Australian Labradoodles are intelligent, motivated dogs. They love to be active, to learn new things, and to please you and spend time with you. Training is a form of mental stimulation for your puppy that helps keep his brain as fit as his muscles, and will help him to know how to behave and to stay out of trouble. It will help to establish you as the leader of the pack and the person your puppy looks to for guidance. It’s about learning proper dog etiquette that will ensure other people enjoy your dog as much as you do.

Training your puppy can be a lot of fun – for you and your dog! There are many different approaches. If you’ve never done any dog training before, there are many dog schools that offer a variety of courses, from puppy kindergarten (a good place to start) to advanced obedience classes as well as agility – a great sport that the energetic, limber Australian Labradoodle is well suited for.

To begin training, all you need is some small, preferably soft treats. You can buy bags of these at any pet supply store, but they cost a wad of money. You can make your own much more inexpensively by simply buying some beef liver at your local grocery store, boiling it until it is tender, and then chopping it into tiny pieces no more than 6mm (¼”) cubed. Put small quantities of these into snack-sized Ziploc bags and store in the freezer. When you’re ready for a training session, just take one bag out of the freezer and thaw for a minute in the microwave. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge or refrozen. Alternatives to beef liver are chicken liver, cheese, boiled eggs, blueberries, etc. The key is that they should be small.

The goal of training is, ultimately, to have a dog that knows how to behave in different situations and that looks to you for guidance. The way to get there is to provide positive reinforcement, lots of praise, and to set your dog up for success.

Most positive reinforcement trainers use a four-step process involving a command, a marker, a treat, and a release.

• The command can be a word or a hand signal.
• The marker is generally a word that lets the dog know it’s done what you want. It should be short, distinctive, and not something you say often. Some people use “Yes!” said in a particularly enthusiastic tone for their marker. Others use “Good dog!” or something along those lines. Pick the one that works for you. Some people use a clicker as a marker and “load” the clicker by pairing the sound it makes with a treat until the dog gets the idea that the clicking sound is an indicator of approval.
• The treat is just that, a treat, and is paired with the marker so the dog associates that marker with something good (“Yum! Whenever I hear that word I get a treat!”). Eventually you will just use the marker without treating (you don’t want your dog to get fat, after all!).
• The release is generally a word, though it could also be a hand signal. Again, it should be something short and distinctive. You could use Bravo, Done, Finito, or any oddball or nonsense word you can remember and don’t say often (Zoinks, Waffle, Fleabone…)
• The marker, treat, and release are usually always the same, no matter what command is being taught. The command word or signal will of course vary based on what you’re training your dog to do.

The method

1. Give the command, accompanied by a hand signal. Often the treat is in the hand that gives the signal and is used in a way that helps the dog to do what is expected.
2. When the dog follows the command, say the marker word and give the treat, pretty much simultaneously.
3. Give the release word to indicate the command is done. Initially you will not really need to use the release word as the whole process is done in a matter of a few seconds. But as your dog starts following commands that he is supposed to hold for several seconds (such as stay or wait), the release word will become important as a way to release the dog from that particular pose or command.

SIT

1. Hold the treat in your hand.
2. Give the command (“Sit!”) while moving the treat towards the dog’s nose and above its head.
3. As the dog follows the treat with its nose, it will sit.
4. Mark the behaviour (“Yes!”) and give the dog the treat.
5. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”)

WATCH ME

1. Hold the treat in your hand.
2. Give the command (“Watch me!”) while holding the treat in front of your nose. If the dog doesn’t know what to do, hold the treat in front of the dog’s nose and slowly move it towards your face. The dog should follow the treat with its eyes.
3. The instant the dog looks you in the eye, mark the behaviour (“Yes!”) and give the dog the treat. Initially you will mark the behaviour right away; as your dog learns what to do have it hold your gaze for longer periods of time.
4. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”)

DOWN

1. Start with the dog in the Sit position. Hold the treat in your hand.
2. Give the command (“Down!” or “Lie down!”) while moving the treat down to a position in between the dog’s front paws.
3. The dog should look down towards the treat and then lower its front end to try to get at the treat. If the dog’s hindquarters are still “upright” in a position where it could easily spring up, move the treat to one side to get the dog’s rear end to roll a bit onto its hips.
4. Once the dog is positioned property, with rear end lying on hips and forepaws stretched out in front, mark the behaviour (“Yes!”) and give the dog the treat.
5. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”)

LEAVE IT

1. The first version is useful to train a dog not to eat things off the ground. Place a treat on the floor near the dog’s head. (Have another one ready in your hand.) The dog is likely to lean down to try to eat the treat off the floor. 
2. Quickly cover the treat with your foot while giving the command (“Leave it!”).
3. The dog should pull its head back and may look at you questioningly. Mark the behaviour (“Yes!”) and give the dog the treat from your hand with the command “Take it!”
4. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”) Don’t forget to pick the treat up off the floor!
5. A second version of “Leave it!” trains the dog not to take things from your hand without permission. Hold a treat in your hand and hold it in front of the dog’s face.
6. The dog will reach toward the treat to eat it from your hand. Say “Leave it!” while closing your fingers over the treat.
7. Once the dog looks up at you, mark the behaviour with a “Yes!” then open your hand and say “Take it!” Let the dog eat the treat.
8. Eventually, you should find your dog not instantly reaching to eat a treat from your hand but looking at you for permission first.

DROP IT

1. Play with the dog for a minute with a rope, ball, or other favourite toy. Have a treat ready in your hand.
2. When the dog has the toy in its mouth, move the treat towards the dog’s nose.
3. The dog should drop the toy and reach for the treat. When it does, give the command (“Drop it!”) and let it eat the treat.
4. Eventually, you can move to giving the command “Drop it!” before you give the dog the treat. Once you’re at that stage, mark the behaviour when the dog drops the toy with a “Yes!” and then give the dog the treat.
5. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”)
6. Once that is mastered, work on getting the dog to drop the toy (or whatever is in its mouth) on command, without a treat. Be sure to continue marking with a “Yes!”

STAY

1. Hold the treat in your hand.
2. First put the dog into a “Sit.”
3. Give the command (“Stay!”) while holding the hand without the treat in front of the dog’s face, palm outward (like a cop’s “Stop!” signal).
4. Take a couple of steps backwards. Then move towards the dog again, mark the behaviour (“Yes!”) and give the dog the treat.
5. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”)
6. Initially you just want the dog to stay for a second or two. Gradually you will build it up to half a minute or longer, and walk away from the dog normally rather than backing up.

COME WHEN CALLED

1. This works best with two people. Each person stands at opposite ends of a room, treats in hand.
2. The first person calls “Come!” When the dog comes, mark the behaviour, give it the treat, and praise it.
3. The second person then calls “Come!” and repeats the marking and treating when the dog comes.
4. Alternate with each person calling the dog in turn, making a bit of a game out of it.
5. Eventually you will want to work on the dog coming to you whenever you call it.
6. You should ALWAYS give a treat when the dog comes when called. You want to be sure your dog will always come to you – it could be crucial on occasion.
7. Before taking your dog to an off-leash dog park, make sure he will come when called. You need to be able to control your dog off-leash, and knowing he will come when you call him is the first and most important step in being able to do so.
8. If your dog refuses to come when you call him, DO NOT CHASE AFTER IT. To the dog, this simply looks like a fun game of tag. Instead, start walking or running away from him and he is likely to want to chase you. If that doesn’t work, lie down on the ground (if you can) – he is sure to come investigate this unusual behaviour!

COME with SIT

1. Hold the treat in your hand.
2. Call the dog to you (“Come!”). When the dog gets close, give it the “Sit!” command.
3. Once the dog sits, mark the behaviour (“Yes!”) and give the dog the treat.
4. Give the release word. (“Bravo!”)
5. As with “Come when called,” you can start by having two people at opposite ends of the room doing Come with sit, and then progress to just one person calling the dog from wherever it happens to be.

Loose leash walking

1. The goal of Loose leash walking is to be able to take your dog out on a relaxing walk without the dog straining at the leash all the time. This is something you will be working on throughout the dog’s life. Some dogs are more inclined to stay close to their masters and some always want to run around, sniff and play. If you practice Loose leash walking on a regular basis, it will become easier and easier.
2. For Loose leash walking you don’t need to treat the dog unless you want to. You can practice indoors or out, but be sure not to do it just inside the house. You need to make this a “real world” behaviour that the dog does when out on walks with you.
3. Put the dog on a 6’ leash. This is long enough to give the dog some freedom to move about and sniff, while being short enough that you can control the dog.
4. Start walking. As soon as the dog goes ahead and the leash becomes taut, stop and call the dog back to you. When it comes (or eases up on the leash), praise it (“Good dog!”) and start walking again.
5. Keep doing this, stopping every time the dog starts to pull and starting again only when the dog eases up or returns to you. You might only get halfway down the block in half an hour the first few times, but after a while, the dog will begin to get the idea that when he pulls, the walk stops, and when he eases up, he can start walking again.
6. Some situations simply do not lend themselves to trying Loose leash walking. When Amore goes out for a walk with me and the kids, there is absolutely no point trying to get her to loose leash walk with me – she just wants to be ahead with the kids, running with them. So I don’t bother trying. But when it’s just me and her, she does quite well at not pulling.
7. You will begin to know your dog’s favourite sniffing spots and peeing places. When you get to these places, give the dog some leeway and let them be a dog. When you’re ready to walk on to the next spot, enforce the behaviour again.

Greeting people and other dogs

1. Lots of dogs jump when greeting people – whether it’s you, their favourite person, or visitors. While this might be cute with puppies or small dogs, it ceases to be so as the dog gets older (and can be quite frightening for small children).
2. Proper dog etiquette requires the dog to be sitting to greet people, and even before greeting other dogs. Begin by enforcing a “Sit!” when you return from work or outings before you will give the dog any (other) attention. If the dog jumps up on you, turn your back and ignore it. Only turn back once the dog is sitting. (You need to have a dog that sits on command before you can do this!)
3. Also practice getting the dog to sit before greeting visitors. When you have visitors coming, you might want to tell them in advance not to greet your puppy until it is sitting. Then make sure you get the dog to sit before opening the door (you might want to warn your visitors of this before they arrive, so they don’t wonder why you’re leaving them outside so long!)
4. When you’re out on walks and someone asks if they can greet your dog, tell them they can do so once the dog is sitting.
5. Similarly, work on getting your dog to sit before you will let it greet another dog you might come across when you’re out on your walks.

Once you have trained your dog in all these behaviours, you will have a well-behaved pet who knows what is expected of him in various situations and that you can trust to listen to you (most of the time) and look to you for cues.

Good luck and happy training!