A Phoenix-based Rescue Group
Dedicated to finding loving, life-long homes
for displaced Labrador Retrievers.
The DLRR Formula for Lab Success
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Don't get me wrong - we loved the book "Marley & Me" and truly enjoyed the movie. However, looking at this story from a purely pragmatic perspective, the story chronicles THE WRONG WAY to add a lab to your family. Aside from the fact that the family clearly loved their dog, there's almost nothing they did correctly. To help keep you off that path, here is our "Formula for Success" for adding a lab to your family, starting with the most important first: RULE #1 : YOU MUST be the boss RULE #2 : YOU MUST be the boss RULE #3 : YOU MUST be the boss Get it? There is absolutely nothing more important than you being the pack leader in your house. If you're not, no other training will work. If you're not the leader, the dog will be. And if the dog is the leader, it will justifiably do whatever it wants, whenever it wants to. You just won't matter. We recommend the books and TV programs by Cesar Milan, the "Dog Whisperer". In our house, we use his techniques, and have had nothing but success. RULE #4 : Get Professional Help No, I don't mean a therapist for you. You should involve a professional dog trainer as a part of raising your dog, and go in understanding that YOU should be receiving much more training than the dog. You can learn a lot from books and TV shows, but the details and nuances are often overlooked. Nothing will serve you better than having a live expert helping you. If you got your dog from a rescue, they should be able to point you to qualified trainers in your area who can help you one-on-one. Very often these trainers offer discounts to people who adopt rescued dogs, so be sure to ask. The group training offered at the large pet food chain stores is also good, but you can not expect to get a lot of personal attention from the trainers. We recommend the group training because it helps teach the dog "social skills", but strongly recommend getting a trainer that will come to your house and train YOU to train your dog. RULE #5 : Burn Off Energy A tired lab is a good and happy lab. Labs have a huge amount of energy and they will burn it off, one way or another. The question is will they burn it off in ways you choose, or ways they come up with themselves? Put another way, is it better for YOU to have the dog burn his energy off on a good long walk and playing ball with you, or by turning your coffee table into kindling and toothpicks? The choice is yours. Figure on spending at least an hour, twice a day for a young lab. RULE #6 : Be Consistent Labs are more comfortable and content (and thus better behaved) when life is pretty predictable. For example, around our house we feed our adult dogs twice each day at about 6am and 6pm. Just before eating they are always taken out to potty. That almost never changes. Sticking to this means that we never have them 'going crazy' to eat at 5 in the afternoon, or worse, at 5 in the morning. What it is doesn't matter as much as consistency. If your dog isn't allowed on the bed, it's NEVER allowed on the bed. No exceptions. This should apply to any "rules" you have. As an aside, and this is more a tip than a rule ... Never, ever feed your dog "treats" while you're at the dinner table, or eating anywhere else for that matter. Never. Your life will be much calmer if the dogs learn that "When the people are eating I never get anything, so I might as well go nap in my favorite corner." You can certainly give them table scrap treats, but do it well after dinner, and away from the table or wherever you eat. This little tip will pay HUGE dividends when you have company or family over for dinner. RULE #7 : No Violence Seriously. Never, ever, hit, slap, swat, or otherwise take a swing at your dog. Never. First off, it's violent and cruel. Period. Second, it absolutely never accomplishes anything other than make your dog fear you. You want your dog to respect you as the pack leader. If the dog fears you they'll just spend the rest of their years afraid, or trying to avoid you (and every other person of your gender). RULE #8 : Get Them Fixed If you got your dog from a rescue organization, they were probably already spayed or neutered. If you have adopted an unaltered dog, however, you MUST get them fixed. Yes, it's the responsible thing to do. Aside from that, and more to the point, if you've never had a female dog go into heat, you don't want to. If you have, you know what I mean. And for boys, if you don't mind them marking (peeing on) every corner and piece of furniture in your house, if you don't mind them agressively trying to assert dominance over other dogs, your kids, and you, and if you don't mind them going out of their minds when the neighbor's dog goes into heat, by all means keep them intact. By the way, forget what your relatives, or the folks at work have told you, here are the facts: You can find some great spay/neuter information on the American Partnership for Pets website. and finally ... RULE #9 : Take Time-Outs Training, exercising, and otherwise dealing with your new lab will be exhausting, both physically and emotionally. Hopefully you have others in your family that can help out with all of these responsibilities. Short of that, and possibly in addition to that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a pet sitter or trusted friend to take the dog for a few hours and play with them. Or putting them in a good doggy daycare facility so you can get some breathing room, maybe an anxiety-free night out, or a day with friends. That lab has more energy than you do. Take steps to ensure that YOU get suitably refreshed and recharged now and then. You will be a better master, your dog will be better trained, and you'll both enjoy life more for it. | |
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Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is, without a doubt, the best deal man has ever made. - Roger Caras | |
Click here to see our available DLRR Dogs.
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