Labrador Retriever: temperament, training and care

At a glance

Temperament

• Friendly with everyone, rarely a guard
• Lives for food, which makes training easy
• Loves water and carrying things

Training tips

Use part of the daily food as training rewards: a Lab will work for kibble.

Labrador Retrievers usually pick things up quickly, which also means they learn bad habits quickly. Keep sessions short and varied, and reward the calm behavior you want to see more of.

Start with a marker word, sit, come and leave it. For a puppy, see the puppy training guides.

Common challenges

• Food obsession. It makes training easy and counters dangerous. Use part of each meal as rewards, and keep an eye on weight.
• Jumping and mouthing as young dogs, from pure enthusiasm.
• Pulling toward every smell and every person.
• Weight gain. Measure meals and count treats.

Puppy training

Labs grow fast, so teach leash manners and polite greetings before your puppy is big and strong. Recall games and fetch are natural favorites.

Lifestyle

Most Labs love water, retrieving and long walks with lots of sniffing. Give their brain work too: scent games are great for a nose like a Lab’s.

Exercise and energy

A healthy adult Labrador Retriever typically needs around 60 to 90 minutes of activity a day. Walks alone rarely cover it: add sniffing games, training and play so their brain gets tired too. Puppies need much shorter sessions while they grow.

See how much exercise a dog needs and our games and enrichment ideas.

Health to watch

Things the breed is known to be prone to. Ask your vet what to check for your dog.

• Hips and elbows. Prone to joint problems: keep them lean and ask the vet to check the joints each year.
• Weight. Gains weight easily: measure meals and count the treats.
• Ears. Floppy ears trap moisture: check and clean them weekly, and dry them after swims.