Yayy!

[Jordyn Kaufer]

Just got a new Black Lab this weekend! He is about 10 weeks old and is fairly good at listening to sit, heal, (his name means come), and potty trained..

He also fetches a little bit. Right now I am just starting to sit on the floor with a duck scented dummy and have him sit/heal while I throw it then say "get the bird" and then he gets it and come back. Once he gets super good at this what should be the next step or what else should I be doing right now? I am the only one thats going to be training it in the family and the rest are just going to use the same commands and "play" with him.

Thanks,

Jordyn

[TruthWalleyes]

I would highly suggest some literature on training hunting dogs. You can get some good informtion here, but there are some books that will offer you loads of info...The first year or two will set the pace for the next 10.

Congrats!

[870Express]

Sounds like you're on the track. As long as he wants to run to the dummy you've got a good start. I wouldn't be too strict on "steadying" him too early; the Brits steady from the start, most American trainers don't truely steady for a couple months. Get him used to dragging the checkcord while you're playing around the yard - to the point he doesn't notice it. The first six or so weeks with him should be mainly about you bonding with him.

A cheap book I'd recommend is 10 Minute Retriever, kind of the basics of basics when talking about retrievers. Remember not to put too much pressure on him too early. Note the "too early" part.

[shnelson]

Congrats!

I picked mine up at 10 weeks as well, we're now going on week 22 and every day I get excited to see what he's capable of next.

You're off to a good start, as mentioned already I would also recommend to not worry about steadying him for retrieving yet. No matter what you do, keep it fun for him, and always stop retrieves while his excitement is still high so he builds on that for your next session.

I'm sure your on top of this already, but make sure everyone in the household is adhering the the guidelines and commands you are setting for the pup. Consistency is key here!

Once you get him used to the check cord, work on the sit command until he's not willing to move until you give him the command. I practice this by doing a few continuous sits, for 30-45 seconds while I wander around him. You should be able to pull on the check cord with a little force while giving the sit command, and having him refuse to move - don't over do this one though, just throw it into the mix every once in a while and reward him heavily when he succeeds.

I would also hold off on water training till it warms up a little more. I'm having a tough time with this one because I can't wait for him to hit the lake, but the cold water at a young age can be somewhat discouraging for them if you aren't careful.

Keep him social with other dogs as much as possible (not too heavily until he's done with his booster shots). I'm finding this one difficult as we don't have many dogs in our neighborhood willing to tolerate a wound up puppy for very long.

[jeffreyd]

biggest mistake with mine was allowing him to run hard every day and jumping. he know has a torn ligiment in a knee that brings him up lame pretty often. does not slow him down just at first. the two labs we have play rough and hard all day so that takes some of the human interaction out of it too. My vet told me to limit the hard work and hard jumping til they are over a year old.remember that if their knees swell or they are lame from running, you can always ice them down and keep them in to calm down. good luck enjoy your puppy.