I'm bringing home my new black lab puppy Ruby Saturday afternoon. I've got my total recall book and have read up to the first two exercises and know I want to do that straight away to prevent or at least to prevent any bad habits as she grows. However, what else should I start training straight away? I'm getting really nervous about having her now, do I start training everything like heel, waiting for food, not jumping up straight away or do one thing at a time? Feeling very nervous and confused right now!
Re: Where to start? Hi My advice would be get her home and see. That doesn't sound very helpful does it ? ??? What I mean is it's a new experience for you and her so give her chance to settle in and get to know her personality and temprement. Start with basics like sit for food. She will probably follow you about so use that to start recall. Work with what she does naturally to begin with. She might be an excitable handful or calm and placid but that will basically dictate the training she needs. I can understand you being nervous and wanting to stop bad habits forming i was they same with my 2 but remember to have fun. Puppies are fun and love fun use that to help train they don't stay pups for long. Good luck Jen
Re: Where to start? Ruby is a lovely name You can't go wrong with Total Recall, so you're off to a great start. Probably the best things to start on, other than that, are just 'good manners' type things, like sitting before a meal, not jumping on people, not nipping. Remember that puppies have baby brains and tiny attention spans, so keep everything fun, easy, and short. I wouldn't worry about heeling just yet - getting her to follow you happily is the name of the game for now
Re: Where to start? My advice would be to try and relax around Ruby , we all tend to worry, its very normal but pups can and do pick up on our anxieties and react accordingly . Puppyhood flies by ( too quickly !) so yes , training is important but enjoying her is also ;D
Re: Where to start? Hi there, I've got a dexter who is 1 now but we didn't get him until he was 5 months so I missed this early puppy and socialization stage.have a look at Pippas blog about Rachael's progress,her chocolate lab,it will be on the main site.....it shows her getting Rachael to follow her everywhere but in a playful way.i understand your anxiety to get under way with training.dex is our first dog and although he is working line bred he is our pet....so my goal was safety and manners and I didn't want to be the person who looked like I couldn't control my dog.....but you know there is plenty of time,enjoy these puppy weeks and don't overload either of you with too much.get Ruby out with you as much as you can in as many different situations,it will give her lots of confidence ....you might have to carry her and improvise until she has finished all her injections x
Re: Where to start? Try not to worry, it doesn't matter too much what order you train different skills in. The two main safety skills are recall and walking at heel. But as Labradors grow quite big, not jumping up is important too. So, a couple of good things to work on from the beginning are Four paws on the floor - there is a link to a nice video at the foot of this article Walking next to you - clicker heel is a good way to start this skill Pippa
