How to Train a Labrador Retriever Guard Dog

The earlier you can start training your Labrador Retriever, the sooner you will see results. That means start encouraging any promising signs from an early age. Any interest in strangers, including barking, should be rewarded with treats and praise.

Enroll your dog in group obedience classes. This will help socialize them with other pets and people. It is important they understand how to get on with pets and people they do know.

Teach your Labrador Retriever ‘sit’, ‘down’, ‘stay’ and any other basic commands they may need later on. This will also enhance your control, increasing the likelihood they will follow your instructions.

Practice having people approach the house or area you want the dog to protect. Draw their attention by pointing, whispering and getting animated. As soon as the dog barks, reward them with a treat. Do this each time and they will soon get into the habit of defending against strangers.

It is important you do not use punishment during training. This may only make your dog aggressive and then potentially dangerous. Labrador retrievers respond best to positive reinforcement.

Secure your Labrador Retriever to a leash and walk them around the perimeter of the area you want them to protect. Do this each morning and any space within the area will soon begin to feel like their territory, which they will naturally want to defend.

Go for the same walk again each evening. Remain calm and quiet as you go, you want your Lab to concentrate. This perimeter training can start proving successful in a matter of weeks.

Whenever a stranger approaches the door, encourage the dog to go over. You can point, whisper and do everything you can to get them worked up. It may be time-consuming to start with, but be patient, they will eventually bark.

A clicker is a fanatic way to communicate with your Labrador Retriever. Simply click whenever they follow an instruction correctly or display the right behavior and you will have a brilliant way to speed up the learning process.

As soon as your Labrador Retriever barks, click and then swiftly hand over a treat and give them lots of praise. Make sure they get the treat within three seconds of barking, otherwise they may not associate the action with the reward.

Spend a couple of days closely watching your Labrador Retriever. You’re looking for any situations which trigger a bark. You’re going to use these situations to teach them to bark on command. When they are about to be fed or taken out for a walk are common triggers.

Now place your Labrador Retriever in one of these situations and issue a ‘bark’ command just before or as they start to bark. Give it only once and use a playful tone. Dogs respond best when they think they are playing a game.

As soon as the dog does indeed bark, be sure to give them a tasty treat or play with a toy for a minute. You can also give out some verbal praise. The happier they feel, the more likely it is they will repeat the behavior.

Spend a few minutes each day practicing the ‘bark’ command. Then have someone the dog does not know too well knock on the door. Once they have done that, point at the door and instruct the dog to bark.

Have the person shout and then run away. It’s important the Lab knows they need to bark until they hear someone flee. You can then hand over a tasty reward. Now simply practice this a few times each week. Before you know it they will naturally bark at any stranger that approaches.