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All About Labrador Potty Training
Filed Under (96) by Buddy on 01-01-2009
There are few things cuter than a new Labrador retriever puppy, but that little dog quickly loses his cuteness factor when he is brought home with you and promptly makes a mess on your beautiful living room carpet. Unless you want to spend the rest of your dog’s life cleaning up these not so pleasant messes, you will want to get savvy to the finer points of Labrador potty training as quickly as possible. The good news is that there is some fairly simple techniques that will get you on the road to a housebroken dog that will leave your living room carpet for other things besides bathroom duty.
Labrador potty training will first consist of teaching your pup the appropriate place to potty. This might mean your backyard or a papered corner in the bathroom, depending on your needs and lifestyle. Once your dog has mastered where to go, he can begin to let you know that he needs to potty by barking at you, whining at the back door or simply heading to his appointed spot.
Labrador potty training often involves the use of a crate. Whenever you cannot watch your pup carefully, you can put him in his crate. Since dogs will generally not potty in the area that they eat and sleep, the likelihood is that your puppy will wait until he gets out of his crate to go outside. This will teach him how to hold it long enough to get to his potty spot, which is a good first step in learning to potty in the right place.
Keep in mind that just because your puppy won’t want to eliminate in his crate, that doesn’t mean that he can refrain wait for long periods of time. It will be well into his first year before this little pup will be able to make it as long as eight hours without heading outdoors. This means that you will need to be cognizant of how much time he spends in his crate so you can give him potty breaks as necessary.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, your puppy will have the occasional accident. If you catch your dog in the act of going potty on your carpet, offer a firm no and immediately take your pup outside to finish his business. If you find the accident after the fact, it does no good to scold your dog at this point, because he doesn’t remember the act once it’s finished. Simply clean up the spot quickly and thoroughly so your dog can’t remember the location by the smell.
For some dogs, Labrador potty training will take a couple of weeks and the process is complete. For others, the entire process may take quite a bit longer before the dog is completely accident free. Patience and persistence on the part of the owner is always the key, whether your dog catches on immediately or more slowly. No matter how long it takes your puppy to get the hang of Labrador potty training, rest assured that you and your dog will eventually find success.
It is important to arm yourself with plenty of information about the most effective methods of Labrador training, including housebreaking, before you ever bring your puppy home from the breeder. It is very helpful to collect information in articles like this one and in dog training books that will set you on the right path to effectively training your Labrador retriever.
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