Hi all, We will be picking up our pup in a couple of weeks and I'm reading everything I can get my hands on to prepare for her arrival. So happy to have found this site. I'm reading about commands - what to teach a pup first, reinforce/ignore, expected lab behaviors, crate training, etc...It all makes sense - on paper. I've got two young children and a easily distracted husband, so I'm trying to set expectations now to be best prepared when our baby arrives (Rosie?). While searching for posts on various commands, I noticed that folks like to have their dog heel on the left. Is there a reason for this? non-dominant side? do you all drive and walk on the "wrong" side (American here) ? I'm a lefty and when walking, strangers would pass on my left, cars would also pass on my left. I think i'd prefer my dog to walk and heel on my right. Am I missing something? - it wouldn't be the first time. Thanks. Also, Does anyone have any cute/funny commands they use for potty training or any other command? The kids are finally potty trained and I don't want to be saying "do peepee" or "do poo poo" anymore.
Hi Maria and welcome to the forum How exciting! 2 weeks to go until puppy arrives! Lots of good advice here on the labrador site to help you with your ( already very good ) puppy preparation https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies/ Regarding walking a puppy on your left, well you can walk either side, whichever suits you. Walking on the left in the UK stems from the use of labradors in gundog work. Most guns carry on their right, so it makes sense to have your dog on the opposite side
Hi, and welcome from Holly and me. Its nearly 5 years since we got Holly but I can still remember the excitement. The first command we taught our dogs was "sit". It's useful for when you're putting meals down, and a great one to instill from the start. The puppy will have a strong instinct to come to you for the first few weeks so its a good time to start work on the recall. Something we did a lot in the early days was "wait" and release. Is a great game for a young pup, and fits in well with recall training. Its good to pick a release word that you wouldn't use in normal conversation. We opted for "sago" (say-go) because we both dislike eating it and would never talk about it. Our toilet command is "be busy", but I'm sure that other forum member have their own commands.
Hello and welcome! I walk Lilly on my right. Reason being we are in the UK, so walk on the right side of country roads, and this means Lilly is on the verge side when I am walking. I think sit and wait before meals is an excellent thing to teach early. We prioritised this. We didn't prioritise the recall, so I would say "let your dog off the lead" and practice recall, recall, recall!
ohhh that makes sense. yes, so much info. I keep getting distracted on my post searches b/c there are so many great responses to owner's posts. I forget what my original question was. I love that so many readers are from the UK. I'm counting on many of you being awake for my overnight dilemmas.
I think it's very useful to teach your dog to walk on either side; it means that, if you need to get past an obstacle on that side, you can do. I use "heel" as my cue to walk on my left and "close" for walking on my right. Default is always left, because we're boringly traditional like that I use "weewees!" for my toileting cue. Kinda wish I'd started with something a bit cooler
I read a pinned post on letting your dog off the lead and have already arranged to take her to friends houses with really large fenced in areas to practice recall. We have a fenced in yard that we will use to begin this training, but I want to gain a lot of confidence in a larger arena before attempting in a "real world", bow experience. The beaches near our home are also a potential spot. School and cooler weather have started in my area. I've got to research the areas dog laws and see when we can visit the bay.
I used 'hurry up' for my toilet cue - we got our puppy in February when it was wet, dark and cold . I use 'heel' for walking on the left which I am most comfortable with and 'side' for walking on the right - she will pass behind me as I ask her to change. Being able to walk both sides is very handy in different situations. I wish I had used the whistle earlier on e.g. for calling her to food.
Hi, Maria. Welcome to the forum. I use 'be quick' for the toilet cue and walk mine individually on the left, but they will switch to the right when necessary too. What colour is your puppy? Very exciting times ahead!
Hi Maria, We taught Joey "sit" and "wait" and then would say "good boy" for him to go eat his food. We taught him from day 1 these commands and we are glad we did it. For his toilet command we made it "do a wizz" or he will even go when we say "do wee". We are currently working on recall, but when he has his mind set on something, he won't listen to anyone. He has "selective hearing"
Hi and welcome! Exciting that your puppy will be here soon! I taught my dog to walk always on my left and it came back to bite me in the posterior later when I needed him to be on my right to protect him from traffic or other safety issues. It was rare, but when he did need to be on my right, he would immediately push to come back to my left. You could tell he didn't like me "disobeying the rules". Just wanted to comment as I've never seen anyone else make a note of this and it's one of my top things I want to do differently when I get my own puppy.
Hello and welcome to the forum Maria. I taught my dogs to walk on the left. I also taught them to sit, stay and leave it. I always ask my dogs to sit before I feed them and then I say take it. When it comes to toilet I say lets have good dogs and it works for them of them together
And, hopefully, some of us will still be around to see it, although I think the chances are 50:50 that I will have died of old age by then.
Welcome from Hattie 10 years and our rescue boy Charlie 6 years. How exciting and great you are asking questions before your puppy arrives. Definitely recall as this is the most important training. Sit/wait before feeding. I also walk my dogs on my right but really wish I had trained for left too which I am doing now even if it's a little late Teaching loose lead walking is also very important for you and your puppy. Just don't take too much on to begin with and enjoy the new addition. Good luck! xxx
I taught Coco to walk on my left as it felt the most natural. I am right handed. I struggled to walk him on the right in the early days. OH walks Coco on the right, he is left handed. Since then though, I walk Coco on country lanes a lot, so have to have him on the right, walking towards the oncoming traffic - I can now manage either side just as easy. Coco is flexible and will do whichever he is asked, I use the same cue "heel" and just lead him to the side I want - most people have 2 different cues - I should really. He will zig-zag about with OH (because he allows it), but sticks to one side or the other with me, until I swap. I don't have a cue for toileting. BUT I have taught "Up-dee-doo" in a squeaky voice to mean jump into the car/jump on to a bench/jump on to a wall/jump on to anything. This is because OH had not taught Coco anything, it's all been down to me, so I decided "right! You're getting a silly command". He will stand at the back of the car and say "go on, get in". Coco doesn't move. I say "what do we say now?".....OH will issue "Up-dee-doo" as quietly as he can get away with, and Coco happily jumps in
I have a feeling she will need to adjust to walking on both sides. I'm the only lefty in the family. She is yellow. The breeder has a webfeed so I can watch the litter growing and all 6 pups are yellow females. I really can't tell them apart yet.
lol - I love that. I'm sure as we get into commands, the kids will come with a few ridiculous calls. I'm going to share your story with my husband tonight to make sure he participates in training "or else!"
