Labrador Retrievers pull because they're enthusiastic, forward-moving dogs built to cover ground. Walking slowly beside you on a loose lead is unnatural for them. They want to investigate, greet people, and move quickly. Adolescent Labradors pull even more as impulse control deteriorates and physical strength increases.

What works: reward-based loose-lead training combined with management. This means practising in low-distraction environments where success is possible (your street, quiet parks), rewarding every moment of slack lead, and using tools like long lines or front-clip harnesses during adolescence when pulling is worst. Harnesses help mechanically but don't teach the skill. You still need to train the behaviour.

What doesn't work: check chains, slip leads, or any aversive tool. Despite seeming robust, Labradors are soft dogs. Punishment-based lead training creates anxiety, damages trust, and often makes pulling worse because the dog becomes more aroused and reactive on walks.

Timescale: expect 6-12 months to build reliable loose-lead walking, with significant regression during adolescence (6-18 months). This isn't fast, but it's realistic for a high-energy gundog breed.

Labradors jump because they're enthusiastic greeters. They're bred to be social, friendly, and demonstrative. Jumping is how they express excitement and try to reach faces. It intensifies during adolescence when impulse control fails and physical strength increases.

Jumping isn't dominance or lack of respect. It's excitement overwhelming impulse control in a young, socially motivated dog.

What works: teach an incompatible behaviour (sit for greeting), reward four-on-the-floor heavily, manage the environment so jumping isn't rehearsed (keep the dog on lead during greetings, use baby gates), and remove attention when jumping occurs (turn away, withdraw). Consistency is essential — if jumping sometimes gets attention, it will continue.

What doesn't work: kneeing the dog in the chest (causes injury and anxiety), shouting (provides attention), or assuming the dog will "grow out of it" without training. They won't. Labradors can jump enthusiastically at three years old if it's never been addressed.

Labradors have strong retrieving instincts. They were bred to carry game birds in their mouths without damaging them. Soft mouth, high mouth use — it's genetic. Puppies explore the world through mouthing. Adolescent Labradors mouth during play. Adult Labradors often carry objects compulsively.

Mouthing intensifies during teething (3-7 months) and when the dog is overstimulated or under-exercised. It's not aggression. It's how the breed interacts with the world.

What works: redirect to appropriate items (toys, chews), reward calm behaviour, provide teething relief (frozen carrots, appropriate chew toys), and manage arousal (overstimulated dogs mouth more). Teaching "drop" and "leave it" is essential. Time also helps — most Labradors mature out of excessive mouthing by 12-18 months, though some continue carrying objects for life.

What doesn't work: punishing the dog for mouthing (creates anxiety without addressing the drive), removing all objects (frustration increases), or assuming it's dominance or aggression. It's neither. It's genetic mouth use in a retriever breed.

Labrador Retrievers typically need around 60–90 minutes of exercise daily, split across multiple sessions. But exercise alone doesn’t manage energy — the type of activity matters. Labradors need mental work (scent games, training, puzzle toys, retrieving) as much as physical exercise. Long, repetitive walks with little engagement often leave them mentally under-stimulated rather than settled.

What works: off-lead running where safe, retrieve games, swimming, scent work, and regular training sessions. Swimming is particularly good for Labradors — many love water, and it provides effective exercise with lower joint impact. Variety matters; repeating the same walk every day quickly loses mental value.

What doesn’t work: assuming more exercise solves everything. Over-exercised Labradors simply become fitter and harder to tire. Under-stimulated Labradors are more likely to become destructive, jump up, and bark excessively. Balance is essential — physical exercise, mental challenge, and learning to settle all matter.

In Brighton, Stanmer Park and Wild Park offer good space for varied walks and off-lead work where appropriate. The beaches can be excellent for exercise and swimming, but monitor saltwater intake, rinse after swimming, and be mindful of tides, other dogs, and seasonal restrictions.

Labrador Retrievers are naturally good-natured with children and typically tolerate rough handling better than sensitive breeds. Their stable temperament, patience, and genuine affection for family members make them popular family dogs. However, their physical size, strength, and social enthusiasm create management challenges that are frequently underestimated.

The primary issue isn't aggression or fear — it's uncontrolled exuberance. Labs are physically powerful dogs who jump, pull, and use their body weight enthusiastically. A jumping Lab can easily knock over a toddler, and their strength means they can drag children who are walking them. This isn't malicious; it's a consequence of breeding dogs for physical work without simultaneously selecting for calmness around children.

Movement triggers chase behaviour. Children running, playing, or making sudden movements often activate the Lab's natural chase and retrieve instincts. This manifests as jumping, mouthing, and persistent following — behaviour that children find frightening even when the dog intends play. Labs who aren't taught boundaries around children often become increasingly pushy, using physical contact to demand attention.

Mouthing is a particular concern. Labs were bred to carry game birds in their mouths, and puppies explore constantly through mouthing. While Lab bites rarely cause serious injury due to soft-mouth genetics, the frequency and persistence of mouthing can be overwhelming for children who don't understand it's exploratory rather than aggressive.

What works: Teach impulse control and calm behaviour before the puppy becomes physically overwhelming (by 6 months, they weigh 25-30kg). Train the dog to settle on a mat rather than constantly seeking interaction. Teach children to remain calm and still rather than encouraging excited play. Supervise all interactions — Labs' persistence means they don't naturally disengage from children.

What doesn't work: Relying on the breed's good nature without training boundaries. Allowing excited play that rehearses jumping and mouthing. Assuming the dog will "grow out of" exuberant behaviour (without training, they often don't). Using punishment for enthusiasm, which increases frustration and can trigger resource guarding or defensive behaviour.

For families committed to managing physical strength and teaching boundaries early, Labs are excellent. For families wanting a naturally calm, self-regulating dog, consider a breed with lower social drive and physical power.

Not necessarily. Labradors are food-motivated and eager to please, which makes recall easier than in scent-driven breeds like Spaniels. However, their friendliness creates different challenges. A Labrador often ignores recall not because they're following a scent trail but because they want to greet another dog or person.

Recall failures are common in adolescence when impulse control is offline and social motivations intensify. The recall that worked at four months stops working at eight months when there's a friendly dog across the park.

What works: build recall systematically in low-distraction environments first. Use a long line during adolescence and in high-distraction areas. Make yourself intensely rewarding (high-value treats, play, running away to trigger chase drive). Practise recall before the dog is fully engaged in greeting someone. Accept that perfect recall around other dogs takes time.

What doesn't work: punishment for recall failure (the dog learns coming to you predicts bad things), calling repeatedly when you know they won't respond (weakens the cue), or expecting reliable off-lead recall around other dogs without extensive training.

Realistic expectation: solid recall in familiar, low-distraction environments by 12-18 months. Variable recall around high-value social distractions for longer. This improves with maturity — adult Labradors typically have better recall than adolescents.

Labrador Retrievers are highly people-oriented dogs. They were bred to work closely with humans, which means they often dislike being left alone — but that doesn’t automatically mean separation anxiety.

True separation anxiety is less common than many owners think. In Labradors, destruction is often caused by food motivation, boredom, or poor impulse control rather than panic. Bin-raiding, counter-surfing, and chewing frequently begin the moment supervision disappears and stop when food access is managed — this is not anxiety.

That said, Labs still benefit from learning independence early. Alone time should be introduced gradually and treated as a normal part of daily life, not something dramatic or emotionally charged.

What helps:

• Building alone time from puppyhood rather than constant togetherness

• Neutral departures and arrivals

• Exercise before alone periods

• Food-based enrichment (frozen Kongs, puzzle feeders), which suits the breed well

• Managing the environment so food is inaccessible

• What doesn’t help:

• Punishing behaviour that happened while the dog was alone

• Emotional goodbyes

• Assuming another dog will solve the problem

• Restricting food to prevent scavenging

If a Labrador settles when food is secured and shows no signs of distress, the issue is management, not separation anxiety. Signs of genuine anxiety include panic behaviours such as escape attempts, prolonged distress, or house soiling and should be addressed with professional support.

Most Labradors can learn to cope well with being alone when independence is taught sensibly and food-driven behaviour is managed appropriately.

Labrador Retrievers are among the most trainable breeds in existence when "trainable" means learning and performing behaviours for food rewards. Their extreme food motivation, handler focus, and cooperative nature make teaching cues straightforward. In controlled training environments, Labs excel — they learn quickly, work enthusiastically, and generalise behaviours reliably.

However, "easy to train" and "easy to live with" are different things. Labs are physically powerful dogs with intense social drive, significant stamina, and extended adolescence. Teaching a Lab to sit is easy. Teaching them not to drag you toward every dog and person, not to jump on visitors, not to pull relentlessly on lead, and not to raid bins requires managing physical power and social enthusiasm that persist despite training. The behaviours are easy to teach; maintaining them against competing motivations is hard.

Impulse control is the real training challenge. Labs want everything — food, social contact, movement, play — and they want it immediately. Building the capacity to wait, to disengage, and to regulate their own arousal takes substantial time and doesn't come naturally. During adolescence (6-18 months, sometimes extending to 24 months), impulse control deteriorates significantly, and previously reliable behaviours fall apart. This extended immaturity is one reason Labs are overrepresented in rescue despite being "easy to train."

Food motivation creates both advantages and complications. Labs will work for food in ways less motivated breeds won't, but their food obsession also drives counter-surfing, bin-raiding, and persistent begging. Training competes with environmental rewards that are often more valuable than anything you're offering.

Social drive shapes training outcomes. Labs often ignore recall not because they don't understand it, but because greeting another dog or person is more rewarding than returning to the handler. Their friendliness isn't easily controlled through training — it's a core characteristic of the breed. You can manage it, but you can't train it out.

Physical strength matters throughout training. A 30kg Lab pulling on lead requires significant handler strength and skill to manage. Training loose-lead walking takes months, and during adolescence, progress often regresses completely. The combination of power, enthusiasm, and poor impulse control during the teenage phase is why many owners struggle despite the breed's trainability.

If "easy to train" means teaching behaviours quickly in training contexts — yes, Labs are easy. If it means getting a naturally well-behaved dog without substantial training input — no. Labs need consistent, structured training throughout adolescence and often into adulthood. The reputation for being "easy" contributes to abandonment rates when reality doesn't match expectations.

Adult Labrador Retrievers typically need around 60–90 minutes of daily exercise, split across two or three sessions. Working-line Labs often need more than show-line dogs, but individual variation is wide. Weight management matters: Labs are prone to obesity, and excess weight quickly reduces what they can safely do.

Labs were bred as close-working retrievers, built for steady activity alongside people rather than extreme endurance. They’re happiest when exercise includes retrieving, carrying, or problem-solving, not just walking.

Swimming is particularly well suited to the breed. Most Labs love water, and it provides effective, low-impact exercise without stressing joints. Mental work is just as important: food-based enrichment, training, scent games with food rewards, and retrieve-style activities help Labs settle far better than physical exercise alone.

Puppies and adolescents need careful management. Avoid repetitive, high-impact exercise such as ball throwing, jumping, or long road walks until growth is complete (around 12–18 months). Adolescence in Labs often lasts until 18–24 months; increasing exercise volume during this phase tends to build fitness rather than calmness.

Under-exercised Labs become jumpy, destructive, and unsettled. Over-exercised Labs become super-fit and harder to tire. The goal is balance: moderate, varied physical exercise, plenty of mental engagement, and teaching the dog to settle between sessions.

Labradors are genetically programmed for extreme food motivation. It's what made them excellent retrievers — they'd work for food rewards in harsh conditions. But it also makes them scavengers. They eat food, non-food, things that smell like food, and things that don't smell like food.

This behaviour peaks during adolescence when impulse control is offline. It's dangerous — Labradors require surgery for foreign body obstruction more than most breeds.

What works: management (keep food out of reach, use baby gates, supervise closely), teach "leave it" and "drop" reliably, provide appropriate chewing outlets (Kongs, safe chews), and feed appropriately (many Labradors are overfed, which doesn't reduce scavenging and creates obesity).

What doesn't work: punishment after the fact (the dog doesn't connect it to eating the item), free-feeding (creates food obsession in this breed), or assuming they'll grow out of it. Some do. Many don't. Management is essential for life in many Labradors.

Labrador Retrievers are generally non-aggressive. They're famously friendly, tolerant, and social. However, poor breeding, inadequate socialisation, or chronic stress can create defensive behaviour in any breed.

Most aggression seen in Labradors is fear-based or resource guarding. They're soft dogs despite their size. When frightened, overwhelmed, cornered or in pain, they may snap defensively. This isn't breed aggression — it's a normal stress response poorly managed.

Resource guarding — protecting food, toys, or resting places — is common in Labradors because of their extreme food motivation. When addressed early and handled with modern training methods, it's very manageable. Punishing resource guarding makes it worse. The dog learns that people approaching valuable items predict confrontation, so they guard more intensely.

Pain-related aggression is also possible. Labradors have high pain tolerance and often don't show obvious signs of injury. A dog snapping when touched might have hip dysplasia, ear infection, or other painful condition. Veterinary assessment is essential before assuming behavioural causes.

If your Labrador shows aggression, consult a qualified behaviourist. The vast majority of cases are treatable with the right approach.

Socialisation starts as soon as your Labrador puppy comes home, with the key window running from roughly 3 to 16 weeks. Socialisation isn’t the same as socialising. Socialisation is learning that the world is safe; socialising is direct interaction. Labradors need both, but calm exposure matters more than constant greetings.

Between around 8 and 12 weeks puppies accept novelty most easily, with the period up to 16 weeks still critical. Labradors are often described as “bombproof,” but that confidence is learned, not automatic. Labs who miss out on positive early exposure can still develop fear or uncertainty later on, despite their friendly reputation.

For Labradors, priorities include exposure to a wide range of people and appearances, everyday environments, routine handling, and calm behaviour around other dogs. Because Labs are highly social and enthusiastic, learning neutrality — that people and dogs don’t always require interaction — is just as important as positive contact.

How exposure is handled matters. Let your puppy observe from a comfortable distance, reward calm behaviour, and build gradually. Avoid overwhelming situations or forced interactions, which can undermine confidence rather than build it.

Keep sessions short, positive, and varied. A few minutes of good exposure is far more valuable than a long, overstimulating outing.

For a detailed, step-by-step guide to getting puppy socialisation right during this critical stage, check out my blog post on socialisation

Positive reinforcement. Reward-based training that builds on what the dog offers naturally: enthusiasm, food motivation, desire to please. Labradors are soft dogs despite their size. They shut down under pressure, become anxious with repeated corrections, and lose confidence if training is harsh.

Force-free training works because it channels the dog's retrieving drive and enthusiasm into cooperation. You're not suppressing genetic behaviour through punishment — you're redirecting it into behaviours you want. The dog remains confident, engaged, and trusting.

Consistency matters. Labrador Retrievers generalise well once a behaviour is established, but inconsistent training confuses them. If recall sometimes means "come immediately" and sometimes means "come when you feel like it," the cue loses meaning. Clear, consistent expectations help them learn faster.

If you're in Brighton and want professional help, my puppy training or teenage dog training programmes can provide structured guidance tailored to your Labrador's developmental stage.

Impulse control around food. Labradors are hardwired for extreme food motivation. Training impulse control — waiting for meals, ignoring dropped food, not counter-surfing — takes consistent work. This is the single biggest training challenge in the breed.

Physical enthusiasm. Labradors are strong, excitable dogs. Jumping, pulling, mouthing, and barging are common. Managing physical behaviour while maintaining a positive relationship requires structured training and management.

Extended adolescence. Labrador adolescence lasts longer than many breeds — expect regression until 18-24 months. Behaviours fall apart, impulse control disappears, and the friendly puppy becomes a challenging teenager. Patience is essential.

Social drive overwhelming recall. Labradors want to greet everyone. Training recall to compete with social motivation takes time and management.

These challenges don't make Labradors untrainable. They mean training requires understanding of genetic drives, appropriate methods, and realistic timescales. Work with the breed's wiring, not against it.