How to House-Train a Labrador Puppy

Labrador puppies are fun, exuberant and among the easiest to train. They are smarter than your average pup, but more important, they are notoriously easy to please. Put a plan in place, be disciplined in following it, and your carpets will be free of stains in no time.

Instructions

1. Establish your puppy's "bathroom" as soon as you bring it home. As soon as you walk it in the door, walk immediately to your back door and stand outside with your puppy for a while, praising it and making it feel good about this area.

2. Pick up the puppy when it urinates or defecates in your home. If possible, try to carry the puppy while it is doing this and get it into the yard before it is done. While this might be somewhat messy, it is important to get the puppy to start using the yard as much as possible. Puppies will "go" near where they have done so before, responding to the smell.

3. Any time you get your puppy to do anything at all outside, shower it with praise. Pet it all over and give the puppy a lot of treats. Speak in a higher-pitched voice, repeating "Good dog" over and over.

4. Clean up the mess as soon as possible. Use a strong carpet cleaner, then spray down the entire area with a scented solution.

5. Repeat all of these steps. Eventually the puppy will learn to ask how to go outside by standing by the door and waiting for you or possibly barking; all dogs are different. Make sure that every time the puppy does this that you give it praise, as well as when it goes outside, does its business and comes back inside.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep everything as positive as possible when you're training your puppy. Always use positive reinforcement. Try to keep calm at all times.

• Some people will tell you to shove the dog's nose in it when it does its business inside. Do not do this; it will scare your puppy, and this will hurt your relationship.