it. Take pup out to pee etc every 30 minutes.Use a cue work . I say, "Hurry up!" Pup will quickly ( couple weeks?) pick up that he must go outside. I have a dog door which makes life much easier. Don't make a big deal about accidents. He has a bladder the size of a walnut.
Don't give pup run of the house. Mine stay in the tiled kitchen/den only.... baby doors used.
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crate training : Highly recommend pup sleeps in the closed crate from night one.... as Gooseman said. He'll make a racket for a couple nights, but then it will be over.
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Don't allow any biting of your fingers , pant legs etc from Day 1. Be tough. I grab their mouth till they whimper a bit. Their Mom would be much tougher on them . :)

Enjoy!

GREAT advice Sharon.

I picked my new black lab up nov 9. within one week she was heading to the back door so she could take care of business. we did exactly what has been posted here already. and yes there have been a few trying times but then she does something stupid that makes my wife and I crack up and that makes it all worth while.

Give them tons of attention and exercise. When they lack either of these two they will start to act up.
We work during the day so I would walk my lab in the morning
Paid for 2 walks during the day for the first 6 months then dropped to one. Then long exercise run after work. Then a long walk in the evening.
Seems excessive but they love to be outside and with there owners.


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Also I suggest to take a towel or small blanket to the breader a week prior to you bring the pup home and having it under mom to get her smell on it. Bring it home and let the pup sleep with it, this helps the first few nights calming the pup during the separation period and a hot water bottle along with it. And as stated get lots of sleep before you bring the fur ball home as the first few nights are not the easiest. But in the end well worth it.

Congrats! Lots of great advice on this forum, patience patience and patience and the rewards will out weigh those challenging times a million to one!!

I brought home this monster exactly two weeks ago and he's now 10.5 weeks.

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As was mentioned, potty training is about patience and effort. We took our guy out at least every 45 minutes to an hour, plus directly after things like meals, naps, vigorous play time. There will be mistakes, not sense getting frustrated. Keep the pup in an area where it's easy to clean up and always have paper towel/cleaner on hand. A dog can only associate with an action for a short period of time (1-2 seconds afterwards), so no sense scolding after he's done. Mid pee, maybe a small correction like a lightly raised voice (i use a 'buzz' or 'errrr' type noise, not the word 'no'), then bring them outside. After two weeks, we've had 1 incident in the past 3-4 days and he is doing a great job now of indicating a need to go outside. His bladder control is also increasing, though we still put him out every hour.

We have about 10 different chewing toys around the house so that when he starts gnawing on something he shouldn't we can put something in his mouth he is allowed to chew on. Distraction is a great technique with a new pup if he's doing something you don't want. You don't want to fill your day with negative corrections. Dogs will tend to do things they already do, it's conditioning. So just model the behavior you want to see.

All my dogs are crate trained, though the older two don't use their much anymore, but it's a very good thing to institute. A crate is a positive thing only. Our pup gets fed in his crate, plus positive things, like a treat or a little peanut butter on a bone when he goes in there. It doesn't take long for them to realize its positive for them to go in there. Especially in the first week, remember they will scream like a banshee once they realize they are confined to the crate. If they are fed, relieved themselves and have had a little playtime, just leave them be until they settle. It's also good to start leaving briefly when they are in there (and calm) to get them accustom to being left alone. Remember, if unsupervised, make sure the crate is also safe for the pup. Ours has proven no to rip apart his bed, so he gets one and a puppy bone that he can't break apart or swallow. Its good for you to know there is no potential for him to get in trouble while in there (unsupervised). Crate training helps with the bladder control as well. They won't like to relieve themselves in this spot. However we still only leave him in there during the day for 1 hour max at the start, normally when he was exhausted, now we are up to 2 hours if we need to run out for errands.

Again, sleeping in the crate gives you the peace of mind that he's safe. We keep ours next to the bed, for all three of my dogs this has helped, even compared to having it just outside the bedroom door. They are likely used to sleeping with their litter mates, so being completely segregated from you can add anxiety. I've actually curled up on the floor in front of the crate, hand inside a couple times with each dog to help settle them. Beyond that, don't forget they will need to relieve themselves in the night. Having the crate close is good for them to hear the wimpering they will likely do when they need to go. Take them out, then immediately back in. Wimpering, gets them access to go outside to pee, not a release from the crate.

Other things I've been doing in the first couple weeks. I try to always have some broken up pieces of his kibble in my pocket or around on various tables, etc. If the pup is looking up at me, treat. It's been working well to instill within him a desire to seek me out and look at me, at this point for treats, in the future it will switch to direction/commands. I've also started using this to introduce his name as well as the come command and whoa (since he's a pointing dog). All of this is very unstructured at this point, but especially with the come command, it's great to start having him chase you with a treat and have him come into you. As you do this, get him used to physical contact, grabbing his collar, etc. I do 3-4 daily, fun, unstructured training times with him.

A couple other points, get them used to as much as possible. The woods, fields, people, situations. Finally, learn your dog at this stage. One of my other dogs is a terrier. I can and need to be pretty 'hard' with her at times. This new Brittany is a softy. I've had to really re-adjust my mentality with him.

And this is all just is what has been working for me, I'm far from super experienced.