Hey guys, im fixin to get a new Chocolate lab. Male. When is the best time to start training them? and how? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

No formal training until 6 months or so. Meaning no lead work as the mussles in their neck are still developing. The first 6 months is when you address house breaking and kennel training. Whatever you do dont worry about making the pup steady or "stay". You wanna bring out all the desire to retrieve you can, then in formal training you can introduce steadyness. Throw socks or wings and quit before the pup does - meaning leave him wanting more. One day throw something twice for him and put him up, the next maybe 4 time, then just once. Dont make it seem like work or a job. You want it all to be fun. Good luck and congrats!!

Sweet thanks for the info. Greatly appreciated

X2 with gatorpoint

No pro here but I agee in waiting a good six month for formal training.
IMO nothing is more important in training you pup than the bond you create wit him while he is young.

There are plenty of things you can do with puppies prior to 6 months. My field trial dogs are doing plenty and are fairly obedient before it's time for formal basics. First thing that needs to be done is crate training, it is the easiest way I know of to housebreak and to also just make them cleaner dog on road trips and also in an outdoor kennel if you go that route. Socialization is VERY important, expose the pup to as many different people, places and animals as possible (vaccinated) so the dog learns to be well rounded and comfortable going from one place to another. Also do basic obedience as fun. You can teach them to sit and here on both verbal and whistle commands using treats and no pressure. You want to instill a desire for "learning how to learn" before they go through formal obedience. My puppies do learn restraints and are molded into good citizens before formal obedience (6-8 months), if they are to live with me, they will learn to be well mannered from an early age. Find a training partner to throw marks for the puppy, hand throwing them now is fine but your goal is for the dog to be looking out into the field for birds, not at you. Throw white bumpers on short, soccer-type fields so the puppy is successful and learns to use his eyes to get to the area of the fall. Later on as the puppy matures and gets confident in his marking ability will you begin to increase the distance and difficulity. There are a bunch of other things that would take me all day to explain, the best advice I can give is to tell you to seek out a retriever club, either Field Trial or Hunt Test/Gun Dog. There are also books and videos out there but I find all of them to lack the amount of depth that training involves, especially during basics. JMO, but you will be missing out on lots of opportunity and advancement if you just wait until 6 months. Good luck.

I taught my guy a lot before he went to duck college for formal training. Crate trained, house broke, general good manners, sit, come, gentle heel work, etc. He got a little pressure but he is pretty hard headed and thinks he might be the alpha.

One thing I taught him that I will do with any other dog I have is not to cross transitions unless told. By transitions, I mean carpet to tile, doorways, porches, grass to concrete, etc. It makes walking out the front door so much easier. The pup wants to follow you so as you go from room to room, tell him no at the doorways and make him stay for just a few seconds than tell him it is OK to come. You can use short barriers to make the transitions more apparent. I use the same commands as the crate. Open the door and say no with a flat hand to stay in. "Kennel" to get in from outside and "out" to get out. Now at five years old I must remember to tell him it is OK to follow me outside and get off the porch.

Something I had fun with was letting him hunt high grass with his nose using slices of hot dog. He sure did learn the hunt command fast.

IAM LOOKING FOR A BLACK FEMALE LAB, WITH A GOOD BLOOD LINE IF ANY ONE KNOWS OF SOMEONE THAT HAS SOME PUPPIES ARE STARTER DOG PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Guy Anderson at Anderson Kennels has a started female, I think. Look at his website for his contact info.

MY PRICE RANGE IS ABOUT 300 TO 700 IT DEPENTS ON THE BACK GROUND OF THE DOGS BLOOD LINE. THANKS GUYS

Training begins the day you bring the puppy home.