Best Friend

You can begin some elementary retrieving exercises at eight weeks or so, and your Labrador will most likely love the game and look forward to it each day. To teach the basic mechanics of the fetch (run out, pick up the object, return the object to the master, and release), begin by placing the puppy on a 10-foot lead. Take a favorite toy or a ball large enough not to be swallowed, dangle it in front and above the dog's head to gain its attention, and toss it 5 to 6 feet in front of you. Precede your command with your dog's name. For example, say, "Jake, fetch!" As he races for the toy, follow behind him. Make sure the lead stays loose and does not snap shut and frighten or hurt him (and perhaps permanently sour him on retrieving).

If he picks up the toy, praise him encouragingly. Should he merely eye or paw the toy, make him pick it up by shaking it in front of him, repeating "Jake, fetch!" Once he has grasped the toy, walk backwards to your beginning spot. Coax him to follow you by motioning him toward you using your hands and fingers. When he arrives back, get the toy from his mouth by commanding "Out!" and gently pulling it loose. Now is the time to give him a lot of praise and affection - not during the exercise, although encouragement can be helpful.

At such a young age, the emphasis in this and all types of exercise is on fun, not on performance. Improvement in response should naturally come with familiarity. As the puppy masters the game, vary it. Keep the dog guessing. Try to remain in position and not move out toward the toy. Later, you can attach a longer lead and extend the distance of your throw, or throw the toy sideways. Any Labrador retriever worth its name will take easily and eagerly to this game.

It is recommended that you play with the puppy often and consciously make an effort to get down to its level. Standing upright, humans can be quite an imposing sight for a puppy. Sitting or lying on the floor, they are no longer towers but friendly companions. Giving a puppy some eye-to-eye attention will go a long way in cementing the human-dog bond.

Because Labrador retrievers make good swimmers as adults, some misinformed people think this gives them the liberty to dunk young puppies into any available pool of water. A Labrador is a natural swimmer, but the dog needs to learn the fundamentals before being expected to feel at ease in the water. When a puppy's first exposure to the water is being thrown or forced in, the shock may make it dislike and fear the water throughout life. Many potential field dogs have been ruined by improper or overzealous training.

The first introduction to the water can begin while a puppy is quite young (three months is a good age). A puppy should be able to master the mechanics very quickly, especially if "shown
the ropes" by some older dogs. The owner should always be nearby, should trouble arise. It often helps the dog feel at ease if the owner wades into the water with it on the first dip.

Ponds or lakes, with their easy entries, are best for training water dogs. The slick tiles and steep sides of a pool are often unmanageable for the dog, and many drownings have occurred when an exhausted dog was unable to climb out of the water. Similarly, a young puppy is not strong enough to manage a rough ocean surf, but should be encouraged to play
along the shoreline in a sheltered area of shallow water.

Socialization and training your Dalmatian puppy need to start the very day of his arrival in your home. You should not address him without calling him by his name. A short, simple name is the easiest to teach because it catches the puppy's attention quickly, so avoid giving him elaborate names. Always address the pup by the same name, not a whole series of pet names because the latter will only confuse your puppy. Say his name clearly, and call him over to you when you see him awake and wandering about. When he comes, make a big fuss over him for being such a good dog. He will then quickly associate the sound of his name with coming to you and a pleasant experience.

It is not too soon to start familiarizing him to the feel of a light collar, which can start as early as several hours after his arrival. Chances are he may hardly notice it or he may struggle, roll over, and try to rub it off his neck with his paws. You can divert his attention when this happens by offering a tasty treat, a toy, or by petting him. Before long he will accept the strange feeling around his neck and will no longer be aware of it.

Next is the lead; attach it and then immediately take the puppy outside or try to redirect his attention with things to see and sniff. He may struggle against the lead at first, biting at it and trying to free himself. Do not pull him with it at this point; just hold the end loosely and try to follow him if he starts off in any direction. Normally his attention will soon turn to investigating his surroundings if he is outside or if is taken into an unfamiliar room in your house; curiosity will take over and he will become interested in sniffing around the surroundings. Just follow him with the lead slackly held until he seems to have completely forgotten about it; and then try to get him to follow you.

Do not be rough or jerk at him; just tug gently on the lead in short quick motions, repeating his name or trying to get him to follow your hand while holding a bite of food or a favorite toy. If you have an older lead-trained dog, then it should be easier to get your Dalmatian puppy to follow along after him. In any case, the average puppy learns quite quickly and will soon be walking along nicely on the lead.

Standing back row left to right – number two is Ex Notts Sergeant Beeney MOLLER one of the instructors,     In the centre is Inspr. Jack Howells.        The seventh man is another course instructor Constable Derek Smith (Staffs)     Front row  left to right first man in is Peter Hallam with Police Dog Blue.  

Once more, thanks to Don and Peter Hallam for this photo.

At a quick glance, it seems that a dog takes many repetitions to grasp a lesson. According to �dogma�, a dog has to practice a behavior many times until the lesson seeps into his limited mind. Then, once a lesson is mastered, it becomes so ingrained in the dog's brain that it becomes a habit. That dogs require repetition to learn from an experience is particularly noticeable when we are trying to train the dog to do something that isn't natural for him, such as walking nicely on a lead in an area full of interesting sights, sounds, and smells. It would seem that this exercise is difficult for a dog to learn and would require many practice sessions for it to become a reliable habit.

Therefore, traditional thinking holds that it's best to start practicing the lesson with puppies before they might have the opportunity to practice the undesirable habit of pulling hard on the lead and also while they're small and easy to out-muscle.

A clue that repetition, while part of learning, isn't fundamental to learning is revealed by other observations that people commonly make that contradict this traditional premise. For example, we don't think of ball playing as something mastered through repetition. It looks like the dog is having fun, and that seems a sufficient explanation. The first time the owner attracted his dog's attention to the ball and rolled it away, the dog immediately chased it, grabbed it, and then carried it around proudly. The lesson took one repetition and had a permanent effect for the rest of the dog's life.

This pure example of learning shows us the formula at the core of the process. If an activity is natural, the dog gets it immediately without the need for repetition. And, since the most natural activities involve the prey instinct, we find the best examples of quick learning in this regard. In ball playing, what determines each individual dog's enthusiasm and rate of progress is how much prey value he invests in the ball. That some dogs may take longer to build an attraction to the ball is not due to a need for repetition, but because the prey instinct isn't yet turned on. Through repetition, as the dog grabs the ball, his sensitivity to its novelty or his owner's influence starts to relax until drive starts to flow into prey making. Once uninhibited, the ball no longer has a being to which the dog needs to appeal for access, which initially thwarted his drive to chase and bite it.

A habit is like a riverbed: The stronger the flow that courses through it, the deeper the bed is carved, and the more water it will be able to channel. When the full current rushes through the organism, a completely mature behavior emerges as if learned. In truth, the lesson was gained in the first instant of making contact through the prey instinct, no matter how feeble the first trickle. It just took time for the pathway to be scoured deeply enough in the dog's brain and body to handle the full load of drive.