Dog Tips

+1 my pup went from 5lbs to 30 in like 3 months

 

As for potty training let him out right after he first wakes up and right after he eats be consistent with all the training you do and it he wil catch on very fast, also you might want to get a treadmill for when the weather is bad he can still be exercised, my lab loves running on hers. Also look in to getting some bully sticks for chewing. Good luck

 

Ohh and dont get rawhide when the dog is a pup because it can mess up there stomach if they eat it because it will expand in there stomach.

 

What about nipping/biting as a puppy? Whats the best way to stop it/ discipline the dog when he does it?

 

A light swat to the nose and a firm NO. If he persists, stand up and turn around, he'll figure out that biting or niping means no one will play with him soon enough.

As far as house breaking, consistancy is the key. If you feed him at the same time, you can usually predict when he'll have to go. For the first few months at least, take him to the same place to go to the bathroom so he gets used to it. If you want to get fancy, put a bell by the door he'll be going out to go to the bathroom, take his paw and hit the bell everytime he goes out. He'll put 2 and 2 together and will go hit the bell with his paw when he wants/needs to go out eventually. A good rule of thumb is the age of the puppy in months +1 is the number of hours you can reasonably expect him to 'hold it'. (5 month old puppy +1 = 6 hours for example).

If this is your first dog, maybe think about obedience classes. It's more for you than the dog. They'll teach you how to properly train your dog and from there you can teach him to do pretty much anything. Labs are very smart and when left alone or inactive, tend to use those smarts for destructive things. They tend to like to be engaged and actually like training. If you can keep them well exercised and mentally stimulated, labs are great dogs!

 

Thanks for the good advice. How much money is an obedience class?

 

^^ This.

Not to mention, a yellow lab is going to need a lot more room than a apartment.

 

Did you read the thread? Its more of a townhome than an apartment. Its 3 stories. Im not asking people opinion on whether or not I should get a dog, Im just looking for some advice.