Any one else got a puppy? little advice maybe

We had to buy our Labs their own kiddie pool since them dashing in with the kidlets in their puddle pool wasn't going over all that well ("Mom! Shadow's hogging all the water again! Mom! Maggie's claws just burst our pool again!"). I used to watch for those big old hard plastic pools at yard sales. They make great Labrador belly cooling pools. :)

One thing I loved with our Labs was a Haltie style head collar for walks rather than a traditional neck collar. Labs tend to be a bit goat like and will quickly eat just about anything they can get into their mouths before you can do much about it. The haltie head collar really helped stop our girls from eating what they shouldn't (and the vet bills that sometimes followed).

Even if you never intend to hunt with Boozer I'd start him soon on with balls or retrieving dummies (called bumpers). Some puppies naturally retrieve very early on and all Labradors love to do what they are bred to do. Our Maggie came to us at 9 weeks old and could do an almost perfect retrieve from day one. Turns out the breeder used to take Maggie's mum and the whole litter of 9 down to the pond on his farm every day. The pups would watch their mother doing water and field retrievals. Nothing cuter than watching a VERY serious little black puppy doing her level best. :) Remember though if you do want a future hunting companion, no games of tug and no chasing the pup with a toy in it's mouth. If you want a good retriever you can't start that sort of thing up or you'll have bad habits to break later.

Oh forgot to say....lots of walks....loads of them...nothing is better for a dog than walking with you. When Boozer is bigger if you have access to a dock or landing on a lake or pond, have fun with the water jumps. Labs are almost always the big winner for pure distance when it comes to flying off into the water. They just love the heck out of it!

leash train as soon as you can! mine was horrified of the leash at first so we took baby steps. it took a couple weeks but she got it down. but i can't imagine how bad it would've been if she was older and more set in her ways!

At 8 weeks old, he's a bit young to be adopted out, but what can ya do?
When my lab was a pup, he was a challenge to train, but I am fortunate, I am a stay at home mom and thus, had all day, every day to work with him.
When I train dogs, be they mine or anyone else's, I only use positive reinforcement training and yes, I do use treats (and a clicker).
I personally find the dog whisperer a pathetic show, but then again I just don't buy into the psychic dog thing. The guy is a dog trainer, period, he doesn't have any special connection with dogs.
Knowing how a dog thinks however, *is* essential in training. You have to know how to think like a dog in order to be able to successfully teach and train a dog.

When I train, I prefer to do so *before* going out for walks or play time as, in my experience, they do not tend to absorb better after getting worn out. :)
Going for a walk or outside for play time should be the "reward" for a job well done in training, not vice versa.
Also, one thing to keep in mind, until your pup has had all of his vacs, do NOT take him out for socialization with other animals; walk him in your yard. Someone mentioned leash training, yes, start that now. Make it no big deal. Lay the leash on the floor in front of the pup, let him check it out, play with it, chew on it (a little bit), etc. Pet him, let him know he's a good dog, then just pick up the leash without fan fair and clip it to his collar. If he backs up, reassure him and immediately once the leash is on, reward him with praise and a small, easy to chew treat (you'll get the idea by the end of this post that one of your pockets is going to have to have treats in it at all times ;). Take him outside, *on lead* every time when you want him to do his business and take him to ONE place... every time. It will be by far better and easier for you and your dog if he learns now, to eliminate in one area rather than all over, anywhere he chooses. Do NOT take him for walks for the purpose of eliminating. He needs to eliminate FIRST, then take him for a walk and let him sniff and explore. The walk should be part of the "reward" for "going potty" when asked to do so. Also, immediately after he does his business, make sure to reward him with praise and a small treat so he gets the idea that squatting or hiking his leg by the old oak is a good thing to do every time you say "potty" or whatever your command word is. Yes, you can train a dog to "go" on command. ;) A common mistake made in dog training is to take the dog out and off the property for the purpose of eliminating then, once he's done his business, the walk is over and home we go and what happens.... the dog does not want to go home, he wants to explore.....well, duhh! Of course he does, he didn't get the chance because he was too busy looking for a place to hike his leg. What eventually ends up happening is, the dog will wait longer and longer to eliminate on a walk just so he *can* have that walk then a 10 or 15 minute walk turns into an aggravating one hour walk, begging and pleading with the dog to just "poop already!!!!"
So, potty first, then walk.

House breaking should be the first "command" you teach him before anything else. As far as basic obiedence, start with "sit" and *only* work on "sit" until he has it down. Do not confuse him by trying to teach him "sit" and "down" in the same day. When he has "sit" down real well, then start working with him on "stay", then "down", then "come", etc.. When you do work with him on obiedence, only do so for 15 minutes max. at a time. Make sure that when you are working with him that you are in a quiet place with little or no distractions and *don't* have an "audience" there watching him. Just dog and trainer at first. Always reward *immediately* after he does what you want him to do. Do not repeat "sit" more than once. If he doesn't get it, don't repeat it and *don't* push his butt down to "show" him how to sit. Make certain you are standing or at least at an angle where he has to look up in order to see your face. Take the treat that is in your hand and hold it up against your chest where he can see it. He *will* be looking for that treat. When he looks up in your direction to get that treat in view, the butt automatically heads toward the floor. As soon as his butt touches the floor, say "sit, good boy" and give him the treat. Do not expect him to "stay" at first, that comes later on and do not make him stay in a "sit" for more than a second until he has it down clear what "sit" means.

Training is easy, but most people who home train do not know the "tricks, tools and cues" to make that training more effective and less time consuming.

Oh, and a bit of a no brainer; labs are scent hounds and chow hounds. Keep the trash and food out of reach and if you *don't* want him doing something "cute" when he's all grown up, DON"T let him do it now.

Example, if you don't want a bed or couch buddy when he's big enough to boot you out of your own bed or recliner, don't let him on the furniture now.
I personally am of the opinion that allowing such behavior is fool hearty anyway because it confuses the dog.
The human (you) are suppose to be the "alpha" and he, the dog is supposed to be subordinated under you, NOT your equal and allowing a dog to eat before the humans eat, share and/or take over the furniture is putting the dog equal to his "alpha" and more often than not, causes behavior problems later in the dog's life.... because they get confused.
"Wait, Mom or Dad let me on the bed and to hog their pillow but they won't let me eat off of little Jimmy's dinner plate.... what's up with that? I have just as much authority in this house as mom or dad, after all, I do sleep in the alpha bed and on the alpha couch.....growl, get off my couch, don't push me off so you can sit, growl, snap, I"ll just jump right back up anyway because I'm *equal* to you, thus, I don't have to listen to you if I don't want to...."

Ok, long post, rambling done.