Labrador Puppies
Lab puppies grow up fast! They bring a lot of joy, but quite a few challenges too. This page is your doorway to a vast library of information dedicated to helping you care for your Labrador puppy. You can use the links here to go quickly to the help you need, when you need it most.
Caring For Your New Labrador Puppy
Let’s start with some basic guides to puppy care. And help you with managing your puppy’s behavior.
getting started
It all starts here
your puppy guides
Puppy care basics
puppy behavior
Common problems
puppy GEAR
Things you might need
You can also search this site for the answers to your puppy questions
find more information about your puppy problem
Search For Puppy Answers
One of the great things about Labradors is their good nature. But did you know that even Labs need a little help in this direction?
Puppy Development And Growth
Puppy development is another area that can cause some worries. You may wonder if your puppy weighs enough, or too much. Or worry that they are not growing fast enough, or that they are much smaller than other puppies the same age. You’ll find information to help you in the articles below.
It’s fun to peek at what’s in store for you as your puppy grows and develops. But if you haven’t chosen your puppy yet, then you’ll need some information about planning, choosing and preparing for your new pup.
We’ll look at puppy planning before moving on to the puppy training and resources sections.
Need help planning your puppy?
Let’s get you started!
Not every Labrador puppy for sale is a great potential pet. Some will grow up to have health or temperament issues. And you need to know how to avoid these. Labrador puppies can be found in a huge range of prices, from $500 – $2500 and cheaper puppies aren’t necessarily a bargain. Check out How To Find A Good Breeder for more information
Preparing For Your Puppy
Good preparation creates a smoother transition into dog ownership. Make sure you have a plan in mind for who is going to care for your pup during the day if you work full time.
Doing things like puppy proofing your house before your dog arrives, will make the transition easier. Adding baby gates to the doorways, buying a puppy playpen, and removing any access to small objects or cables will all help.
Resources For Labrador Puppy Parents
You’ll find a fantastic community of Labrador puppy parents on our Labrador Facebook page. We also have a Facebook support group for dog parents with many Labrador members and other breeds and breed mixes too. It’s called Dogsnet Training & Support. You are very welcome to join.
Introducing
The Happy Puppy Handbook
a guide to the first few months
Puppy parents often ask me which book they need to help them raise a new puppy. I’m biased of course because I wrote The Happy Puppy Handbook. It’s a complete guide to a puppy’s first few months. And there are plenty of reviews to read before you make up your mind
VIEW ON AMAZON…(paid link)
(paid link)Once you puppy has settled in, you’ll want to start thinking about training.
Training Your Puppy
Modern puppy training is a lot of fun. We train puppies using games and lots of great rewards. Here are some key resources.
You’ll find information on obedience training in our main training section. And you can check out my online puppy courses over on the Dogsnet website.
Solving Puppy Problems
No-one gets through puppyhood without a few challenges! Here are some articles to help when you get stuck!
Many thanks for a memorable and inciteful article on one of our favorite topics – I have owned, trained and trialed, Labradors for 60 of my 80 or so years, and miss the four- and two-legged – comradery. J R
We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
We just recently obtained a male Silver Lab that is 4 years old. He is a beautiful animal and very smart but has barking, almost vicious, personality at those he sees outside. When he is allowed to see them upon entering the house he becomes friendly. He is very obedient and loving and I’m trying to work the aggressiveness out of him by approaching him and assure him it is OK. Any other suggestions. I never hit my dogs and like to give him give him free range, yet I’m concerned about his aggressive behavior toward outsiders.
Hi Bill, it sounds as though your boy has not been well socialized. I think this article might help you https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-socialize-an-older-dog/
My son has a 3 month old black lab and is having a hard time potty training him, he goes in the house alot and i am
getting tired of it. I am his71 yr old mother and the dog bites quickly and draws blood on me all the time and thats
do to me being on blood thinners. I am getting scared of him and do not want to be but do not like the looks of my
arms from him biting me all the time. I also have 2 little teddy bear dogs and the do not want any thing to do with
the pup because he goes after their tails or will constantly jump o them and goes for their ears. Can you help us.
Hello I have a 8 week old female white lab and this is our first night. We are crate training her and she howled for a bit. But she calmed down and is sleeping well. I’m worried with her not in our room she will develop anxiety? But as a mother of 3 young children it’s hard for me knowing she is in the living room by herself and we are upstairs. Should we bring her up here for the first 3-5 days? Or if she sleeps through this first night ok without long periods of crying we should continue the crate in another room? Help!
I have a 12 week old pup chocolate lab he’s learned to
Sit
Stay
laydown
come
in just 1 week
Bribery works wonders with his puppy mix
I have a 6 month old lab who is super smart but she jumps on everybody that walks in the door (she weighs 50 lbs) and if I try to get her in the kennel or calm her down it seems to get worse. She doesn’t jump on me because I told her NO JUMP from the start, but with other people she just goes wild and hears nothing. HELP!!!!
When they jump, say nothing but just turn your back to them. They will begin to realise that the behaviour isn’t being reinforced. Once they stop the jump them praise but if they get excited and jump again turn your back again
Looking for a puppy if any body noes of any
I have tan point Lab puppy that is about 7-8 weeks old. His ears do not flop down at all. Would he be mixed??
yes, most probably. You can get the same confirmed by your vet.
Looking for a white female english lab. i had a white german sheperd and black doberman. My husband always wanted a labrador so it would be a nice surprise for him. As you can see, we love big dogs.
Both my dogs lived a good and long life. Its been 20 years since.
hello i have a 12 week black lab male, he does great on listening sit, stay, come , ect but he has these tantrums where he lunges snarls an bites really hard on my ankle or arms. bopping his nose and spanking him only make him more upset, hes great in every other area, im just so worried that he will be an agressive dog, HELP!
Hi Melissa, you may be interested in our guide – Aggressive Puppy – How To Recognize And Treat Puppy Aggression
I’m having the same issue with my
14 week old lab puppy. How long did it take for your pup to grow out of it?
NICE
Got a male lab pup 40 yrs ago, he waited by the door to go outside and potty and just stared at me if I was slow, a genius dog,natural duck and bird dog, he would carry fishing poles and small tackle boxes.The best dog ever!!!Named Cole, a twist of words for black as coal:)))
Great story!!!
Lost our lab 13 year old
Looking for white lab male puppy
Hi this is Ben fistner ! I have a chocolate lab who keeps jumping on visitors do you guys have any idea how to stop him form jumping we tried turning away from him we tried pushing him down when he jumps up! He is 9 years old have any ideas? Please reply
I have found with my labrador puppies that bringing your knee up as they jump deters the jump, doesn’t hurt them and it is easy to ask your visitors to also be prepared. I have had 4 labrador puppies and was told this tactic by the breeder in Pembrokeshire UK with my first chocolate lab in 1973. It was useful advice! Good luck!
My two labs are quickly calmed when I give my visitor a treat for each. When they see their favorite treat come from the hand of someone welcomed inside the home, they’re much more relaxed.
I want a female. I will train her to be my Service Dog. we will be together24/7
Labs are great dogs! One thing to remember is that raising lab pups is kind of like raising young boys. They both will go through a phase where their mission in life is to destroy your stuff. Bear with it, use common sense, and it’ll be worth it in the end.
Just wanted to say thank you for this site. We have a 13 week old golden retriever puppy and I have picked up fantastic advice here about biting, destruction, and over-exuberance that seems to be part and parcel of raising a young pup. A few days in and we are already seeing some behavioural changes – in Mabel and in ourselves – and I certainly feel calmer and not quite so desperate (I have had furniture and my clothes shredded and she has drawn blood). It is getting easier to calm her down. I’m sure that it will be a case of two steps forward one step back, but confident that we will get there. Both her parents were beautiful, calm dogs so sure that she will be too. Well done and thanks.
Hello, we have an 11 week old black lab. I thought I prepared for everything but I’ve learned there is no preparing fully. She refuses to be potty trained even though we follow this site for training. She hates walks, and being on the leash or being outside. She will just sit and not move on the leash at all. She will even get taken out for 20-30 minute walks and then immediately come inside and go to the bathroom. She will bark non stop if left in the crate. She is good with sleeping through the night though. Also the biting and aggression seeming behavior. She buts hard and lunges at everyone and will not stop no matter what toy or treat you have. I’m not sure what the issue is, it feels like this puppy hates everything a puppy would like and she just won’t follow any training we’ve kept up with. I’m very concerned she will never learn and I don’t want that for her. Please help!
May be a smell left where she has pottied inside. I suggest you keep a soiled pad (urine) for her next potty excursion, place it in the yard. She will use it either before or after the walk.
Hello. Found your website and I now spend every night pouring through the puppy pages.
Its so helpful, thankyou so much. Norman is a lab and 6 weeks old so I have 2 weeks to study and puppy proof and get prepared before he comes home..
I have a crate downstairs which is going to be his bed for a little while especially during the day, but for the first few nights I will have him upstairs with me as your website suggests. Will it confuse him to have 2 different beds?
Also, as he’s a puppy im guessing he will sleep a lot. so when is bed time? When he’s asleep shall I carry him upstairs and place him in his second bed? shall I show him around my bedroom first?
Following this is also the potty training at night time. Im very prepared to get up often and take him downstairs and outside but it is VERY cold and DARK where I live. could I use the front door (but inside) for puppy toilet pad during the nights or will this confuse him and hinder the toilet training?
We want to buy it
Labs are such beautiful dogs – so happy all the time and a great addition to the family! <3
Hi everyone, I have a 6 month old fox red who has been very good up until recently. We have exercised him mentally and physically the recommended amount t by our veterinarian, regular and frequent training, and feed him a good diet. Recently he has decided that when off lead he will recall but you CAN NOT put his lead back on. He also now cowers at home when we place it on him. There have been no situations that we can possibly think of where anything negative has happened with the lead/harness. We use positive reinforcement, never shout, don’t hit or push him or drag on lead etc. What can we do? Up until now he was perfect off lead and socialising with dogs well but we don’t want to let him off lead until we figure out the fear of the lead.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
My 5 old month Labrador doesn’t bite the raw chicken legs when I feed her she eats the whole thing …any suggestion on raw bones , raw chicken feeding ?
Raw chicken bones are safe for dogs to eat. They will not splinter like a cooked chicken bone. Large dogs would eat a whole chicken raw-bones and all without worry.
We have a 11 week old yellow lab – he was doing great at night time in crate, now all he does is cry constantly at night. No sleep for any of us. Any suggestions on how to correct this?
Hi Cynthia, This article should have some good advice: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-a-crying-labrador-puppy/
Hi. We have a Labrador puppy – 12 weeks old. We are feeding him Royal Canin Maxi Mother & Puppy until now. Should I shift to Royal Canin Junior Labrador or Royal Canin Maxi Junior? Is there a difference? Please help. Thanks so much
My puppy lab is 12 Weeks old and has been throwing up for the last our. Still playing and we did give h some water but did not feed again. Should we be overly concerned. Nose is cold not warm at all. He is relaxing sleeping now
My yellow lab has very chronic ear issues when she shakes her head she actually whines trying to find a home remedy that works have tried quite a few and difference. Need help!
Fire up the hibachi and get out the hot-dog beans
My lab gets that with his ears if swimming a lot. Swimmers ear. Mix in a small bottle 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% hydrogen peroxide. Fill in small needless synringe ands spray a little into each ear and gently wipe out with a cotton ball. A friend used this solution on himself when he swam in high school. May have s bit of an ear infection. If continues take to
Him to a vet.
I have a question, I have a blond lab puppy she is 6 months. The lady I got her from told me the mom of the puppy did not have papers , but the dad did. My puppy has a pink nose, so my husband tells me she is not full blooded lab. Can a lab have a pink nose?????
Yes. It’s referred to as a Dudley lab. Akc approved.
Can I be advised of the cost of a lab pei puppy
I just lost my female bullmasfit. I am looking for another dog. my three choices are1 akita,yellow lab. I need a dog for protectin. a lot of these big dogs cost to much. I am wiling topay 800 dollars arethere any big dogs in that range. I would like to buy very soon
I got my Labrador puppy by looking for a family that was looking to rehome the puppie. So you can probably take Craigslist or some other sites like that for a family that’s basically looking to rehome their own puppies and you can get them at a lower price than looking out for a breeder
We just picked up a Black Lab puppy yesterday, she was born May 4th, so she is 9 weeks old. I was wondering whether we could bathe her yet and if there is a certain shampoo recommended. Or wether there it is not advised to do so yet. Any other tips and clues you would like to add would be helpful too as this is our first lab puppy weve had. Thank you.
You should just use water or you will wash away there natural oils from their fur making their coat dull and not shine
You should just use water or you will wash away their natural oils from their fur making their coat dull and not shine
My lab is 2.5 yrs old just hand puppies on mother’s day there 2.5 weeks old when do I intro deuce them to puppy food and what kind should it be the can or dry
Can anyone advise a dog novice. We have a 12 month old (last week) fox red labrador. We need to know if he is now officially classed as an adult dog and how we should go about feeding him. He is currently on 1 X Nutriment 1400gm chubb (raw food diet) a day but we are unsure whether to cut it down now or not. He was neutered about 5 weeks ago, so this may make a difference. Any help would be gratefully appreciated, Lorraine and Mark
He may look like an adult but they will continue to develop for at least another year and being a lab he will probably act like a pup til 4 or 5 years old. You can probably cut feedings to 2 a day and gradually introduce an adult food. Better 2 meals a day than 1 big one once a day.