Preparing for the teething stage
If you have been following my puppy training program since the beginning, you will have some down time for the next month or so. This is not to mean that you will not be working with your puppy at all, but only means that you will not be adding any new training. For the next month or two, you should continue working on basic obedience. You may also do some hand throws for retrieving, but only if your puppy is not showing any signs of losing his/her baby teeth. If your puppy is teething, do not retrieve with him/her! I will discuss this more later in the post. Here is the training for your 4-month-old Labrador puppy.

Training and socialization for four-month-old Labrador puppy
Here are the things we worked on during the past two weeks while training our pups.
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Working on self-control and restraint
Have you ever been pushed out of the way by a large dog as it rushes to get outside or inside ahead of you? If so, you know its not a great feeling. It fact, it can be downright dangerous, and there is no reason to allow it.
You can start eliminating these future problems by spending time now, teaching your 4-month-old puppy to have self-control and restraint.
There is a vast array of situations that you can use to teach your puppy self-control.
The first and easiest one to teach is sitting before eating. Simply do not give your puppy their food until they SIT calmly. Here are some other opportunities.
- Sitting before getting a leash on and off
- Sitting by door, waiting to go outside or inside, until released from SIT
- Staying in crate or kennel until released, even with door open
All these training opportunities work toward the same thing – self-control. There are probably many more situations that would also apply, use your imagination, and teach your puppy to listen and exert restraint in all situations.
Our pups have learned these lessons well. They understand they must wait for a release command and that if they SIT very still the release comes sooner.

Obedience training your 4-month-old puppy
We continue to work on obedience training using a chain collar and heeling stick. Our pups have come a long way regarding heeling. They are not perfect, but they do understand the command.
However, remote SIT is not going well. A remote SIT is where you have your puppy SIT and can walk away from him. Many pups struggle to SIT still, even for a few seconds. I had to be reminded our chocolate lab pup several times. Chocolate labs tend to mature much slower than blacks or yellows, and ours is proving that to be true. Given this, our pup will probably need some more maturity before I can expect too much from her on obedience.
Training your 4-month-old puppy to COME or HERE
Our pups are also struggling to learn the HERE command. Well, let me rephrase. They know the HERE command but still struggle to respond to it consistently. This is a huge source of contention for me, but again, the pup is a chocolate and is very immature.
A halt on retrieving
Up until now we have been doing retrieving daily, but as the pups enter the fourth month, we are increasing aware that they will be teething very soon. Because of this, we will be stopping retrieving until we can confirm that all adult teeth are in.
This concerns a lot of owners; they are concerned that their puppy will forget how to retrieve or will stop wanting to retrieve. We have never had this happen. If your puppy is retrieving with enthusiasm now, he will continue to retrieve after the adult teeth are present. But, if you continue to retrieve despite your puppy’s teething, you can cause irreversible damage because your puppy will start to associate pain with retrieving.

Final thoughts on training for your 4-month-old Labrador puppy
As your puppy approaches four months of age, it is good to take a moment to reflect on all the progress you have made in terms of training. If you have been working through the steps I have outlined over the past eight posts, you likely have a puppy that listens well, doesn’t jump on you or bite you, SITS before eating and before going outside and much more. These are important steps that will lead your puppy down a path of becoming a happy, healthy family dog and hunting companion.
If you are struggling or need additional help with your new puppy, you can email me (ottertailkennels@gmail.com). I would be happy to discuss your goals for your retriever and tell you about the programs I offer.
Until next time, happy retrieving.
Our 3 and a half month old wirehaired pointing Griffon continues to have accidents even taking her out every hour and shortly after eating she goes in the house and in her crate… any tips that might help?
Hi Nan, I have a couple thoughts. First, if you have not taken her to the vet, I would do that. Some dogs get UTIs and that will make housebreaking very tough. So, first I would rule that out. Next, if you haven’t read my post about housebreaking, you might find some tips in that post. https://ottertailkennels.com/house-break-puppy/
Now, there are few other thoughts I have, and since I don’t have much information, I am making some assumptions which may or may not be correct. Please do not be offended.
Taking your dog outside every hour is probably not helping your situation. Your dog needs to learn to hold her bladder and she will not learn that if you take her out every hour. During the time between taking her out she should be in a crate, but it is important that the crate is a small crate just a little bigger than your dog. If the crate is big enough for your puppy to walk around in, you are going to have accidents in the crate. Another thing to watch is how much water your puppy has access to and when. For instance, we personally take all water away from our dogs at 7 pm so they don’t drink too much later at night. Also, if your puppy drinks a lot, she will need to go out 15-30 minutes after, so you have to be aware of when she is drinking and how much.
Housebreaking is really tough if your dog is spending a lot of time outside a crate and unsupervised. It is vital that your dog be in the crate most of the time and out only when you are able to watch her very carefully. You need to be able to catch her making the accident, that is the only way she will learn what you want her to do. If she starts having an accident, loudly say NO and grab her and take her outside. Maybe check out my post on crate training too.
Hope this helps.
My 4 month old black lab has just completed her final round of puppy shots. After failing to be able to put her first harness on her without a huge struggle, I switched to a harness with straps-only and not a breast fabric plate. Day 1 went fairly well getting it on her with less of a struggle Before her breakfast. She went for walks, was introduced to a short puppy play date, sat on the patio of coffee shop with other dogs and people and was simply able to explore beyond our home. I placed the harness on in the morning and removed it after our evening walk.
Day 2 however, I attempted to place the harness on her after breakfast which resulted in jumping, barking, baring teeth and grabbing the straps to pull.
Is there an easier way? I regret not starting this earlier, but here we are.
Hi Maisy, I never recommend a harness for retriever breeds. If you want to stop your dog from pulling, a harness is not the right tool. In fact, harnesses are what they use for sled dogs to teach them to pull. I recommend using a chain collar and a 6-foot lead. If used correctly, these are the only tools needed to teach a retriever how to heel without pulling.