General Puppy Issues & Questions

[LabGuy]

So i have a couple things i want to discuss in regards to my 10 week old lab that I am not quite sure about. Let me know what you guys think.

1. I have been doing some pretty steady crate training and it has worked out great so far. My pup will walk over to the door, sit down and wait to be let outside to do his business. However, after 8pm, it seems that it all goes out the window and he pees inside at least 2 or 3 times before going to bed. I can take him outside, he will pee, and then 10 min later he is peeing inside again. I monitor his water in/water out but still seems to high of frequency. My girlfriend thinks its something to do with him not getting attention, so he pees in the house to get the attention. I probably need to go back to using the crate more, but wanted to hear some opinions.

2. I have been doing daily walks with him to allow him to run through the grass and get use to going through certain amounts of cover. On our way out there, he will usually stick to right beneath my feet. On the way back though, its like he knows we are leaving. He will venture out ahead of me, run around and look back at me every once in awhile. Not really sure if I should take it as a negative sign or not.

Thanks in advance -- Justin

[CDN_Cocker]

I don't think you have anything to worry about, he's very young. Just keep a closer eye on him after 8pm and don't give him water after 6. As for wandering when out, there's nothing wrong with that! He's getting more confident, which is a good thing. I don't even really speak to my pup when we're out, he just does his own thing. He never lets me get too far away from him. Keep doing what you're doing, its all ok!

[LabGuy]

I don't think you have anything to worry about, he's very young. Just keep a closer eye on him after 8pm and don't give him water after 6. As for wandering when out, there's nothing wrong with that! He's getting more confident, which is a good thing. I don't even really speak to my pup when we're out, he just does his own thing. He never lets me get too far away from him. Keep doing what you're doing, its all ok!

I definitely keep my mouth shut when we are walking to let him figure out things on his own. I will usually walk for 10-15 min in that cover, then pull out a bumper/dokken teal dummy and play fetch 3-4 times. Then put it away and go back.

[DoubleBarrel GunDogs]

Tell us a little more about what you've been doing with your pup concerning socializing, praise, correction, etc... Have you chosen a training program to follow?
What are your long term goals for this dog?

It sounds like your doing alright with house breaking. Don't forget to praise him when he pees in the right spot. Don't make too big of a fuss when he goes in the house, just get him outside to the same spot, and he'll usually finish there. Then praise. Dogs don't understand concepts very well, but understand place orientation very well.

Nate

[LabGuy]

Tell us a little more about what you've been doing with your pup concerning socializing, praise, correction, etc... Have you chosen a training program to follow?
What are your long term goals for this dog?
Nate

For socialization, my girlfriend and I have been having friends over all the time to see and play with him (who doesn't want to see a puppy anyway?). There also have been a couple of retriever club events recently where he has been able to socialize with other dogs and see all the other trainers. Usually before and after our training walks, we run into at least 3 or 4 other people with dogs and he gets to see them. I have made a couple trips to the hardware store as well, so the people there have been enjoying seeing him on a regular basis. Basically been trying to take him everywhere I can.

The only corrections I have been making to him is to either stop him from biting or saying "NO" to get him to stop doing something. Usually we quickly grab him by the nose and say NO immediately. It has worked well for him biting me, but still working on it with others. I noticed we were saying NO way to much after the first week, so we have switched our focus to praising him more when he did things right rather than wrong. We still say NO when we need to, but focus on the praise part.

In regards to goals, I would like to start running AKC, HRC, and APLA events eventually. I think it would be a great way to extend my hunting season and allow me to keep my sanity while still living in this traffic ridden city. Training for those club events will also allow me to transfer those skills into the hunting field. I hunt mostly pheasants, sharptails, and waterfowl, but would love to get into some ruffed grouse since im now a MN resident.

It sounds like your doing alright with house breaking. Don't forget to praise him when he pees in the right spot. Don't make too big of a fuss when he goes in the house, just get him outside to the same spot, and he'll usually finish there. Then praise. Dogs don't understand concepts very well, but understand place orientation very well.
Nate

We have just been paying attention to him more (especially after he drinks water) and making sure we take him out more regularly. Usually 75% of the time he will sit by the door and wait to get let out, so I think thats good progress at 10 weeks.

[CDN_Cocker]

"No" is probably the most common word you will have in your vocabulary the next little while. I feel like its all I say lmao.