Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Training The Intelligent Labrador Retriever

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Labrador Retriever owners are blessed with a breed that loves to learn. All training must enforce the idea that learning not only is fun but it will bring positive responses from the owner. Learning is not a game, but it need not be unpleasant either.

Training your Labrador Retriever to be a mannerly adult is begun at birth, by its mother. Once the Labrador Retriever puppy arrives at the new owner’s home, it has already been given some basic instructions on behavior – so don’t be fooled into thinking it is too young to behave. A puppy is, of course, too young to teach formal commands, but early lessons in manners and on who is in charge can begin at once.

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The Labrador retriever is a highly intelligent animal and a capable learner. It embodies many natural instincts and abilities that make this breed distinct among others of similar heritage. But at the core, a Labrador retriever is a dog – originally a pack animal. From earliest times, pack animals have exhibited a pattern of behavior that affects the process of training:

A pack animal assumes it is the boss until proved otherwise (the leader-of-the-pack syndrome). At birth, the dam assumes the leadership position and keeps her young in line. As the puppies begin to assert their independence, she will remind them of their place through low growls, a swat of the paw, or an occasional shake of the neck. Little else is necessary. She admonishes her young swiftly, fairly, consistently, and unemotionally, and they respect her position as leader. The wise owner follows the dam’s example.

Consistency is vital. Should the dog misbehave, respond accordingly and appropriately. Do not let his “cute little antics” go uncorrected as this will undermine your leadership. Respond firmly but fairly, letting him know what is expected of him and what will not be tolerated. Brute force is not required and is counterproductive. When a dog is testing your authority, correct it in a manner a dog will understand – a firm vocal reprimand, a stem look, a shake of the neck. Little more should be necessary to make your displeasure clear if you are carrying out the corrections authoritatively.

Be sure never to whine, nag, plead, or preach at the dog, as these are clearly not the actions of a leader and the Labrador Retriever will not feel compelled to obey.

House Training: Is Your Dog Refusing To Follow Your House Training Rules?

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Some dogs just absolutely refuse to become house trained. No matter how long and hard you have tried to implement techniques to get your dog to use the bathroom in the proper areas, he still chooses to be “vengeful” towards you by not following your instructions, right?

Wrong! The common misconception that your dog is trying to be vindictive and countermine your housetraining efforts by refusing to follow the rules is a complete myth.

Dogs only have the capacity for simple, direct emotions, such as being happy, sad, or scared. Their minds are not capable of plotting ways to seek revenge for that swat on his rear, or how you scolded him an hour ago.

Dogs do, however, remember and draw upon past experiences that they associate with current situations. But it is important to understand that these associations only create an emotion in which they will feel when going through a similar experience.

In other words, lets say that you punish your dog for urinating on the front porch. If you continue to scold him for this behavior then eventually your dog will become fearful of using the bathroom outside. All he knows is that he is “outside”, not on the front porch. Your efforts will countermine your housetraining goals.

For this reason alone, it is important never to punish or yell at your dog when he uses the bathroom inside the house. Most housetraining problems actually stem from owners who completely instill fear in their pets when they go potty on the floor. This creates enough trauma to completely halt all of your housetraining efforts.

The key is trying not to react. Instead, remove your dog from the room and take him outside in a very calm and relaxed manner. Be sure that he does not see you cleaning up his mess. Quietly clean the area and be sure to use an enzyme-containing house cleaner. Vinegar or liquid soap will do just fine as well. By completely removing all of the older, this helps reduce your dog’s need to urinate and mark the same spot over and over.

Tip: Avoid using ammonia because the smell is very similar to that of a dog’s urine and can stimulate him to pee in the same area.

When all else fails, schedule a visit with your veterinarian so that the doctor can do a complete health checkup of your dog to make sure that there is not a health-related reason for his inability to become house trained.

Some dogs can be harboring illnesses that may prove to be the cause of not having the ability to control their bowel movements. Such illnesses could be caused by ticks, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or the most common reason: a urinary tract infection.

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