How long does it take to train a dog?
Many dog trainers would simply reply “How long is a piece of string” to this question. But actually, how long does it take to train a dog is quite a reasonable thing to ask! Training a dog is a fairly big deal for most of us, especially the first time around. So it’s perfectly understandable that you want to know when you can expect the job to be done.
There are a few factors we need to take into account if we are going to come up with a fair estimate of the time involved. These include:
Let’s assume you are looking for a basic level of good manners in your pet dog, that you can spare ten minutes, twice a day, and that your dog is currently three months old. The perfect age to start some really structured training lessons. You’ll need to spend four to five weeks building some good attention and focus skills in your puppy. Bonding, playing structured games, and if you haven’t trained a dog before, learning the skills you need to teach your dog the skills they need.
Then you’ll need another four to five weeks working on some core skills, such as walking on a leash, sit, and recall. And a further four to five weeks getting started with basic proofing. (That’s the part where you teach your dog to respond to your signals in a wider and wider range of situations, with some distractions thrown in to tempt the dog.)
By this time you are looking at a six to seven month old puppy with some good basic skills in not too challenging conditions. Of course, experienced trainers may get to this point sooner, and some of us may take a little longer.
Now it’s time for the the icing on the cake – the advanced proofing that teaches your dog highly reliable responses to your cues in all kinds of challenging and tempting situations. This may take another three to six months. So a fully-trained, well-mannered pet dog by the time they hit their first birthday is a reasonable aim for some of us. But as you can see, I picked the simplest assumption or outcome in each of the five variables listed above.
Now let’s see what happens if we make any one of them less straight forward.
If you are training for a sport such as gun dog, or herding work for example, you’ve a lot more skills to add to the list above.
Your dog will be expected to understand cues such as the send away, and the stop. They’ll need to follow directions at great distances from their handler. They may need to learn to hunt and to retrieve, and so on. And of course to resist enormous temptations such as fast moving live animals and birds, while working.
In addition to which you need to consider that strenuous physical activities should not be undertaken by dogs that are not yet physically mature. Most experts for example advise that dogs should not be encouraged to jump until the growth plates in their joints have fully hardened. Which in all but the smallest breeds is not likely to be much before the end of the first year.
Key Milestone: 3–6 Months
These early months will be filled with plenty of learning and development.
Straub Benedict teaches her Labs to swim starting at about three months. “They do have to be taught to swim, so they can’t just be thrown in a pool with no way shown to them to get out safely,” she explains. (See our guide to teaching a dog to swim.)
While your dog may be gracefully walking around inside and outside your home, Barkley doesn’t recommend having your puppy using the stairs until about four months and up.
Starting at around four months — after your pet gets the first round of puppy vaccines —you can advance beyond the basic training you’ve already begun. For your puppy’s safety, Barkley recommends making sure any puppy obedience school or program you select requires all enrolled dogs to have their shots too.
“A puppy class can be valuable to socializing and learning good manners,” she says. “I suggest visiting a class before to see how it is organized and safe.”
Expect your Lab’s puppy teeth to become loose and fall out around four to five months.
“Checking the mouth during this time can detect a problem if a baby tooth is not being pushed out correctly by the adult teeth,” says Barkley. “Rarely, a baby tooth might need to be pulled. I have wiggled a few free too.”
Until six months, leash walks should be short — at this time they can become gradually longer, but running or jogging should still be avoided.
You Are Your Puppy’s Parent, Mentor, Pack Leader and Teacher
When you get your puppy home at 8 weeks, they know nothing about the world… Nothing!
Know that once you have your puppy, everything you do, everything they see, every good experience, bad experience, taste, smell, sight, reward and punishment trains them in some way.
All of these experiences are granted to them by you and they will be looking to you for guidance through these experiences.
Puppies are exactly like children. They cannot take care of themselves and are naïve to the world around them. But they’re highly observant and will be studying your every move as they learn about our world.
They take their cues from you to learn where they can go, where they should not, what they should be scared of, what they should not, what they can play with, what they can not…and on and on.
You’re teaching them every minute of every day, whether you mean to or not.
You may as well take advantage of this innocence, when they have no idea of what life is with no preconceived ideas, no habits formed or needing to be broken, to start training them to fit into the life that they will lead with the skills that they will need.
It’s far easier to prevent problems occurring and bad habits forming than it is to solve them later in life.
Labrador Retriever Puppy Training Guide – First Week Puppy Training❤️
When you take your 8 week old labrador pup to their new home, you should commence their obedience training immediately. My first suggestion is that you introduce your pup to theMARKER. Just repetitively say yes and give your pup a treat immediately. The pup will quickly associate the MARK /YES with an impending food reward.
Then familiarise your labrador pup with a leash. Clip the leash to their collar and allow the pup to roam a little. This way they will adjust to its weight and the sensation around their neck. If you try to walk your pup straight away, they will simply resist. Dont pull and command, but rather cultivate a positive experience with a leash.
Secondly, I recommend that you feed your new labrador pup with a leash attached until they learn to sit. This will establish you as the master and immediately teach the pup restraint. Do not give the food bowl to your dog without firstly bringing him under your control. Even with my mature dogs, I will not let them feed except on command. Feeding should never be random. Hold the leash close to the labrador pups neck and push their rear end down to the seated position. When they are sitting, enthusiastically praise your pup and, only then, reward their obedience with food. Remember, food should always represent a reward for good behaviour.
Dogs don’t understand the meaning of sit, or any other word for that matter! They hear tones and frequencies. When we train them, we are conditioning them to associate a particular sound with a response so that it means something to them. Labrador puppies like all dogs learn contextually and by consistent repetition. In this way, a labrador pup learns to associate sounds with responses and rewards. This is why you should reward your pup immediately when they have performed a command correctly, even if they did not intend to do so.
When you begin your Labradors training/conditioning, you will firstly to teach them the sit, stay, drop and come commands, in that order. In the early stages, I prefer to teach a dog to sit, then move on to staying before teaching them to come.
When you are training/conditioning your Labrador puppy, ensure that you have your dogs attention during the session and stop training them before they become disinterested and distracted. You will be fighting a losing battle if you attempt to begin training/conditioning your Lab when they are over-overstimulated and distracted. This is especially so while they are still a puppy. Remember that a 12 month old dog is still a pup. They are regularly hyperactive and overstimulated. The goal is to get your labrador puppy into a calm and submissive state as often as you can. The conditioning/training itself will be the best contributor to this, but dont try to achieve too much.
Ensure you are demonstrating a calm and composed, yet assertive demeanor. When you are in charge, your labrador pup will willingly sit and look to you for direction. Exercise patience and be repetitive but dont overdo it. If the training is not immediately successful, don’t be too hard on yourself or your pup. Remember that the time you put in now will help you bond with your young dog, even if they do not appear to be advancing quickly. It will be a very worthwhile investment in a long term relationship for years to come.
Of these three basic commands, the stay command will take more time to teach. When this is mastered and entrenched in your dogs obedience, it can save your dog from danger. Proceed step-by-step while you train/condition your new labrador puppy. You are teaching them associations, not English words.
Teaching your new labrador pup to sit should begin immediately when you take it home. Begin by feeding them on a leash. Hold the leash close to the pups neck. Give the pup the sit command, but dont reward them with food until they are sitting. Say “YES as the MARKER and immediately give them the food bowl as a reward for (unknowingly) sitting. In this way you have begun to condition the pup to the sit command. This requires patience at meal time. Remember that a labrador pup requires 4 feeds a day for the first phase of their life. This gives you ample opportunity for repetition and reward. When the dog sits, reward them with a treat and a lot of enthusiastic praise. Each time they repeat the behaviour, reward them with a treat again.
You can train your labrador pup for short intervals at any time. Carry a few small pieces of food. Call your pup, then reward them with lots of affirmation and a piece of food when they comply. Teach them to sit by offering a small treat. Say sit, then let them smell the food as you move your hand over their head. A labrador pup will automatically lift the nose in the air to follow the food. As the head moves up and back, the pup will tend to sit. Give lots of praise and gradually increase repetition as they associate the word sit with the food.
Your Labrador pup will need to understand the sit command before you advance to stay. Before you give the stay command, make sure that the dog is seated. To keep the dog in the sitting position, you will use your hand with the fingers pointing up and the palm in front of their face. To begin with, position yourself about half a metre away from your pups face. Direct the stay command calmly, with your hand up. Slowly take half a step back and remain there for 3 seconds to begin with. Then step back towards to the dog. Wait for another 3 sec and then reward your dog with a treat. Repeat this 5 times. Reward them at the end of each stay routine by praising them enthusiastically and giving them a treat. Dont praise or reward the dog until they have remained seated in front of you for a minimum of 3 seconds when you return.
Your puppy should not move a millimetre until you give the reward. If your dog breaks early, you have gone too far. Simply return to your dog, reset them in the seated position and begin the routine again.
It is important to make sure your Labrador understands the stay command before you begin the recall or come command. Make sure you pup is seated before you give the come command. As your walk away from your pup, maintain eye contact. Dont back away too far too soon. If the pup breaks early, give the come command to establish association. When you call your dog to come, do not let them jump up on you. If the dog wants to stand on its back legs and reach up, place the palm of your hand on their head and hold it away from you. I suggest that you dont say no! or down! etc. The down command should be used as a more constructive training command. If your pup jumps up, make your disapproval known by using a dog sound; Ahhh!, Bahhh! or Grrrr!
Labs are very happy dogs and they are not vindictive. If you find yourself becoming frustrated, then put the pup away and start again tomorrow. Dont take it personally and dont blame the dog. Corrections are necessary, but not out of frustration or anger. If its not working, then look at your consistency and your communication. If the training is a positive experience then you will strengthen the bonding and learning process. Develop consistent communication and trust with your dog in the process of the training. Labrador pups love to please and they will be very proud of themselves when they accomplish the command and gain your approval. Remember, training/conditioning sessions should be always be short and fun, followed by free play time with you.