New York Labrador Retriever Puppies

There are many methods of dog training and many objectives, from basic obedience training to specialized areas including law enforcement, military, search and rescue, hunting, working with livestock, assistance to people with disabilities, entertainment, dog sports and protecting people or property.

As pack animals, wild dogs have natural instincts that favor cooperation with their fellow dogs. Many domestic dogs, either through instinct or breeding, can correctly interpret and respond to signals given by a human handler.

Most dogs live with people who want them to behave in ways that make them pleasant to be around, keep them safe, and provides for the safety of other humans and pets. Dogs do not figure out basic obedience on their own. The fundamental rule that must be remembered is that one should never apply human standards of society onto the dog with the assumption that the dog will understand. Never assume a dog is trying to insult, injure or deceive you on a personal level. Understand that it is acting as a dog naturally, innocently does, and should be met with patience and thoughtfulness, rather than forcefulness or retaliation. Many trainers treat their dogs with cruelty and irrational punishment, leading to measurably increased stress, illness, and tendency towards violence.

The hardest part of training is communicating with the dog in a humane way that the dog understands. However, the underlying principle of all communication is simple: reward desired behavior while ignoring or correcting undesired behavior. “Corrections” should never include harmful physical force or violence.

Basic pet obedience training usually consists of six behaviors:

• Sit
• Down
• Stay
• Recall (“come”, “here” or “in”)
• Close (or loose-leash walking)
• Heel

Reward and punishment

1. Positive reinforcement adds something to the situation to increase the chance of the behaviour being exhibited again.
2. Negative reinforcement removes something from the situation to increase the chance of the behaviour being exhibited again.

When training your dog, use positive training methods. This requires positively reinforcing good behavior rather than punishing to decrease bad behavior.

IMPORTANT: Dogs should not be punished by being placed within a cage, crate or carrier, especially one similar to where they eat or sleep. While this may confine the dog from further disruptive behaviour, and also may seem similar to “sending a child to their room” as a form of punishment, the dog’s mind will unfortunately begin to associate the cage with punishment, and will experience anxiety if put into the container, as a result of the negative feelings associated with it. Punishment involving confinement is an unusual and confusing type of situation for a dog, and should not be used for proper punishment

Rewards

Positive reinforcers can be anything that your dog finds rewarding – special food treats, the chance to play with a tug toy, social interaction with other dogs, or the owner’s attention.

Punishment

Punishments should only be administered as appropriate for the dog’s personality, age, experience and physical and emotional condition. Some dogs may show signs of fear or anxiety with harsh verbal corrections. Other dogs may ignore a verbal reprimand. Some dogs develop an aversion or fear of water, when water is sprayed at them as an aversive.

Keep in mind that each dog is distinctly different. Training methods should be administered only as appropriate. As long as you remain consistent and persistent in their training, it will be well worth your effort and will be highly rewarding. Your dog will never give up on you so never give up on your dog!

Labrador Retriever History

The Labrador Retriever (also Labrador, or Lab for short) is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog.  A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed’s original purpose of retrieving fishing nets.  This and their subsequent use as hunting companions, gave them the name retriever.  The dogs of this breed are very loving, kind and compassionate to their master.  The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in the world, and is, by a large margin, the most popular breed by registration in Canada, the United States (since 1991), and the United Kingdom.  It is also the most popular breed of assistance dog in Canada, the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and many other countries, as well as being widely used by law enforcement for their detection and working abilities. Typically, Labradors are athletic, and love to swim, play catch and retrieve games, and are excellent with young children. The Labrador Retriever was once known as the “St. John’s Dogs”, and is now considered to be one of the most popular dog breeds in America. The breed stems from Newfoundland, Canada and was trained to jump overboard into cold waters to fish out the nets that the fishermen set out to retrieve fish.  The first “Labs” were brought to England in the early 1800s from ships that were coming from Labrador. In Labrador the dogs were able to develop their skills of retrieving. The Labrador is known to be one of the best family dogs. They are very intelligent and known to be loving and attentive.

Labrador Retriever’s Appearance

There are two types of Labrador Retrievers, the English Labradors and the American Labradors.  English Labs come from the English bred type and are different in appearance from the American Labs. The English Labradors have a blocky head, shorter muzzle and larger muscular body.  The American Labs will seem narrower in the face with a longer muzzle. They are not as blocky looking as the English Labs.

The Labrador Retriever is a muscular dog, slightly longer than tall, with a short, water-resistant double coat that comes in solid black, yellow, or chocolate.  Yellow Labs come in various shades of yellow that range from light cream to fox red.  Yellow Labs can have brown or black pigmentation.  Chocolates come in three variations ranging from medium to dark brown, and silver.

Colour

Labrador Retrievers are registered in three colours:  black (a solid black colour), yellow (anything from light cream to “fox-red”), and chocolate (medium to dark brown).  Some Labrador retrievers can have markings such as white patches on their chest and other areas, but most commonly they are one solid color.

Puppies of all colours can potentially occur in the same litter.  Colour is determined primarily by two genes.  The first gene (the B locus) determines the density of the coat’s pigment granules: dense granules result in a black coat, sparse ones give a chocolate coat.  The second (D) locus determines whether the pigment is produced at all.  A dog with the recessive d allele will produce little pigment and will be yellow regardless of its genotype at the B locus.  Variations in numerous other genes control the subtler details of the coat’s colouration, which in yellow Labradors varies from white to light gold to a fox red. Chocolate and black Labradors’ noses will match the coat colour.

Nose and skin pigmentation

Because Labrador colouration is controlled by multiple genes, it is possible for recessive genes to emerge some generations later and also there can sometimes be unexpected pigmentation effects to different parts of the body.  Pigmentation effects appear in regard to yellow Labradors, and sometimes chocolate, and hence the majority of this section covers pigmentation within the yellow Labrador.  The most common places where pigmentation is visible are the nose, lips, gums, feet, tail, and the rims of the eyes, which may be black, brown, light yellow-brown (“liver”, caused by having two genes for chocolate), or several other colours.  A Labrador can carry genes for a different color, for example a black Labrador can carry recessive chocolate and yellow genes, and a yellow Labrador can carry recessive genes for the other two colors.  DNA testing can reveal some aspects of these.  Less common pigmentations (other than pink) are a fault, not a disqualification, and hence such dogs are still permitted to be shown.  The intensity of black pigment on yellow Labradors is controlled by a separate gene independent of the fur coloring.  Yellow Labradors usually have black noses, which may gradually turn pink with age (called “snow nose” or “winter nose”).  This is due to a reduction in the enzyme tyrosinase which indirectly controls the production of melanin, a dark coloring.  Tyrosinase is temperature dependent—hence light colouration can be seasonal, due to cold weather—and is less produced with increasing age two years old onwards.  As a result, the nose color of most yellow Labradors becomes a somewhat pink shade as they grow older.

The nose and lips are pink or flesh-colored, the defining aspect of Dudley pigmentation.  A colouration known as “Dudley” is also possible.  Dudleys are variously defined as yellow Labradors which have unpigmented (pink) noses (LRC), yellow with liver/chocolate pigmentation (AKC), or “flesh coloured” in addition to having the same colour around the rims of the eye, rather than having black or dark brown pigmentation.  A yellow Labrador with brown or chocolate pigmentation, for example, a brown or chocolate nose, is not necessarily a Dudley, though according to the AKC’s current standard it would be if it has chocolate rims around the eyes (or more accurately of the genotype eebb).  Breed standards for Labradors considers a true Dudley to be a disqualifying feature in a conformation show Lab, such as one with a thoroughly pink nose or one lacking in any pigment along with flesh coloured rims around the eyes.  True Dudleys are extremely rare.

Labrador Temperament

Labrador Retrievers are a well-balanced, friendly and versatile breed, adaptable to a wide range of functions as well as making excellent pets.  As a rule they are not excessively prone to being territorial, insecure, aggressive, destructive, hypersensitive, or other difficult traits which sometimes manifest in a variety of other breeds.  As the name suggests, they are excellent retrievers.  Labradors instinctively enjoy holding objects and even hands or arms in their mouths, which they can do with great gentleness (a Labrador can carry an egg in its mouth without breaking it).  They are also known to have a very soft feel to the mouth, as a result of being bred to retrieve game such as waterfowl.  They are prone to chewing objects (though they can be trained out of this behavior).  The Labrador Retriever’s coat repels water to some extent, thus facilitating the extensive use of the dog in waterfowl hunting.

Although they will sometimes bark at noise, especially noise from an unseen source (“alarm barking”), Labradors are usually not noisy or territorial. They are often very easygoing and trusting with strangers, and therefore are not usually suitable as guard dogs.

The steady temperament of Labradors and their ability to learn make them an ideal breed for search and rescue, detection, and therapy work. Their primary working role in the field continues to be that of a hunting retriever.